Porcelain Publishing / JCHRM / Volume 16 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.47297/wspchrmWSP2040-800501.20251603
ARTICLE

Promoting Sustainable Work Contentment Among Public Servants: A Perspective Through the Lens of Public Service Motivation

Saba Feroz Qureshi1 Khawaja Asif Tasneem1
Show Less
1 School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Submitted: 22 October 2024 | Revised: 2 March 2025 | Accepted: 10 April 2025 | Published: 4 June 2025
© 2025 by the Porcelain Publishing International Limited. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Maintaining employees' work contentment is crucial for public organizations because it directly impacts productivity, retention, and overall organizational performance. Content employees are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and committed to their roles, leading to higher-quality public service delivery. Additionally, job satisfaction reduces turnover rates, saving organizations the costs of recruiting and training fresh staff. Employee Contentment also raises a positive workplace culture, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and effective teamwork. Ultimately, ensuring employee satisfaction aligns with the broader goal of creating a sustainable and efficient public sector that meets the community's needs. The current research proposes a mediated study paradigm and investigates the relationships among transactional leadership, sustainable work contentment, and public service motivation in public organizations. The research explicitly investigates how transactional leadership could sustain employees' work contentment in the public sector. This study collected data from 371 employees of public organizations using a cross-sectional survey design to assess research hypotheses. Andrew and Hayes' Process Macro was applied to analyze this research, whereas mediation analysis utilizes SPSS statistical program. The insights offer an understanding of how transactional leadership can motivate employees to work within public organizations, thereby enhancing their sustainable work contentment. Moreover, the study rigorously highlights the correlation between transactional leadership and sustainable work contentment, mediated by public service motivation. The research offers a comprehensive analysis of the findings and their practical and policy implications for public organizations. The study also recognizes its limitations and provides recommendations for future studies that could expand on these preliminary conclusions to improve the knowledge of leadership dynamics and sustainable work contentment within public organizations.

Keywords
Transactional leadership
Sustainable work contentment
Public service motivation
Public organizations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References

[1]Aljumah, A. (2023). The impact of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on job satisfaction: The mediating role of transactional leadership. Cogent Business & Management, 10(3), 2270813.
[2]Al-Ali, W., Ameen, A., Issac, O., Habtoor, N., Nusari, M., & Alrajawi, I. (2018). Investigate the influence of underlying happiness factors on the job performance on the oil and gas industry in UAE. International Journal of Management and Human Science (IJMHS), 2(4), 1-12.
[3]Awan, S., Bel, G., & Esteve, M. (2020). The benefits of PSM: An oasis or a mirage? Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 30(4), 619-635.
[4]Azhar, A., & Steen, T. (2023). Underlying assumptions of public service motivation: A view from the developing world. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 45(3), 274-294.
[5]Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of occupational health psychology, 22(3), 273.
[6]Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., Jung, D. I., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 88(2), 207.
[7]Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1996). Multifactor leadership questionnaire. Western Journal of Nursing Research.
[8]Belrhiti, Z., Van Damme, W., Belalia, A., & Marchal, B. (2020). The effect of leadership on public service motivation: A multiple embedded case study in Morocco. BMJ open, 10(1), e033010.
[9]Boyd, N., & Nowell, B. (2023). Sense of community, sense of community responsibility, organizational commitment and identification, and public service motivation: A simultaneous test of affective states on employee well-being and engagement in a public service work context. In Public service motivation (pp. 76-102). Routledge.
[10]Bowling, N. A., Wagner, S. H., & Beehr, T. A. (2018). The facet satisfaction scale: An effective affective measure of job satisfaction facets. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33, 383-403.
[11]Camilleri, E. (2006). Towards developing an organizational commitment-public service motivation model for the Maltese public service employees. Public policy and administration, 21(1), 63-83.
[12]Castaing, S. (2006). The effects of psychological contract fulfilment and public service motivation on organizational commitment in the French civil service. Public Policy and Administration, 21(1), 84-98.
[13]Cheong, M., Spain, S. M., Yammarino, F. J., & Yun, S. (2016). Two faces of empowering leadership: Enabling and burdening. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 602-616.
[14]Cho, Y. J., & Perry, J. L (2021). The role of transformational and transactional leadership in leader-member exchange: A public management perspective. Public Administration Review, 81(1), 122-133. 
[15]Christensen, R. K., Paarlberg, L., & Perry, J. L. (2017). Public service motivation research: Lessons for practice. Public Administration Review, 77(4), 529-542.
[16]Crucke, S., Kluijtmans, T., Meyfroodt, K., & Desmidt, S. (2022). How does organizational sustainability foster public service motivation and job satisfaction? The mediating role of organizational support and societal impact potential. Public Management Review, 24(8), 1155-1181.
[17]Das, R. (2023). Does public service motivation predict performance in public sector organizations? A longitudinal science mapping study. Management Review Quarterly, 73(3), 1237-1271.
[18]Donkor, F., Sekyere, I., & Oduro, F. A. (2022). Transformational and transactional leadership styles and employee performance in public sector organizations in Africa: A comprehensive analysis in Ghana. Journal of African Business, 23(4), 945-963.
[19]Dent, R. I. (2024). Employee engagement in public sector organizations. Liberty University.
[20]Fazzi, G., & Zamaro, N. (2016). Exploring the interplay between leadership styles and PSM in two organizational settings. International Journal of Manpower, 37(5), 859-877.
[21]Esione, U. O., Osita, F. C., & Chigbo, D. (2020). Effects of reward on performance of workers in the nigerian public sector. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), 4(2), 409-424.
[22]Haricharan, S. J. (2023). Leadership, management and organizational implications for public service employee well-being and performance. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 21, 2080.
[23]Haryono, S., & Sulistyo, B. A. (2020). Effects of work motivation and leadership toward work satisfaction and employee performance: Evidence from Indonesia. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(6), 387-397.
[24]Hassan, S., Ansari, N., & Rehman, A. (2022). An exploratory study of workplace spirituality and employee well-being affecting public service motivation: An institutional perspective. Qualitative Research Journal, 22(2), 209-235.
[25]Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., Agrawal, S., Plowman, S. K., & Blue, A. T. (2020). Increased business value for positive job attitudes during economic recessions: A meta-analysis and SEM analysis. Human Performance, 33(4), 307-330.
[26]Hemsworth, D., Muterera, J., Khorakian, A., & Garcia-Rivera, B. R. (2024). Exploring the theory of employee planned behavior: Job satisfaction as a key to organizational performance. Psychological Reports, 00332941241252784.
[27]Holt, S. B. (2018). For those who care: The effect of public service motivation on sector selection. Public Administration Review, 78(3), 457-471.
[28]Hoxha, A. (2019). Transformational and transactional leadership styles on employee performance. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 8(11), 46-58.
[29]Jain, S., & Sharma, V. (2019). What determines workplace happiness? Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(2), 495-502.
[30]Jensen, U. T., & Vestergaard, C. F. (2017). Public service motivation and public service behaviors: Testing the moderating effect of tenure. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 27(1), 52-67.
[31]Jensen, U. T., Andersen, L. B., & Jacobsen, C. B. (2019). Only when we agree! How value congruence moderates the impact of goal‐oriented leadership on public service motivation. Public Administration Review, 79(1), 12-24.
[32]Jin, M. H., McDonald III, B. D., Park, J., & Trevor Yu, K. Y. (2019). Making public service motivation count for increasing organizational fit: The role of followership behavior and leader support as a causal mechanism. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 85(1), 98-115.
[33]Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of applied psychology, 89(5), 755.
[34]Kim, S. (2011). Testing a revised measure of public service motivation: Reflective versus formative specification. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(3), 521-546.
[35]Kim, J., Kang, H., & Lee, K. (2023). Transformational-transactional leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior in the public sector: Does public service motivation make a difference? Public Management Review, 25(2), 429-458.
[36]Kim, M., & Beehr, T. A. (2018). Can empowering leaders affect subordinates’ well-being and careers because they encourage subordinates’ job crafting behaviors? Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 25(2), 184-196.
[37]Kim, S. (2006). Public service motivation and organizational citizenship behavior in Korea. International journal of manpower, 27(8), 722-740.
[38]Lee, H. W. (2020). Motivational effect of performance management: does leadership matter? Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 16(59), 59-76.
[39]Lin, M., Liu, Q., & Li, Z. (2024). Perceived superior trust and organizational commitment among public employees: The mediating role of burnout and the moderating role of public service motivation. Heliyon, 10(3).
[40]Liu, B., & Zhang, Z. (2019). Motivational bases of commitment to organizational change in the Chinese public sector. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 47(1), 1-8.
[41]Mafini, C., & Dlodlo, N. (2014). The relationship between extrinsic motivation, job satisfaction and life satisfaction amongst employees in a public organization. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1), 1-13.
[42]Marques, T. M. (2021). Research on public service motivation and leadership: A bibliometric study. International Journal of Public Administration, 44(7), 591-606.
[43]Miah, M. M. (2018). The impact of employee job satisfaction toward organizational performance: A study of private sector employees in Kuching, East Malaysia. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 8(12), 270-278.
[44]Min, N., Ki, N., & Yoon, T. (2021). Public service motivation, job satisfaction, and the moderating effect of employment sector: A meta-analysis. International Review of Public Administration, 26(2), 135-155.
[45]Misra, N., & Srivastava, S. (2022). Happiness at work: A psychological perspective. In Happiness and wellness, 95.
[46]Nielsen, P. A., Boye, S., Holten, A. L., Jacobsen, C. B., & Andersen, L. B. (2019). Are transformational and transactional types of leadership compatible? A two‐wave study of employee motivation. Public Administration, 97(2), 413-428.
[47]Ng, K., Franken, E., Nguyen, D., & Teo, S. (2023). Job satisfaction and public service motivation in Australian nurses: The effects of abusive supervision and workplace bullying. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(11), 2235-2264.
[48]Nguyen, T. T., Berman, E. M., Plimmer, G., Samartini, A., Sabharwal, M., & Taylor, J. (2022). Enriching transactional leadership with public values. Public Administration Review, 82(6), 1058-1076.
[49]Palma, R., Hinna, A., & Mangia, G. (2017). Improvement of individual performance in the public sector: Public service motivation and user orientation as levers. In Evidence-based HRM: A global forum for empirical scholarship (Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 344-360). Emerald Publishing Limited.
[50]Perry, R. P., Stupnisky, R. H., Hall, N. C., Chipperfield, J. G., & Weiner, B. (2010). Bad starts and better finishes: Attributional retraining and initial performance in competitive achievement settings. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29(6), 668-700.
[51]Perry, J. L. (1996). Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliability and validity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 6(1), 5-22.
[52]Perry, J. L., & Wise, L. R. (1990). The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review, 50(3), 367-373.
[53]Rafique, M. A., Hou, Y., Chudhery, M. A. Z., Gull, N., & Ahmed, S. J. (2023). The dimensional linkage between public service motivation and innovative behavior in public sector institutions; The mediating role of psychological empowerment. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(1), 207-229.
[54]Raveendran, T. (2021). Does transactional leadership style predict performance of development officers. Sri Lanka Journal of Business Studies Finance, 1(1), 1-15.
[55]Riasat, F., Aslam, S., & Nisar, Q. A. (2016). Do intrinsic and extrinsic rewards influence the job satisfaction and job performance? Mediating role of reward system. Journal of Management Information, 11(1), 16-34.
[56]Samanta, I., & Lamprakis, A. (2018). Modern leadership types and outcomes: The case of Greek public sector. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 23(1), 173-191.
[57]Singh, S., & Aggarwal, Y. (2018). Happiness at work scale: Construction and psychometric validation of a measure using mixed method approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 1439-1463.
[58]Tu, W., Hsieh, C. W., Chen, C. A., & Wen, B. (2024). Public service motivation, performance-contingent pay, and job satisfaction of street-level bureaucrats. Public Personnel Management, 53(2), 256-280.
[59]Tran, Y. T., & Hoang, T. C. (2024). Transformational leadership and public employee performance: The mediating roles of employee participation and public service motivation. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 90(4), 793-809.
[60]Van Loon, N. M., Vandenabeele, W., & Leisink, P. (2017). Clarifying the relationship between public service motivation and in-role and extra-role behaviors: The relative contributions of person-job and person-organization fit. The American Review of Public Administration, 47(6), 699-713.
[61]Van Loon, N., Kjeldsen, A. M., Andersen, L. B., Vandenabeele, W., & Leisink, P. (2018). Only when the societal impact potential is high. A panel study of the relationship between public service motivation and perceived performance. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 38(2), 139-166.
[62]Vandenabeele, W. (2014). Explaining public service motivation: The role of leadership and basic needs satisfaction. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 34(2), 153-173.
[63]Wang, H., Xiong, W., Wu, G., & Zhu, D. (2018). Public–private partnership in public administration discipline: A literature review. Public Management Review, 20(2), 293-316.
[64]Wang, Q., Gan, K. P., Wei, H. Y., Sun, A. Q., Wang, Y. C., & Zhou, X. M. (2024). Public service motivation and public employees' turnover intention: The role of job satisfaction and career growth opportunity. Personnel Review, 53(1), 99-118.
[65]Yadav, A., Pandita, D., & Singh, S. (2022). Work-life integration, job contentment, employee engagement and its impact on organizational effectiveness: A systematic literature review. Industrial and Commercial Training, 54(3), 509-527.
[66]Zubair, S. S., Khan, M. A., & Mukaram, A. T. (2021). Public service motivation and organizational performance: Catalyzing effects of altruism, perceived social impact and political support. Plos One, 16(12), e0260559.

Share
Back to top
Journal of Chinese Human Resources Management, Electronic ISSN: 2040-8013 Print ISSN: 2040-8005, Published by Porcelain Publishing