Civil servants' work performance in the context of less effective appraisal systems: an exploratory study for Greece

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether human resources schemes comprised of factors such as organisational commitment, job satisfaction and public service motivation can lead to increased levels of work performance, especially when performance appraisal systems do not contribute to this direction, as it is the case with Greece. To attain this goal, a questionnaire survey was conducted, addressed to a sample of 130 Greek civil servants. In the absence of an effective performance appraisal system, research results indicate that only the civil servants with a high degree of self-motivation and an in-depth sense of civic duty have the reasons to be better at their work and enhance their performance. Finally, contrary to the expectations of a number of public administration scholars and stakeholders, factors such as organisational commitment and job satisfaction are not proved to have a significant impact on work performance.