Public Employees Research Articles

The value of commuting time, flexibility, and job security: Evidence from current and recent jobseekers in Flanders

This study examines jobseekers’ preferences for a variety of job attributes. It is based on a choice experiment involving 1852 clients of the Flemish Public Employment Service (PES). Respondents value flexibility (e.g., remote work and schedule flexibility), job security and social impact of the job, and require significant compensation for longer commute times. A majority (70%) would need very substantial wage increase beyond their acceptable baseline wage to compensate for less flexibility, job security or social impact. These findings enhance our understanding of labour supply decisions and can inform the design of salary packages and HR policies.

The effectiveness of financial reward on improving the job performance of public sector employees through organisational commitment: the case of Maldives civil service employees

PurposeThough public sector organisations have continuously borrowed human resource management practices from the private sector, there seems to be sparse evidence on the effectiveness of financial rewards for public sector employees, especially in developing countries where pay remains low. Therefore, the objective of this research is to test the effectiveness of financial rewards on the job performance of those working in the Maldives civil service from the perspective of a developing country where public sector pay, especially civil pay, remains comparatively low. Additionally, this study tested the mediating effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between financial rewards and job performance.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted using quantitative design methodology, whereby data were collected from 341 employees working in the Maldives civil service and analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings indicate that financial rewards negatively affect civil service employees’ job performance. However, financial rewards improve organisational commitment, which reduces the negative effects, although the effect sizes of the mediator are not very significant.Originality/valueThe results of this study present critical theoretical and practical contributions to public administration researchers on using financial incentives as a mechanism to boost job performance, particularly in developing countries, where salaries and other benefits remain low. Furthermore, it presents practical recommendations for managing employees in the Maldives and other countries, where the public sector is less developed and budget constraints remain a challenge.

The contributions of the Iranian health‐care system in the crisismanship of COVID‐19: A qualitative study

AbstractThis study aims to comprehend the contributions of Iran's health‐care system (HCS) in the “crisismanship” of the coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic from the perspectives of citizens, policy makers, managers, and public sector employees. The primary question is what have been the contributions of Iran's HCS in the crisismanship of COVID‐19? The study was designed and conducted using a qualitative strategy. It is reported that three core contributions were made: (1) the leadership of “a whole of crisis governance,” (2) the leading “a whole of crisis management,” and (3) conducting “a whole of operational activities during the COVID‐19.” Through this empirical study, we hope to fill a gap by examining the leadership contributions of the Iranian HCS in fighting COVID‐19. The findings of this study can provide researchers and thinkers with insights into policy and strategy making in times of crises such as those surrounding COVID‐19.Related ArticlesKasseeah, Harshana, and Susan Opp. 2023. “Wicked policy problems and COVID‐19 in small island developing states: The cases of Mauritius and Seychelles.” Politics & Policy 51(6): 1008–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12565.Onyango, Gedion, and Japheth Otieno Ondiek. 2022. “Open Innovation during the COVID‐19 Pandemic Policy Responses in South Africa and Kenya.” Politics & Policy 50(5): 1008–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12490.Vince, Joanna. 2023. “A Creeping Crisis When an Urgent Crisis Arises: The Reprioritization of Plastic Pollution Issues during COVID‐19.” Politics & Policy 51(1): 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12512.

Politics matter: Public leadership and taking charge behavior in the public sector

Learning how to motivate employees to engage in proactive taking-charge behavior (TCB) has become an essential topic for building change capabilities into public organizations. However, despite limited research investigating triggers of TCB in the public sector, even less attention has been paid to leadership-related drivers. With a three-wave survey on a Chinese public employee sample, we test how public leaders can motivate TCB using accountability, rule-following, political loyalty, and network governance leadership approaches, and whether these employees’ organizational identification mediates this relationship. Results show that only employees under supervisors who practice rule-following and political loyalty leaderships will own greater identification with their organizations and will subsequently exhibit TCB——these two public leadership approaches work because they paint a realistic picture of China’s political context to public employees, boosting their organization identification, which then enhances their TCB. Such results enrich our understanding of public sector change management in authoritarian political conditions.

Pengaruh Kualitas Pelayanan Publik dan Disiplin Kerja Pegawai Terhadap Kepuasan Masyarakat di Kantor Kecamatan Klari Kabupaten Karawang

This research aims to analyze the influence of the quality of public services and employee work discipline on community satisfaction at the Klari District Office. The descriptive quantitative method was used in this research with data collection methods using questionnaires and ordinal scales. The population is the people of Klari District, the sample size reached 98 respondents. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis and referring to a significance level of 0.05. The overall analysis was calculated using the SPSS program. The examiner's results show that (1) partially, the quality of public services has a significant effect on Klari community satisfaction. (2) Partially, employee work discipline has a significant influence on Klari District community satisfaction. (3) Simultaneously, both variables have an influence on Community satisfaction means that the quality of public services and employee work discipline have a significant effect on community satisfaction.

The potential synergy between air pollution control and employment growth

Public service sectors play crucial roles in maintaining societal functioning through the provision of essential services. However, amidst the backdrop of air pollution, their developmental trajectories may veer off course from their intended goals. Quantifying the impact of air pollution on public service sectors, particularly from an employment perspective, offers valuable insights for policymakers aiming to foster the sustainable growth of these sectors and expand the analysis framework on air pollution externalities. Drawing on monthly data spanning from January 2015 to December 2019 across 269 prefecture cities, this paper therefore explores the impact of air pollution on public service sector employment using a cross-lagged panel model with fixed effects. I find that air pollution negatively affects the employment scales in public service sectors. This negative employment shock is also unevenly distributed across areas and sub-sectors and intensifies over time. Cities belong to key areas for air pollution prevention and control, small and medium-sized cities, and secondary-industry dominated cities, suffer disproportionately negative employment shocks in their public service sectors. These findings offer actionable insights for policymakers to implement targeted measures supporting the continued growth of public service sectors and deepen understanding of the economic ramifications of air pollution.

Public service motivation, public sector preference and employment of Kenyan medical doctor interns: a cross-sectional and prospective study

BackgroundKenya grapples with a paradox; severe public sector workforce shortages co-exist with rising unemployment among healthcare professionals. Medical schools have increased trainee outputs, but only 45% of newly qualified/registered doctors were absorbed by the public sector during 2015–2018. In such a context, we explore what influences doctors’ career choices at labour market entry, specifically understanding the role of public service motivation (PSM).MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional and prospective study of interns and recently graduated doctors to examine PSM, their intention to work in the public sector and their final employment sector and status. We surveyed them on their PSM and job intentions and conducted a prospective follow-up survey of the interns, around one year later, to understand their employment status.FindingsWe recruited 356 baseline participants and followed up 76 out of 129 eligible interns. The overall PSM score was high among all participants (rated 4.50/5.00) irrespective of sector preferences. 48% (171/356) of the participants preferred to work in the public sector immediately after internship, alongside 16% (57/356) preferring direct entry into specialist training—commonly in the public sector. Only 13% (46/356) and 7% (25/365) preferred to work in the private or faith-based sector. Despite the high proportion of interns preferring public sector jobs, only 17% (13/76) were employed in the public sector at follow-up and 13% (10/76) were unemployed, due to lack of job availability.ConclusionHigh PSM scores irrespective of sector preferences suggest that doctors are generally committed to serving the ‘public good’. Many intended to work in the public sector but were unable to due to lack of job opportunities. Policymakers have an opportunity to tackle workforce gaps in the public sector as young doctors continue to express a preference for such work. To do this they should prioritise creating adequate and sustainable job opportunities.

What’s behind thoracic surgery explosion in young patients under the age of 40 in Wuhan after COVID-19 outbreak?

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a dramatic increase of chest CT scanning in Wuhan. This was partly a COVID effect: some private and public employers required employees to have CT examinations to confirm they were healthy before going back to work. But it also likely reflects the growing enthusiasm for low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening. This investigation examines the resulting impact in the under 40 population. MethodsThe relevant de-identified information of the patients under age 40 who had also received thoracic surgery from 2018 to 2022 was analyzed using the medical record information system of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan. ResultsThe volume of thoracic surgeries increased continuously in young patients under the age of 40, from 219 in 2018 to 732 in 2022. The number of surgeries for pulmonary nodules or masses in this group increased over 6-fold, from 91 to 576. The number of surgeries leading to a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the lung increased more than 15-fold, from 26 to 415. The median adenocarcinoma size fell in half (from 15 mm to 7 mm) and the most common stage changed from Stage I invasive (46 % of adenocarcinomas in 2018) to microinvasive (60 % of adenocarcinomas in 2022). 70 % of lung adenocarcinomas were found in females. ConclusionsThere had been an explosion of thoracic surgery for adenocarcinomas among the under-40 population in Wuhan. The decrease in tumor size and the increase in microinvasive and in situ lesions in this young age group suggest considerable overdiagnosis. We should be vigilant about the risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment especially in young women.

Considering the animating ethos of designing digital first unemployment services: On the motivation of others

AbstractThis paper explores the animating ethos of digital unemployment services. Unlike human‐to‐human services, where the intention of policy is normally mediated by professionals, digital services are fully designed in the policy imagination. As a result, it is a pressing issue to understand the ethos that animates their development. To address this, we report on design thinking focus groups undertaken to support the development of a disruptive digital unemployment service that sought the views and responses of three different groups—senior policymakers, caseworkers and unemployed people in four European countries. Without prompting, each conversation variously problematised the imputed motivations of unemployed people, suggesting a form of paternalistic motivation that should only risked in‐person. From this, we suggest that the design of digital unemployment services may well be dominated by the axiomatic, uncritical mobilisation of motivation theory. Going further, we offer a brief genealogy of the form of motivation theory that surfaced in the study, highlighting its interesting, shared history in seminal studies on unemployment. As a result, we conclude, that rather than altering welfare, digitisation may reanimate, essentialise and make durable activation in new ways that deepen longstanding processes of “double activation”—activating public employment services as well as the unemployed.

Religiosity and work motives among public sector employees

ABSTRACT Research in public administration generally has found that religiosity promotes public service motivation. Although all major religions include components that encompass work-relevant values, little research has focused on how religiosity influences work motives more generally. This study draws on self-determination theory and identity theory to hypothesise that religiosity is positively related to a public service motive but generally not to other work motives. The hypotheses are tested using multilevel logistic regression models that are estimated using public employee respondents to a cross-national survey administered in 35 countries. The findings indicate that religion has a more substantial impact on a public service motive (which is an autonomous extrinsic motive) than on controlled extrinsic or intrinsic motives. The study points to the importance of studying the role of religion in public administration.

Combating Corruption in Business: A Comparative Analysis of National and International Efforts

We have identified that the research problem lies in the limited focus of most international and national concepts and efforts on combating corruption, which mainly aim to preserve public money and the prestige of public office. This is reflected in the issuance of legislation and the development of plans and policies that primarily target prevention and law enforcement in the face of corruption. However, these efforts are relatively narrow and do not adequately address the need to protect the private sector, private funds, and individuals who are not public employees in the business field. It is important to correct these concepts and trends to support better anti-corruption efforts more objectively and comprehensively. Keywords: Corruption, Development, Business Environment, Egypt.

지방공무원 휴가제도 해외사례 비교연구

A variety of local government leave programs have been introduced and improved to increase government productivity, help government employees achieve work-life balance, and create a family-friendly workplace culture. However, the usage rate of annual and long-term leave is still low, and public employees are not satisfied with their work-life balance. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze local government employee leave programs in Korea and overseas countries (U.S., France, and Japan) and provide policy implications for improving leave programs. It is necessary to provide more detailed regulations on the use of annual leave for more than 10 consecutive days so that employees can get enough rest when they need it and gain new vitality through long-term leave. In addition, local governments should be given the autonomy to set their own vacation policies to suit their local and environmental characteristics.

Gender Issues, Social Equity, and the Sustainable Management of Urban Transport Networks: An Italian Case Study

The paper contains transport and environmental analyses for the Gallipoli area and presents results from a consultation process involving transport operators, citizens, tourists, public employees, and stakeholders. Through statistical analysis of the data, the paper provides insights into the needs of specific user categories, highlighting gender issues and social equity as key aspects of urban policies. This paper further investigates users’ potential willingness to pay for general improvements in bus service quality and environmental conditions using discrete choice modeling. This study aims to address the challenge of understanding urban travel patterns and the underlying forces influencing user attitudes, which are often found in city surveys. Specifically, a Random Utility Model was used to profile users based on specially collected survey data. The results indicate the potential to meet latent systemic transport demand with more sustainable collective transport modes, particularly among women aged 19-29 who own a car. Simultaneously, there is a willingness to pay higher public transport tariffs for improved service, which is also largely environmentally sustainable. The paper can serve as a valuable resource for professionals in the transport and environmental sectors as well as for policymakers.

Texas Public Pensions: A Common Pool Resource Perspective

Public employee pension management is the nexus of public and private financial management systems that are significant long-term components of public finance. The idea that these pension systems can look quite similar yet perform in quite different and conflicting ways is significant when designing policy; system design templates are not successful in complex systems. Even pension systems within the same city can have radically different states of actuarial health based upon small differences in the rules (or adherence to the rules) establishing them. To better understand such systems, viewing them from a common pool resource perspective is useful. Elinor Ostrom (1990) , in her seminal book Governing the Commons, provides eight principles that facilitate governing common pool resources. The general theme running through Ostrom's principles is the need to facilitate the building and channeling of social capital. By facilitating constructive collective choice, the goal of effective, sustainable collective action is achievable. In this study, we examine the political, cultural, and institutional structures that are in place in the pension systems of Dallas and Houston, Texas. We examine the pensions’ governance practices to determine which appear to violate Ostrom's ideal institutional arrangements and their impact on the pensions’ long-term sustainability. Pertinent survey information from pension beneficiaries conducted as part of this research are provided

Employees' rights in the Kurdistan Region: a jurisprudential evaluation study

This research aims to show and clarify the rights enshrined in the right of the public employee in the Islamic Sharia emanating from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah and Sharia policy books. All alike, and legitimate rights manifest in moral and psychological rights and financial rights. Financial rights are formed in salaries, bonuses, retirement, and so on. Moral rights revolve around vacation rights in all their forms, better dealings, defending them, stimulating progress and innovation, and so on. The study relied on the inductive, analytical and survey approach accompanying the list of questionnaires that inquired, and directed questions related to the rights of employees.

The Effectiveness of Audio Visual Media in Reporting Technique Material in Improving Accounting Economics Learning Outcomes for Class Students at SMAN 2 Majene

This study examines the impact of leadership style, organizational culture, policy implementation, and community participation on the efficiency of public services and the happiness of employees in local government in Indonesia. The study involves a quantitative analysis with a sample size of 250 participants. It utilizes a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 and leverages Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS 3) for data analysis. The findings demonstrate that all connections are both positive and statistically significant, emphasizing the crucial functions these parameters fulfill in public administration. Leadership style, corporate culture, policy execution, and community participation have a major positive impact on both public service efficiency and employee happiness. The findings provide significant theoretical contributions to the comprehension of public sector management and present practical implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking to enhance public service performance and employee morale.

Effectiveness of Live Webinars to Teach Financial Literacy: A Case Study Among Public Employees

In the wake of economic downturns, a global pandemic, and changes to work-based benefits, the need for financial education is evident as adults continue to show low levels of financial literacy. To address these issues, a financial wellness program for working adults consisting of six 1-hour webinars taught by area experts and business professionals was created among public employees in Nebraska, the United States. The sample for this case study program analysis includes 424 participants who participated in all six live webinars and completed both a pre- and post-assessment of financial knowledge, behavior, and attitudinal questions. An estimatedttest showed an 11-percentage point increase from pre- to post-assessment on the knowledge questions. Additionally, participants reported positive changes in attitude regarding their finances. Regression results showed that individuals with the lowest income benefited the most, answering 1.8117–2.1176 more questions correctly, suggesting that the webinars were especially beneficial for people who might be struggling the most financially. The positive findings from this study show that impactful financial education can be delivered online via live webinar format. This is useful for providers who develop and plan financial literacy programs for adults.

Public employment services and rural NEETs aged 25-29: A case study from the South-West Region in Bulgaria

Public employment services and rural NEETs aged 25-29: A case study from the South-West Region in Bulgaria

Implementing the Place-Train Approach in Train-Place Services: Organizational Culture and Supported Employment

Supported employment (SE) is increasingly implemented in employment services worldwide. The disruptive character of SE, involving a shift from ‘train-place’ to ‘place-train’ models of vocational rehabilitation, has led to growing recognition of implementation challenges and problems that negatively influence service efficacy and employment outcomes.This article enriches existing literature by presenting a theoretical framework that conceptualizes how organizational culture within public employment services can impact SE implementation. The argument is illustrated with cases from the Norwegian Employment and Welfare Service (NAV). Organizational culture plays a crucial role in shaping employee actions, behaviors, and foundational assumptions, which in turn influence local interpretations and applications of SE. Using Yin’s (2018) ‘embedded single case study’ method, our research concentrates on various units of analysis within a singular case. Our findings underscore the importance of considering organizational culture and context, acknowledging SE’s disruptive nature, and recognizing the nonlinear dynamics of implementation processes.

Work from home feasibility and challenges for public sector employees in a developing country

Work from home feasibility and challenges for public sector employees in a developing country