Public Service Motivation and Employee Outcomes in the Egyptian Public Sector: Testing the Mediating Effect of Person-Organization Fit

This article examines a process, namely person-organization (P-O) fit, through which public service motivation (PSM) affects work-related stress, quit intentions, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Using a sample of 671 professionals in the Egyptian higher education and health sectors, a mediation model is outlined and tested empirically using structural equation modeling. Our results show that PSM positively affected P-O fit, which in turn had significant positive associations with OCBs and negative associations with work-related stress and quit intentions. Although P-O fit explained a high proportion of mediation in the relationship between PSM, stress, and quit intentions, it only explained a low proportion in the relationship between PSM and OCBs. In general, our findings suggest that if public managers are desirous of improving employee experience at work, then achieving congruence between employees' and organizational values is important.