A view into managers' subjective experiences of public service motivation and work engagement: a qualitative study

This study focuses on the underlying factors which may foster or attenuate public managers' public service motivation (PSM) and on the processes through which it affects their work engagement. A qualitative analysis of interviews with senior staffers in public-service organizations revealed multilayered subjective experiences of PSM and work engagement. The findings which emerged from the interviews suggest five factors behind PSM: The nature of task; Reaching beyond the self; Career development opportunities; The burden of red tape, and; Identification with the beneficiaries. Growing from these, analysis further suggests that PSM fosters emotional engagement and engagement in micro-community and in macro-community.