What drives public service workers?

Can sustainable
practices boost their motivation and satisfaction?

Literature review:
Organizational sustainability refers to the responsibility of entities to support sustainable
development by managing their economic, environmental, and social impacts (Krause, Feiock, and
Hawkins 2016; Moldavanova and Goerdel 2018; Zeemering 2018). This concept gained
prominence after the Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development as meeting
present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needsWorld Commission on Environment and Development 1987, 43). Sustainable development
involves protecting the environment and using natural resources wisely to ensure the well-being
of current and future populations. The social aspect of sustainable development emphasizes the
importance of solidarity within and between generations (Stazyk, Moldavanova, and Frederickson
2016).

The demand for organizations to contribute to sustainable development has grown, driven by the
triple bottom line (TBL) concept introduced by Elkington (1994). The TBL approach advocates
for organizations to consider not only financial outcomes but also the environmental and social
impacts of their operations. While TBL and corporate social responsibility are often associated
with private enterprises, there is a widespread recognition that both public and private
organizations have the potential and obligation to contribute to sustainable development
(Moldavanova and Goerdel 2018; Osborne et al. 2015). The responsibility to contribute to
sustainable development is encapsulated in the 'sustainable development goals' (SDGs), which
represent a global consensus on prioritizing economic, environmental, and social objectives
(United Nations General Assembly 2015). Public organizations are tasked with recognizing and
fulfilling their responsibility to various stakeholders in order to protect the interests of future
generations from the short-term depletion caused by current generations (StaffordSmith et al.
2017).

The focus on sustainability within public sector management emerged alongside the New Public
Management (NPM) movement. Some scholars argue that NPM's emphasis on efficiency, cost-
effectiveness, and value for money has overshadowed broader public values (Moldavanova and
Goerdel 2018; Osborne et al. 2015; Piotrowski et al. 2018; Rosenbloom 2017). They suggest that
increased attention to sustainability can balance out NPM's one-sided approach. Therefore,
prioritizing organizational sustainability within public organizations aligns with, rather than
contradicts, NPM's directives, providing a complementary approach to enhance the effectiveness
and social and environmental impact of government activities (Moldavanova and Goerdel 2018;
Osborne et al. 2015).

A growing body of literature suggests that a managerial focus on sustainability can positively
impact an organization's long-term performance (Aguinis and Glavas 2012; Jones et al. 2019;
Niemann and Hoppe 2018), particularly through its influence on employee performance. Previous
research has shown that employees' perceptions of managerial attention to organizational
sustainability are positively correlated with attitudes such as organizational commitment,
identification, trust, and job satisfaction (Boyd and Nowell 2020; Gond et al. 2017). It is also
associated with positive employee behaviors, including in-role and extra-role performance,
organizational citizenship behavior, employee retention, and overall performance (Bauman and
Skitka 2012; Delmas and Pekovic 2018; Helliwell et al. 2018). However, the question arises about
the motivational mechanisms that explain the positive correlation between employees' perceptions
of managerial attention to organizational sustainability and their desired attitudes, specifically job
satisfaction. In this study, the institutional approach of Public Service Motivation (PSM) and its
foundation in self-determination theory (SDT) are drawn upon to present a theoretical model. The
hypothesis suggests that managerial attention to organizational sustainability can lead to increased
levels of PSM (Abdelmotaleb 2020) and subsequently influence job satisfaction.

More specifically, the argument suggests that managerial focus on organizational sustainability
will encourage the internalization of public service values among employees. This is because such
practices satisfy employees' basic psychological needs, including autonomy, competence,
relatedness, and beneficence (Deci and Ryan 2002, 7; Martela and Ryan 2016). The extent to which
organizations address these psychological needs is expected to foster the internalization of
institutionalized public service values into individuals' public identities (Andrews 2016;
Corduneanu, Dudau, and Kominis 2020; Ripoll and Ballart 2019; Vandenabeele 2014).

According to the developed theoretical model, employees' needs for autonomy and competence
are measured by perceived organizational support, which is hypothesized to be influenced by
managerial attention to internal sustainability. The satisfaction of employees' needs for relatedness
and beneficence is assessed by perceived societal impact potential, which is hypothesized to be
influenced by managerial attention to external sustainability. The research model, illustrated in
Figure 1, is further explained in the following paragraphs.

To address the role of internal sustainability and its impact on job satisfaction, managerial attention
to employee-oriented practices in internal sustainability offers a promising approach to fostering
Public Service Motivation (PSM) and subsequent job satisfaction. Internal sustainability includes
managerial practices directly related to the work environment, such as employee health and safety,
work-life balance, and training and development (Hameed et al. 2016).

Viewed as a high-involvement approach to human resources, internal sustainability is expected to

fulfill employees' basic psychological needs for competence and autonomy (Andrews 2016;
GouldWilliams, Homberg, and Vogel 2016; Ryan and Deci 2020). The need for competence is
addressed through the development opportunities provided by internal sustainability practices
(Deci, Olafsen, and Ryan 2017).