The Impact of Public Service Motivation on Job Satisfaction in Public Sector Employees: The Mediating Roles of Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment

In the public service sector, staff’s motivation is of great significance for the developments of both the service team and the governmental service departments. This research develops a model to study the effects of public service motivation on job satisfaction and further assesses the mediation effects of work engagement and organizational commitment. Five-hundred and fifty employees from Chinese public service sectors were engaged in the questionnaire-based study. The results show that public service motivation plays important roles in work engagement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Furthermore, work engagement and organizational commitment are the factors to mediate public service motivation and job satisfaction. Therefore, our findings suggest that staff in the public sector with enhanced public service motivation generally appear more involved in their work, are more loyal to their organizations, and demonstrate more positive work attitudes to improve productivity.