Public service motivation matters: examining the differential effects of challenge and hindrance stressors on organizational identification and turnover intention

ABSTRACT

Work-related stress and its employee outcomes are critical phenomena that warrant more research in public administration. Based on the two-dimensional stressor framework, this study investigates the relationships between both challenge and hindrance stressors with turnover intention, focusing on the mediating role of organizational identification and the moderating role of public service motivation. Data from 399 Chinese public sector employees supported the hypotheses that the two types of work stressors relate to employee outcomes in opposite directions, depending on the level of public service motivation. The results disentangle previous inconsistent findings and aid public managers in stress intervention and employee retention.

KEYWORDS:

• Challenge stressors
• hindrance stressors
• organizational identification
• turnover intention
• public service motivation

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science of China under Grant number 17ZDA104.

Notes on contributors

Yuanjie Bao

Yuanjie Bao, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China. His research interests include public service motivation, values and culture in public administration, and value-based leadership.

Wei Zhong

Wei Zhong, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University. Her research has focused on values and ethics in public administration, work-related stress in public service, and public sector employee wellbeing.