Does bureaucracy demotivate public servants?: An assessment of psychological mechanisms and the moderating role of age

Abstract

Public servants’ intrinsic work motivation is crucial to well-being, workforce retention and performance but is potentially frustrated by bureaucracy, especially amongst junior public servants. Using Mplus SEM on cross-sectional data from 979 public servants from Dutch public sector organizations, this preregistered study indicates that formalization and centralization relate to intrinsic motivation, with more complex mediations frustrating and guarding psychological autonomy and competence. Age, however, only directly relates to psychological autonomy and competence, thus offering little additional insights due to the absence of moderation. Findings present strategies and tactics for HR, managers and employees to consider for optimizing intrinsic motivation.