-"I'm passionate about making a difference."

This is often heard from employees with a special drive to do something for others. If you as a leader can ignite this spark in your employees, it can have a huge positive impact on your organization.

Public service motivation is this particular driving force that stems from the desire to do something good for others - for society as a whole or for specific groups of citizens.

In Denmark, we are blessed with a public sector where many employees have a high degree of public service motivation. However, there are some important nuances in what public service motivation covers and what it means to be driven by it.

Four dimensions of public service motivation

The concept of public service motivation covers four dimensions: civic mindedness, compassion, attraction to politics and self-sacrifice.

Community mindset:

Implies that the employee is driven to make a difference to society as a whole. For example, the police officer who is motivated by contributing to a safe and secure society, or the district court judge who is driven by contributing to a just society.

Compassion:

Describes how some public employees are driven to make a difference through direct contact with specific groups of citizens. This can include nurses, social educators, social and healthcare assistants, among others. What these professionals have in common is that they are motivated to make a difference for the "weak" groups that often need help.

Attraction to politics:

Includes employees who are driven to improve the quality of public services. For example, this could be a preoccupation with how resources are best used for the benefit of citizens and society. For example, the team coordinator who must try to ensure the best possible professional quality in the task solution within the team's budget, or the IT consultant in SKAT, who is motivated by creating a well-functioning IT system that contributes to an easy and simple process when citizens have to make their annual tax return.

Self-sacrifice:

This dimension is seen as the foundation for the other dimensions. Self-sacrifice describes the willingness to put aside one's own needs in order to help citizens and society through the public services one provides

What does public service motivation contribute?

Both Danish and international research has shown that employees with high public service motivation generally perform better. For example, a Danish study has shown that students who have been taught by a teacher with high public service motivation get higher grades.

However, if employees' public service motivation is to be converted into value creation, it requires that they experience a real opportunity to make a difference through their work. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, which is why it's important that you as a manager create the framework for employees to make a tangible difference. Failing to do so can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction among employees.

At the same time, there is also a risk that employees driven by public service motivation burn out. This risk is particularly pronounced for employees who find that various barriers prevent them from making as much of a difference as they potentially could.

Public service motivation is a fantastic and sustainable fuel for increased performance in the organization. However, it also poses a risk of dissatisfied and burnt-out employees if they don't feel that there is a real opportunity to make a difference in their work.