Public service is the work performed by a person who is employed by an agency that carries out government programs or services for the benefit of a large, diverse population (think national parks and policing). This work involves making a difference in society through helping people in need, fighting against corruption and inequalities, and more. Often, those who choose to pursue public service degrees see themselves as working for a higher purpose. The specifics of what that looks like varies from person to person—for some, it might mean rewriting policy in a local community, while for others, it might be providing life-saving assistance during emergencies.
Public servants—also known as civil servants—are expected to steward taxpayer dollars, perform their duties with integrity and prioritize the needs of others above all else. In exchange, they are rewarded with a host of benefits that make up for their sacrifices, including competitive wages and retirement plans, health insurance and 13 days of paid vacation leave after seven years of full-time service.
The goal of this study is to inspire scholars to advance further the intrinsic value of participation in public service processes and ecosystems. To that end, we propose a new framework to help understand the motivations of people who choose to pursue public service careers. In order to do so, we must first recognize the leading causes of citizens’ participation in PSEs: ability and motivation. The available literature offers two leadership theories to describe these phenomena: one that emphasizes material incentives and the other that focuses on social-emotional or solidarity incentives.
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