Fostering Resilience in the Public Sector – Implications for Public Service Motivation

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter considers some of the key gaps in resilience research in the public sector, specifically: (1) the potential negative implications of organisational efforts to support resilient behaviour – i.e., ‘the dark side of resilience’; and (2) the relationship between resilience and value-based motivations specific to the sector, primarily public service motivation (PSM).

Findings

This piece argues that current studies on resilience have adopted an overly positive tone that may not reflect the full range of consequences associated with building a resilient organisation, especially in the public sector. Issues related to burnout, fatigue and feelings of inadequacy resulting from the ‘need’ to be resilient have not been sufficiently explored, and furthermore, we currently know very little of the link between these issues and employees' desire to have a meaningful contribution to people's lives, i.e., one of the key motivational drivers in the public sector.

Originality

This chapter highlights several unanswered questions in the extant literature, and proposes several avenues for further research, aiming to bridge these knowledge gaps and identify new ways to effectively manage future crises and developments in the sector.

Citation

Corduneanu, R. (2022), "Fostering Resilience in the Public Sector – Implications for Public Service Motivation", Diamond, J. and Liddle, J. (Ed.) Reimagining Public Sector Management (Critical Perspectives on International Public Sector Management, Vol. 7), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 113-122. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2045-794420220000007009