Citizens’ attitudes towards the public sector, public servants, and politicians – Development and validation of practical survey scales

Abstract

This study reports the development and the validation of three related attitude scales that measure the attitudes of citizens towards the public sector, the public servants, and the politicians respectively. With three samples (n1 = 325, n2 = 320, n3 = 337), scale items were assessed based on item-scale correlations, internal consistency, and social desirability. Moreover, convergent and discriminant validity were verified, based on the relatedness of the three attitude scales with several focal constructs from the public management literature, including public service motivation and citizens’ trust in government. In addition, this study outlines the avenues for further research on how the use of these scales can advance the field of public management, and particularly behavioral public administration.

Small Town, Short Work Week: Evaluating the Effects of a Compressed Work Week Pilot in Zorra, Ontario, Canada

“…Entertaining discussions about more flexible working arrangements for public sector workers can also come with some risks as well. Large segments of the public hold negative perceptions about public servant job performance, efficiency, and relative levels of compensation (Marvel 2016; Pandey, Coursey and Moynihan 2007; Willems 2020), which may provide pause for public sector workplace innovations, such as a compressed work week, from fear that these programs may lead to backlash from citizens and politicians. On the other hand, research on public service motivation demonstrates that improvements to work conditions that do not diminish the level of service provided to citizens can have positive effects on motivation and job satisfaction (Gross, Thaler and Winter 2019; Miao et al 2017; Moynihan and Pandey 2007).…”