Public Service Motivation, Relational Job Design, and Job Satisfaction in Local Government

This study seeks to examine whether and how a group of Australian local government workers' perceptions of two relational job characteristics – impact on citizens and contact with citizens – influence the relationship between public service motivation ( PSM ) and job satisfaction. Government employees who have strong norms about performing public service were found to be more satisfied with their job partly based on the extent to which they perceived that their jobs provided avenues for worthwhile accomplishment through the frequency, magnitude, and scope of job impact. In contrast, the employees' perceptions of the frequency and breadth of contact with the recipients of their service did not significantly influence PSM , or the association between PSM and job satisfaction.