Understanding the Ethic of Care’s Manifestation and Impact in the Public Sector: A Holistic Framework Highlighting Care from Individual, Leadership, and Organizational Perspectives

This study explores the ethics of care within the U.S. local public sector. We conceptualize and empirically test a multi-level care framework pertinent to internal public relations in the public sector, encompassing employees’ perceptions of compassion, servant leadership, and organizational caring climate, to understand its relationship with public employees’ outcomes, including employee-organization value congruence, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions. An online survey of 308 local public-sector employees in public communication roles reveals direct and indirect effects of caring factors on employee outcomes. The findings from serial mediation analyses reveal complex cognitive and emotional pathways through which public sector employees process caring factors across individual, leadership, and organizational levels. Additionally, we investigate generational differences in responses to caring factors, comparing younger employees (Millennials and Generation Z) to older employees (Generation X, Baby Boomers, and beyond) to understand how diverse age groups experience care ethics within the public-sector workplace. Our study responds to recent calls for a holistic understanding of care ethics within public relations, providing empirical insights into the application of care ethics from an internal stakeholder perspective in the public sector and offering actionable guidance for public sector organizations to engage with diverse workforces.