Motivation is one of the cornerstones of any particular job. But, there might be different kinds of motivation, like what causes people to enter government service.

Leonard Bright, assistant professor of urban and public affairs, has been interested in issues behind this idea since his undergraduate days. His latest published works dealt with trying to identify the influences of a trait among workers labeled “public service motivation.” This trait explains why a person would choose governmental work over something similar in the private sector that may have better benefits or pay.

Bright’s goal is to determine whether the trait provides any benefits for attitudes and behaviors of employees such as performance, job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover intentions. “These people are more apt to whistle blow, and we’ve found they respond to non-monetary incentives and intrinsic rewards,” Bright said.

Research into public service motivation has been primarily anecdotal in the past, and has had mixed conclusions. “If public service motivation is good, why are there conflicting results?” he said. However, the field’s literature has tended to make assumptions broadly, postulating that a person will do well across the board. However, because there are host of factors that go into a person’s performance, one trait doesn’t make someone motivated for work in the Department of Education versus the Department of Justice, he said.

Bright is now working on a book to explore the question of how employees fit into their organizations. It is also important to find out who are the “right” employees for the public sector, he said. These include satisfaction with the job and environment, and commitment to the organization’s mission, motives and goals.

“In my opinion, skills are the most moldable facet of a person, and we should focus on these other aspects of people that are more enduring and stable” Bright said. “This broader understanding of employees’ motivation and fit will be very crucial as our nation enters a recruiting crisis.” Bright is roughly halfway through his book, which he expects to complete in about a year. - story by Patrick Lewis