Linking Management Reform with Employee Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Federal Agencies

Abstract

Recent public management literature has emphasized the influence of public sector characteristics on employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. This article assesses how recent management reforms, such as contracting out, civil service overhaul (also known as Title 5 exemptions or removal of civil service protections), and managing for results are associated with employee job satisfaction in the federal government. Using the Federal Human Capital Survey 2006 dataset, this article finds that contracting out and Title 5 exemption are negatively related to job satisfaction. Managing for results, operationalized as perceived performance orientation and innovative culture, is positively related to job satisfaction, but the relationship is moderated by employees’ trust in leadership and their perceptions of the effectiveness and fairness of performance appraisal.