Civic duty and employee outcomes: Do high commitment human resource practices and work overload matter?

Abstract

This article tests the impact of two organization-relevant factors, high commitment human resource practices (HCHRP) and work overload on a component of public service motivation, civic duty and employee outcomes (job satisfaction, affective commitment, and quit intentions). Local government employees in Wales (n=1,755) were used to test our research hypotheses. Results show that both HCHRP and work overload had direct and indirect affects (via civic duty) on employee outcomes. The positive effects of HCHRP on employee outcomes more than compensated for the negative impact of work overload. However, given the modest relations between the organization-relevant factors and civic mindedness, firm efforts should perhaps focus primarily on recruitment and retention campaigns rather than training and socialization strategies.