Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Work Engagement: Can Public Managers’ Servant-Leader Orientation Make a Difference?

Abstract

The present study examines the antecedents of street-level bureaucrats’ work engagement. In particular, this study investigates whether a work-unit manager’s servant-leader orientation may, directly or indirectly, contribute to increasing subordinates’ work engagement by shaping employees’ resources (i.e., job autonomy, goal specificity, public service motivation [PSM], and organizational trust). Data collected from 416 street-level bureaucrats in Korean local government agencies and the analyzed results show that work-unit managers’ servant-leader orientation indirectly influence employees’ work engagement by developing employees’ positive perceptions and attitudes.