Yesterday, 15 January, the findings from our study on management and motivation in the public sector featured on the Dutch national news radio BNR.
We found in our study that employees might enhance their extrinsic motivation and performance when results are discussed with them. My co-author Paula van Veen-Dirks summarized and contextualized the implications of our findings for public sector organizations in the Netherlands. It was highlighted that – although bonuses are not a common practice in the public sector – it could still be helpful to discuss results as this could motivate employees. Furthermore, in our study we show that giving development possibilities to employees and connecting someones work to the overall goals of the organization is related to higher intrinsic motivation of employees, which in turn also enhances performance.