Work

The double-edged sword effect of performance pressure on public employees: The mediation role of mission valence

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Performance pressure is a unique stressor in the public sector. Prior studies revealed that it could be a challenge that stimulates functional behavior (i.e., vigor and dedication) or a threat that leads to dysfunctional consequences (i.e., exhaustion and depersonalization). But these articles failed to provide an integrated theoretical model to explain both phenomena simultaneously. We introduced the double-edged sword effect (also called the "too-much-of-good-thing" effect) of performance pressure to fill this theoretical gap. Furthermore, the mediation role of mission valence was examined to explore the buffet mechanism toward this nonlinear relationship. We collected 1,464 valid questionnaire data from snowball sampling to test the research model. Our results revealed that: (1) performance pressure had an inverted U-shaped relationship with dedication and mission valence; (2) performance pressure hurt vigor rather than the curvilinear relationship; (3) mission valence can mediate the inverted U-shaped relationship between performance pressure and dedication. These empirical findings give theoretical contributions and practical insights to public personnel management.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992071

Authors: Zhonghua Sheng, Bonai Fan

Institutions: Zhejiang University, Ningbo University

Language: English

Topic: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,950