Servant leadership and work performance of public servants: Exploring the mediating role of public service motivation and job satisfaction

We investigated servant leadership influences on work performance in public sector employees, and the mediating influence of public service motivation and job satisfaction in that relationship. The sample comprised 206 Chinese public service employees (female = 46%; mean age = 3.16 years, SD = 35.28 years). Following hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrap analysis, the results showed that perceived servant leadership predicted higher employee performance. Employee’s public service motivation was associated with higher work performance through job satisfaction. Additionally, job satisfaction was associated with higher work performance. Taken together, public service motivation and job satisfaction had a chain mediating role between servant leadership and work performance. Our results suggest the importance of servant leadership for public service motivation and job satisfaction among public servants’ work performance.