Avoiding repetitive reform injury in the public sector. Can leadership behaviour reduce the damaging effect of repetitive reforms?

In response to today's hectic and complex society, waves of reforms have been implemented in OECD countries to modernize the public sector. This reform appetite has caused many public organizations to be involved in near-endless cycles of reforms. Recent findings indicate that the ambiguity and uncertainty that intense reforms bring about may drastically increase employee work stress. Structural reforms therefore may paradoxically undermine the very performance and adaptability of public sector organizations they seek to improve, a process that has been labelled repetitive reform injury. The question then becomes: how can government reap the benefits of reforms (flexibility, adaptability,…) without negatively affecting employee work stress? Given the continued interest in, and necessity of, reforming public organizations, it is crucial to deepen our understanding on how to avoid repetitive reform injury. This project addresses this question by theorizing and testing the influence of the full-range of leadership behaviors (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership) on employee work stress in settings of varying reform intensity. The project contributes not only theoretically, but also answers to recent calls for the application of more innovative and rigorous methods.

Keywords:REFORM

Disciplines:Public administration organisations, Public management