Can sharing positive feedback for public workers improve residents’ views of the public sector and public servants’ wellbeing?
Project Summary
In providing critical public services, the government fills a gap that no other sector can. Current rhetoric may exacerbate stereotypes and falsehoods about government workers, potentially stoking disillusionment with government among the public and undermining public servant morale. Identifying effective strategies to counteract these narratives is critical to building the public support and attracting the public sector workforce required to support an effective government. The People Lab is conducting a series of online studies and field experiments to better understand whether and how soliciting and sharing positive resident feedback with public servants impacts both public servants’ wellbeing and residents’ sentiments about the public sector workforce and the programs they carry out.
Why is this issue important?
Government agencies across the country are struggling to recruit and retain talented employees. At the same time, current policies are transforming the government in ways never before seen. Growing cynicism and negative narratives about the government and the government workforce may exacerbate existing challenges to public servant morale and recruitment while also threatening public support for essential public sector workers and programs. There is thus an urgent need for more research on effective strategies to both shift public sentiment about the public sector workforce and to improve public servant wellbeing.
What are we doing?
Prior evidence suggests that highlighting how someone’s work helps others can improve how well they do their job. Building on this work, we are designing and launching a series of online survey experiments and field studies to better understand the impact of soliciting and sharing positive resident feedback with public servants on (a) public servants themselves; and (b) residents. First, we will explore how receiving positive feedback affects employee wellbeing, engagement, and burnout. Second, we will examine whether the act of giving feedback influences policy-relevant outcomes among residents, such as interest in public sector employment, beliefs about the role of government, or willingness to engage with government. Studies will also test different approaches for shifting views of public servants and motivating residents to share their appreciation with public sector workers.
What have we learned?
This project is ongoing. We expect initial findings to be available in 2026.