Turning Into Disengaged Public Servants: Examining the Effects of Discrimination on Work Engagement

Discrimination disempowers public servants, curtailing their vigor, dedication, and absorption at work. It breaches the psychological contract between public servants and public sector entities, provoking work disengagement. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is limited agreement about how work discrimination disengages public servants. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the effects of discrimination on disengagement through work meaningfulness and job satisfaction. Discrimination did not directly alter work engagement. It disengaged public servants by disrupting meaningfulness and satisfaction. Alongside preventing discrimination, public managers should enhance the work climate, restoring meaningfulness and satisfaction to keep public servants engaged.