Spirit of Service

Motivation for joining and staying in the Public Service

In Te Taunaki | Public Service Census, we found public servants were strongly motivated by a spirit of service. Eighty-four percent of participants were motivated to stay working in the Public Service because their work contributes positively to society, helps people in the community (77%), and a belief in the purpose and principles of the Public Service (63%). Most people (89%) understood how their work leads to improved outcomes for communities.

Contribution to society (57%) was the most common reason that people joined the public service, with other top reasons being interesting work (55%), alignment with skills (51%), and job security (45%).

Unified Public Service

Te Taunaki | Public Service Census included a range of questions relating to the introduction of the Public Service Act 2020. These show that most public servants:

• find it easy to work with other colleagues in other agencies to achieve good outcomes (72%)
• have a strong personal attachment to the agency they work for (63%)
• felt a strong personal attachment to the New Zealand Public Service as a whole (58%)
• can understand how their work leads to improved outcomes for communities (89%)
• have a high degree of trust in their colleagues to do what’s right (78%).