Burnout & Digital Transformation: A Vignette Experiment in Public Procurement

• In Event: AI in Public Procurement, Budgeting, and Government Operations

Abstract

Performance management scholarship dedicates considerable effort to understanding human resource management (HRM) interventions aimed at ensuring quality workforces for better public service delivery. Yet, little causal evidence exists on strategies effective at reducing burnout among public sector employees to negate the crisis of attrition present among government agencies. Applicable evidence suggests increasing perceived social support and affirming belonging reduces turnover (Linos et al., 2022) and instrumental leadership alleviates work-life conflicts and burnout (Allgood et al., 2022), though little evidence to date questions the role of digital transformation, tools, and technologies for decreasing burnout. Leveraging the Job-Demands Resources theory (Bakker et al., 2023), this research investigates how street-level managers value artificial intelligence (AI) in their work, drawing inference on its effect at reducing emotional exhaustion and enhancing personal achievement.

Through a vignette experiment targeted for public procurement professionals, who are central to government operations though critically understudied in public administration research, this study hypothesizes digital tools that augment discretion aid in feelings of self-efficacy, thereby reducing burnout. However, digital tools that automate core tasks, which may contribute to diminished emotional exhaustion, do not bolster personal achievement and ultimately fall short of reducing negative effects of burnout. This corroborates burnout as a multifaceted syndrome, indicating perceptions of self-efficacy matter for street-level managers facing complex responsibilities that challenge their mental or emotional capabilities.

Moreover, while it is expected employees who feel undervalued as a result of digital transformation cope by leaving the workplace, subject-matter experts who perceive AI as a positive tool amplifying decision-making will feel more confident pursuing innovative approaches to public sector problems. This duality suggests organizations considering digital transformation for improved performance must strategically tailor AI adoption to employee needs.

Allgood, M., Jensen, U. T., & Stritch, J. M. (2024). Work-family conflict and burnout amid COVID-19: Exploring the mitigating effects of instrumental leadership and social belonging. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 44(1), 139-160.

Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. (2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual review of organizational psychology and organizational behavior, 10(1), 25-53.

Linos, E., Ruffini, K., & Wilcoxen, S. (2022). Reducing burnout and resignations among frontline workers: A field experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 32(3), 473-488.

Author

• Emily Boykin, Augusta University
  Presenting Author