Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Karel Kurst-Swanger

Abstract

AbstractThe downturn in the economy from 2009 to 2011 caused public service leaders to adopt austerity measures, such as increased costs of nonwage benefits, mandatory furlough days, and merit increase freezes. There is little research on the impact of austerity measures on the lives of public service employees. The purpose of this study was to bridge this knowledge gap through an exploration of the long-term effects of austerity measures on the lives of the state agency employees. The theoretical framework for this study was Perry and Wise’s public service motivation theory. The study presented the impact of austerity measures on all aspects of public servants’ lives. A qualitative, phenomenological design with purposeful semistructured interviews of 15 members of the Georgia State Retirees Association was the approach employed for the study. The data from the interviews underwent thematic coding and categorization for analysis and comparison of the emergent themes of the effects of austerity measures on all aspects of the participants’ lives. The theme that emerged as the most dominant based on the data was employee dissatisfaction. All the participants expressed a form of dissatisfaction with the austerity measures that were implemented during the Great Recession. The implications for social change include educating managers and leaders of government agencies about the long-term impact of austerity measures on public employees’ lives, which could provide helpful information for policy decision making in future economic downturns.

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