Study: Finding Meaning in Work Helps Public Servants Combat Burnout

Burnout has been a persistent issue throughout the public sector workplace, including the HR department.

Consider a 2025 study conducted by PSHRA®, which found 75% of more than 400 HR professionals citing burnout as a key driver of their mental health concerns.

New research, however, finds that public service employees who find their work to be meaningful might be less susceptible to emotional exhaustion and burnout.

Recently published in Public Administration Review, a study co-authored by researchers from the University of Georgia, Ohio State University and Washington University gathered data from more than 650 police officers in two separate surveys administered in 2019 and 2021.

Participants ranked their agreement with statements like “I feel emotionally drained by my work,” “the work I do helps to make the community a safer place” and “I am prepared to make enormous sacrifices for the good of society,” among others, according to a University of Georgia statement.

The researchers compared data collected from frontline employees before and during the heightened stress and change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and protests for racial justice reform.

When the coronavirus pandemic arrived, frontline workers “went from a very stressful situation in their daily lives to one where every encounter on the job could be a dangerous one for them or others,” said study co-author Bradley Wright, PhD, professor in the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs.

Previous studies, the authors wrote, focused mostly on how the desire to help public servants guard against burnout. This study, they said, “suggests that public service employees also need to feel like they regularly are helping people to successfully prevent burnout.”

By and large, “people who work for the government want to do things that help other people and benefit society,” Wright added. “Our findings suggest that, if someone chooses an occupation because they want to help people, they find their work to be very meaningful. And that can help provide some psychological or emotionally buffer to the stresses they face.”

Receiving positive feedback helps workers stay engaged in their work and with the colleagues and community members they interact with regularly, the researchers said.

For example, they found in a second study that meaningful work and supervisor support may make employees less likely to quit.

Given such findings, Wright urged public sector leaders to make sure they remind their teams of the importance and impact their work has in their communities and beyond.

“Part of the boss’s job is to see that big picture and connect it to your specific performances. ‘Here are the things you did this week that I think were very valuable. I know this job is very difficult, but you made a difference this week. Here are some specific examples,’” he said.

“That will help employees feel better about their job, be more inspired about their job and be more engaged in doing their job well.”