Enhancing emotional engagement through relational contracts, management receptiveness, and employee commitment as a stimulus for job satisfaction and job performance in the public sector

Research background: In the private sector and on social media, corporate emotional interaction has lately become a hot topic. In the background of the public sector, however, it has scarcely been discussed and very little is known about its determinants and implications. Purpose of the article: This research investigates the role of organizational emotional engagement through relational contracts, senior management receptivity, and upward communication of employees in the public sector in stimulating work satisfaction and job efficiency. Methods: This research was based on data collected between April 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, from 335 state employees from various governmental organizations in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. To evaluate the hypothesized model, partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used. Findings & value added: Our results illustrate that relational contracts have a powerful effect on emotional engagement. Positive relationships were confirmed between employee engagement and the voice of employees and between employee engagement and job performance. Moreover, the findings also support the role of senior management receptiveness in stimulating organizational emotional engagement. This study addresses questions about absence of academic studies on organizational emotional engagement in the public sector. The results highlight the important role of emotional engagement in stimulating job satisfaction and job performance through relational contracts, senior management receptiveness, and upward employee communication.