Political Conflict and Burnout in the Public Workplace

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By William Hatcher and Wesley L. Meares
December 15, 2025

U.S. public workplaces are becoming “burnout shops.” To help address this public-sector problem, we have been working on a book dedicated to the causes of burnout in the public workplace and the administrative solutions to achieve work-life balance.

Typically, articles about public sector burnout place its causes on high job demands, staff shortages and little clarity about expectations. But one of the most interesting findings that has emerged from our research is something rarely discussed: the correlation between burnout and political conflict.

We reached this conclusion through surveys with chief administrative officials for U.S. municipalities, mostly city managers and administrators, who reported that political conflict often leaves them feeling unsupported and facing unreasonable work demands, a perfect recipe for disengagement, job strain, professional exhaustion, job dissatisfaction and all the other attributes of burnout.

The numbers were striking. When we asked city managers and administrators what causes burnout for them and in their workplaces, 41% discussed political conflict, particularly undue pressure from elected officials and the public. They discussed this as a cause of burnout more than pressure from not having enough resources, which only 19% specifically addressed as a cause of burnout.

Burnout occurs when there is a mismatch between employees’ expectations and experiences and those of organizations and their leaders. Burnout increases when employees work under unreasonable demands, have little control over their work and schedules and receive minimal support from their bosses and organizations. Burnout has been thoroughly studied in the private workplace and in many areas of the public workplace, such as social work, public safety and education. However, there have been few comprehensive studies of burnout among management-level employees in the public workplace.

Political conflict encompasses a range of pressures that cause workplace stress, from typical political infighting, rivalry and intergovernmental disagreements to more worrisome threats of violence against public employees. For instance, research has shown that during COVID, public health professionals were often the targets of violent rhetoric.

The responses that our survey gathered from public servants reveal a significant breakdown in professional, social and civic relationships among city managers and administrators, their political leaders and the communities they serve. This observation supports recent findings by Hyunkang Hur and Gordon Abner in Public Administration Review on the underlying causes of turnover within the public sector workforce.

Notably, feedback from city managers and administrators in our study highlights how political conflict is undermining public service and driving increased rates of employee turnover. Public employees report feeling that their efforts are constantly scrutinized, their professional expertise is undervalued and they lack sufficient time for personal and family commitments. Additionally, they are confronted by widespread misinformation circulating among both the public and elected officials. In severe cases, public servants have become targets of threats on social media and other platforms, leading to workplace stressors and even incidents of violence.

At the macro level, we need an ambitious movement to refocus discussion of government on its positive features and on how public servants contribute to our nation. We need a movement like the Progressives of the late 1800s and early 1900s, who were interested in making government work better and presenting public service as a positive calling. In public administration theory and practice, the emerging scholarly effort to advance “Positive Public Administration” may help refocus attention on how government works instead of its problems.

For fifty years, public administration theory and practice have focused primarily on how government does not work.

In the U.S., whether it is Reagan saying “government is the problem” or Clinton claiming “the era of big government is over,” presidents from both parties have labeled government a problem. Such rhetoric has promoted an often-false view that public servants are not good at their jobs. This view leads many elected officials and members of the public to point to public servants as the problem.

This is wrong, and we need to celebrate public servants and support the work that they do to make our communities, states and nations better. Telling the stories of successes in government will help the public and its elected officials view public servants more appreciatively and, hopefully, decrease conflict in the public workplace.

At the micro level, we need just as ambitious a movement. We need people to practice more kindness and social trust toward one another. We need more reciprocity among political actors and the public. We need the public to understand the limitations of the public sector and to seek out reliable information on what the government can do and has done to help solve their problems. In the public workplace, we need managers and organizations to practice compassion toward their employees, managers who point out inappropriate conflict and its damaging effects on their workplaces and leaders who empower workers so that they do not feel unreasonable burdens, feel as though they have control over their work and feel supported in their roles.

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Author: Dr. William Hatcher is professor of public administration and chair of social sciences at Augusta University.

Author: Dr. Wesley L. Meares is professor of public administration and MPA director at Augusta University. They are working on a book project on burnout and work-life balance in the public sector.

This column was written under the auspices of Barrett and Greene, Inc.

 

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