Leading with Inclusion in High-Risk Public Services: Unravelling the Psychological Pathways to Public Service Motivation among Emergency Workers in Pakistan

Abstract

Public emergency services operate in environments characterized by uncertainty, high operational demands, time pressure, and significant responsibility for public safety. In such settings, the quality of leadership can substantially influence employees’ willingness to remain committed to public-oriented goals. This study examines the role of inclusive leadership in strengthening public service motivation among emergency workers in Pakistan, with particular emphasis on psychological safety and psychological empowerment as underlying mechanisms. The study addresses an important gap in the existing literature by examining these relationships within a high-pressure, hierarchical, and resource-constrained public emergency service context in a developing country. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected through selfadministered questionnaires from public emergency personnel in Lahore and Faisalabad. From 350 distributed questionnaires, a 90% response rate was achieved. The proposed relationships were examined using Structural Equation Modeling through Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM), supported by SPSS and SmartPLS. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and convergent validity across the study constructs. The structural results revealed that inclusive leadership has a significant positive relationship with psychological empowerment, psychological safety, and public service motivation. Specifically, inclusive leadership demonstrated a positive effect on psychological empowerment (β = 0.408, p < 0.001), psychological safety (β = 0.367, p < 0.001), and public service motivation (β = 0.455, p < 0.001). Psychological empowerment and psychological safety also positively influenced public service motivation, with psychological empowerment showing a comparatively stronger relationship (β = 0.386, p < 0.001) than psychological safety (β = 0.286, p < 0.001). Furthermore, both psychological safety (β = 0.132, p < 0.001) and psychological empowerment (β = 0.158, p < 0.001) significantly mediated the relationship between inclusive leadership and public service motivation. The model explained 54.4% of the variance in public service motivation, while accounting for 46.7% of psychological empowerment and 35.5% of psychological safety. These findings suggest that public service motivation is not solely an individual disposition but can be strengthened through organizational leadership practices that cultivate inclusion, autonomy, competence, participation, and interpersonal trust. The study contributes to leadership and public administration scholarship by demonstrating how inclusive leadership can activate psychological mechanisms that encourage stronger commitment to serving the public. Practically, the findings highlight the need for leadership-development initiatives within emergency services to promote participatory decision-making, open communication, employee empowerment, and psychologically safe working environments. Such measures may contribute to more resilient, motivated, and service-oriented emergency workforces in Pakistan.