Although prior research suggests that civil servants’ participation in volunteering enhances governmental effectiveness and, ultimately, national prosperity and social well-being, the organizational mechanisms that cultivate such behavior remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on signaling theory, this study positions socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM) as a critical organizational signal that can simultaneously heighten civil servants’ public service motivation (PSM) and their engagement in volunteering.
Hypotheses were tested with a three-wave, time-lagged survey of 412 Chinese civil servants.
The results confirm that SR-HRM positively predicts PSM, which mediates the relationship between SR-HRM and volunteering. Moreover, the mediated effect is significantly stronger when employees make altruistic attributions regarding SR-HRM practices.
These findings highlight SR-HRM as a viable lever for promoting volunteering among civil servants and underscore its relevance for contemporary public personnel management.
