Leader-Member Exchange and learning climate in increasing employee motivation: a post-pandemic perspective

Purpose: The paper tries to answer the following question: what are the relationships between the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX), learning climate, and employee motivation in public administration? Its purpose is to identify the relationships between LMX, learning climate, and employee motivation in public administration organizations. Methodology: The paper presents the results of a survey carried out in the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis (Metropolis GZM), i.e. the metropolitan association located in the area of Upper Silesia. The sample consisted of 153 employees in all of 41 municipal offices of the Metropolis GZM. A model of relationships between LMX, learning climate, and employee motivation was proposed and tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings: It was found that the quality of LMX positively affected learning climate, which in turn influenced employee motivation. Analysis proved that learning climate mediated the relationship between LMX and motivation of public administration employees. Research limitations/implications: The study focused only on the municipal offices in the Metropolis GZM and its results cannot be generalized. However, it implies that public administration organizations can create the learning climate by improving relationships between supervisors and subordinates to increase employee motivation. Practical implications: The results obtained indicate that in the contemporary public administration, a traditional approach to motivate employees should evolve and move towards an approach based on positive social relations, mutual trust, and leaders’ developmental support. Originality/value: This research has provided empirical evidence regarding the relationships between the quality of LMX, learning climate and employee motivation which was hitherto absent from public administration.