Public Employees and Performance Appraisal: A Study of Antecedents to Employees’ Perception of the Process

There is considerable agreement that organizations can benefit from using performance appraisal. Nevertheless, some studies find that both supervisors and employees have negative reactions to the process. This article addresses this contradiction by emphasizing the importance of cognitive aspects of performance appraisal. Without understanding individual employees’ reactions to performance appraisal and its supportive organizational context, it is less likely for performance appraisal to be used for its original objective, which is performance improvement. Given the importance of employee acceptance of a performance measurement system, this article attempts to identify key factors which can heighten employee acceptance of performance appraisal using data from the 2005 Merit Principles Survey. The findings indicate that the developmental use of performance appraisal, employee participation in performance standard setting, the quality of the relationship they have with their supervisors, and employee perceived empowerment are positively associated with employee acceptance of performance appraisal.