The Impact of Workload on Service Time: Coping Mechanisms in Standardized Government Services

Scholarship in Public Administration has extensively examined how frontline workers cope with workload. However, most studies focus on public services where employees have significant discretion, leaving standardized services – where service time is a critical measure of customer satisfaction – relatively unexplored. This article investigates the relationship between workload and service time across various standardized government services, emphasizing the influence of job design variables. Drawing on data from 41 government service centers in Hungary, encompassing 3,406,152 worker-customer interactions across 36 services delivered by 947 frontline workers, the analysis reveals that increased workload prompts workers to accelerate service times, highlighting a predominant coping strategy regardless of service knowledge requirements. The relation between workload and service time is shaped by factors such as task specialization, task variety, operational volume, and on-the-job breaks. These findings offer valuable insights for managing government services under high workload conditions.