Work experiences under New Public Management in Chile: Analysis of the attributed meanings to the Programs for Management Improvement (PMG) by public sector professionals

Abstract

The article seeks to contribute to the analysis of the processes of state modernization and public management reform implemented in Chile under the managerial paradigm of New Public Management (NPM). It presents the results of a qualitative psychosocial research aimed at describing and understanding the meanings that professional workers in the public sector assign to the PMG, one of the main management instruments within the work of public services in Chile. Twelve semi-structured interviews were carried out in a public service in Chile in order to understand the meanings and work experiences related to the PMGs. The results reveal eight main meanings of the PMGs, which shed light on the tense, ambivalent and problematic nature of the work experiences of public sector professionals in the framework of the new management systems. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to current debates on the limits and precarious implications of managerial reforms implemented under the NPM paradigm.