Emery, Yves et al. creator text xu| 2008 continuing ng p.307-23. The notion of performance is central in all the modernization processes that have been conducted during the last 20 years, notably under the New Public Management (NPM) movement. Since the models and notions of performance analysed in research nearly always reflect the vision of top management, this article proposes to consider the vision of personnel at the street level, specifically Swiss civil servants. A highly capable public sector organization, focused on efficiency, quality services provided for the citizens and outcomes needs motivated employees to achieve these ambitious objectives. But how is `performance' perceived by civil servants without any management responsibilities? Using the typology of Boltanski and Thevenot, the article highlights several reference worlds to which civil servants refer when speaking of performance, revealing the dominant influence of the industrial world over that of the civic world, with the domestic and commercial worlds placed third and fourth in importance, respectively. It details the evolution of performance as seen by civil servants, allowing us to better understand their reactions when faced with the transformations under way as well as the identity crisis caused by the contradictory worlds they currently face. - Reproduced. Public administration Civil service International Review of Administrative Sciences 180718