CPA Presidents New Researcher Award 2012 / Prix du Nouveau Chercheur, dcern par le Prsident 2012

The Role of Work Motivation in Psychological Health

CLAUDE FERNETUniversit du Qubec a` Trois-Rivires

AbstractIt is incumbent on organisations to findways to support their employees and helpthem achieve their full potential; they mustprovide employees with conditions that promote psychologicalhealth. Based on a series of studies conducted by Dr. ClaudeFernet, recipient of the 2012 CPA Presidents New ResearcherAward, this article sheds light on the role of work motivation inemployees psychological health in an attempt to provide a bet-ter understanding of the forces at play. More specifically, thesestudies describe how the multiple dimensions and functions ofwork motivation can explain employees adaptation to the workenvironment and their psychological health. Directions for futureresearch are then proposed.

Keywords: work environment, job demands, job resources, employeemotivation, psychological health, self-determination theory

The Role of Work Motivation in Psychological HealthThe psychological health and functioning of employees is a

serious concern for organisations. To compete in todays world,more than ever before, organisations must not only hire the bestavailable staff but also find ways to enable them to be productiveand effective employees. The most productive and effective em-ployees are highly motivated and presumably in good health. Suchemployees work energetically, produce high-quality outcomes,and perform optimally. Unfortunately, health problems in theworkplace are on the rise (Vzina, Bourbonnais, Marchand, &Arcand, 2008), resulting in higher costs, not only for organisations(e.g., productivity losses, high turnover, and absenteeism rates),but also for individuals (e.g., psychological stress, lower quality oflife). How can organisations cope with these problems and createthe supportive conditions that will foster employees motivation?How can they promote, rather than impede, employees psycho-

logical health? This article presents an overview of a number ofstudies conducted in close collaboration with my colleagues andstudents in an attempt to gain insight into these important issues.

Theoretical BackgroundMy research builds mainly on the literature on motivation,

drawing primarily on self-determination theory (SDT; Deci &Ryan, 2000). This theory makes an important distinction concern-ing the nature of motivation: people may invest themselves in anactivity not only to varied degrees (a quantifiable aspect), they alsodo so for various reasons (a qualitative aspect). Specifically, twobroad forms of motivationautonomous and controlledmaydifferentially impact employee functioning and well-being (seeGagn & Deci, 2005, for a review). Autonomous motivation refersto acting with volition, as when employees engage in their job forthe inherent pleasure and satisfaction they experience (intrinsicmotivation) and/or because they personally endorse the importanceor value of their work (identified regulation). Controlled motiva-tion refers to behaviours that are enacted under internal or externalpressure, as when employees perform their job to gain a sense ofself-worth or to avoid feelings of anxiety and guilt (introjectedregulation) and/or because they are pressured by demands, threats,or rewards by an external agent (external regulation). Many studieshave supported the presence of these forms of motivation and theirdifferential impact on psychological functioning in diverse lifespheres, including the workplace (Gagn & Deci, 2005). Forinstance, autonomous motivation has been positively associatedwith psychological well-being (Blais, Brire, Lachance, Riddle, &Vallerand, 1993), job satisfaction (Millette & Gagn, 2008), andoccupational commitment (Fernet, 2011). In contrast, controlledmotivation has been positively associated with negative conse-quences for workers, such as burnout (Fernet, Sencal, Guay,Marsh, & Dowson, 2008) and turnover intention (Richer,Blanchard, & Vallerand, 2002).

The Multiple Dimensions and Functions of WorkMotivation

My research to date has mostly focused on the multidimensionalnature of motivation, how different types of motivation influencethe way in which individuals adapt to the workplace and how theyaffect employees psychological health. First, in order to addressthe multiple dimensions of work motivation, we developed twoscales designed to better understand motivation in school staff.One scale addresses teaching tasks (Fernet et al., 2008), and theother addresses work roles in school principals (Fernet, 2011). In

This work was supported by the Chaire de recherche UQTR sur lamotivation et la sant au travail and the Fonds de Recherche du QubecSant.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to ClaudeFernet, Dpartement des sciences de la gestion, Universit du Qubec a`Trois-Rivires, 3351 boul. des Forges, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivires, Qubec,Canada, G9A 5H7. E-mail: claude.fernet@uqtr.ca

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne 2013 Canadian Psychological Association2013, Vol. 54, No. 1, 7274 0708-5591/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0031058

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theoretical terms, the results of these studies underscore the im-portance of accounting for construct specificity in the analysis ofwork motivation. That is, individuals engage in their work forvarious reasons, and these reasons may differ across different workactivities (tasks or roles). For example, a teacher might find lessonplanning and teaching stimulating, but performing administrativeand other tasks less so. The results also show that certain activitiesare more strongly associated with specific indicators of psycho-logical functioning at work. To illustrate, burnout in school prin-cipals is more closely associated with motivation toward the in-structional leadership role than with motivation toward theadministrative or informational role. This nuanced conceptualisa-tion of motivation allows a deeper understanding of employeesmotivation and how its specific dimensions relate to psychologicalfunctioning. In practical terms, these instruments allow us tomore precisely identify which work activities are more likely tocontribute to motivational gains (or deficits). This would in turnallow better designed interventions, for both individuals andorganisations.

Second, our studies have contributed to the understanding of thevarious functions (e.g., moderating and mediating role) by whichmotivation affects employees adaptation to the work environmentand their psychological health. According to SDT (Deci & Ryan,2000), work motivation is largely influenced by the social contextin which people work. Our studies show that, notwithstanding thissignificant effect, some employees are more vulnerable than othersto social contingencies (Fernet, Gagn, & Austin, 2010). In a24-month prospective study examining the moderating effect ofwork motivation, we found that low-quality relationships withcoworkers contribute significantly to burnout, but only for em-ployees with low autonomous motivation. These findings suggestthat employees who are driven by internalized work values (au-tonomously motivated) have better defences against burnout, be-cause they would be less dependent on certain social contingen-cies. Work motivation has also been shown to play a moderatingrole in situations where the work organisation imposes constraintson employees. One of our studies, conducted in two samples ofemployees (Trpanier, Fernet, & Austin, 2012), indicates thatautonomous motivation (relative to controlled motivation) reducesthe negative effect of specific job demands (role overload, ambi-guity, and conflict) on psychological distress. Another study(Fernet, Guay, & Sencal, 2004) explores how autonomous moti-vation helps employees adapt to their job and maintain psycho-logical health. Drawing on Karaseks (1979) model, we examinedwhether motivation moderates the relationship between job de-mands and control in predicting burnout. The results show thatdecision-making autonomy acts to minimise the negative effect ofjob demands on burnout, but only for employees who are highlyautonomously motivated. This suggests that employees who aremotivated primarily by satisfaction, pleasure, and the inherentinterest of the tasks can benefit more from certain job resources inorder to cope with high job demands. In summary, these studiesconverge on the idea that motivation, depending on its nature, canbe either a protective or vulnerability factor in explaining theeffects of environmental work factors on employees psychologi-cal health.

In addition to the moderating role of motivation, our studieshave shed new light on the mediating role of motivation as apsychological mechanism that could explain how environmental

work factors influence psychological health. The models devel-oped to address these mechanisms, such as the job demandsre-sources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli,2001), generally propose that motivational factors can explain onlythe relationships with job resources (e.g., decision-making auton-omy, social support) and positive manifestations of psychologicalhealth (e.g., vitality and engagement). However, the results of ourstudies reveal that employees motivation is affected not only byresources, but also by job demands. Furthermore, motivation si-multaneously predicts positive and negative psychological conse-quences. For example, a study conducted in teachers (Fernet,Guay, Sencal, & Austin, 2012) shows that higher perceptions ofclassroom overload and students disruptive behaviours (i.e., jobdemands) over a school year reduces autonomous motivation,which in turn predicts higher burnout. Moreover, in a 9-monthlongitudinal study of school principals (Fernet, Austin, &Vallerand, 2012), we explored the temporal nature of the relation-ships between work motivation, job resources (job control, recog-nition, quality of relationships with staff), and positive and nega-tive indicators of professional functioning (burnout andoccupational commitment). The results show that job resources atthe beginning of the school year positively predict autonomousmotivation and negatively predict controlled motivation at the endof the year. In addition, motivation at the beginning of the yearprimarily autonomous motivationpredicts both burnout andcommitment at the end of the year. Taken together, these findingssupport the influential role of motivation in psychological func-tioning at work. They also suggest that motivation can be influ-enced by both negative and positive aspects of the work environ-ment.

Future DirectionsAlthough these studies enable us to better understand when,

how, and why motivation can predict employees psychologicalhealth, further studies are needed to better delineate the multipleroles of motivation in a temporal perspective. Whereas the re-search in this area and the above-presented studies largely supporta sequential effect of environmental work factors on motivationalprocesses, which are then translated into positive or negativemanifestations of psychological health, this posited sequence couldin fact be more complex. As such, longitudinal studies that includemultiple time measures could be undertaken to not only betteridentify the different functions (mediating or moderating) of vari-ables but also the time required for the effects to be observed(short- or long-term) and the sequences of effects (normal, re-versed, or reciprocal). Furthermore, studies could attempt to moredeeply investigate how various aspects of the work environmentact on employees motivation. Although the research on SDT (e.g.,Gagn & Deci, 2005) proposes that management styles exert apowerful influence on employees motivation, the precise mecha-nisms by which managers achieve this remain unclear. In additionto acting directly on their employees motivation, it is plausiblethat a managerwho may have the authority to define and shapethe conditions in which employee works (Smircich & Morgan,1982)can influence employees perceptions of the work envi-ronment. For example, a manager can cultivate autonomous mo-tivation in employees by minimising obstacles (e.g., clear man-dates, meaningful rationales) and by providing access to

73WORK MOTIVATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH

additionaland more diversejob resources. Research alongthese lines would be useful for organisations wishing to create theconditions at work that can foster motivation and promote, notimpede, psychological health.

RsumIl revient aux organisations de trouver des moyens de soutenirleurs employs et de les aider a` raliser leur plein potentiel;elles doivent leur fournir les conditions qui favoriseront leursant psychologique. Fond sur une srie dtudes ralises parClaude Fernet (Ph. D.), laurat en 2012 du Prix du nouveauchercheur de la SCP, cet article explique le rle de motivationau travail dans la sant psychologique des employs en vuedamliorer la comprhension des facteurs en jeu. Plusprcisment, ces tudes dcrivent en quoi les multiplesdimensions et fonctions de la motivation au travail peuventexpliquer ladaptation des employs a` leur environnement detravail ainsi que leur sant psychologique. Des pistes pour lesrecherches a` venir sont aussi proposes.

Mots-cls : environnement de travail, exigences dun emploi,ressources pour un emploi, motivation des employs, sant psy-chologique, thorie de lautodtermination.

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Received September 11, 2012Revision received October 26, 2012

Accepted November 2, 2012

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The Role of Work Motivation in Psychological HealthThe Role of Work Motivation in Psychological HealthTheoretical BackgroundThe Multiple Dimensions and Functions of Work MotivationFuture Directions

References