Toward an Improved Understanding of Work Motivation Profiles

The present research proposes an improved understanding of work motivation by identifying employees’ motivational profiles while taking into account the dual global and specific nature of work motivation proposed by self-determination theory (SDT). To document the construct validity of these latent profiles, we relied on the circumplex model of employees’ well-being to investigate whether they differed in terms of burnout, work satisfaction, and work addiction. Results from analyses conducted among a sample of 955 employees revealed five distinct profiles characterized by differing levels of global and specific forms of motivation: Intrinsically Motivated, Poorly Motivated, Driven, Conflicted, and Self-Determined. Lower levels of burnout and work satisfaction were associated with profiles characterized by higher global levels of self-determination and more autonomous forms of motivation, matching theoretical expectations. Interestingly, work addiction was highest in the Driven profile and lowest in the Self-Determined profile, suggesting that autonomous forms of motivation are not always able to buffer the adverse effects of controlled forms of motivation. Our results also suggest that the specific qualities of work motivations are just as important as the global levels of self-determination in the identification of work motivation profiles.