A major focus in both science and practices today is well-being in the workplace. The aim of the project is to use motivational concepts to better understand occupational health in the 21st century.
We want to combine research into important factors in the work environment with the knowledge we have about motivational processes. The purpose is to gain greater insight into what is required if we want healthy and productive employees and organizations.
Work motivation is an important factor to consider when it comes to occupational health. The reason is that motivation represents the energy that activates employees’ behavior in the workplace. Motivation originates in the interaction between the individual and the work environment. We want to increase knowledge about not only "why", but also "how" the workplace has implications for employee health and well-being.
Self-determination theory
We will use self-determination as a theoretical framework. This is one of the world's most recognized theories of motivation. It relates to the interaction between the external forces acting on us, and the motives and needs inherent in human nature.
Self-determination theory emphasizes stimulating and mobilizing the individuals inner force in work and problem solving.
The theory distinguishes between different types of motivation. It is thus more concerned with the type/quality of employee motivation, than the amount of motivation. We assume that these different types have implications for work-related health. Thus, one of our tasks will be to investigate, among other things, what factors contribute to the "good" type of motivation, in order to promote occupational health.
Leading experts in self-determination theory are researchers in the project, including the theory's founder, Professor Edward L. Deci.
The project has three thematic focus areas, all of which relate to the overall theme.
WP1 and WP4: Workplace interventions for motivation and health
This work package looks at how motivational processes and, in turn, occupational health can be impacted by the implementation of workplace interventions. As we get to understand the mechanisms underlying motivation and health, we have an opportunity to use those mechanisms to bring positive change for employees and their organizations.
This work package combines, within one comprehensive intervention, two approaches to secure employee motivation and health. One approach focuses on the employee, their behaviors and mindsets. The other focuses on the context surrounding the employee, the leadership, and the policies within the workplace.
We see both approaches as complementary: employees as necessary partners to improve their own motivation and health, and their work context as an essential factor in supporting such an improvement. Hence, we combine both approaches in order to maximize their effect.
For employees to improve their motivation and health, they need tools rather than instructions. We think that interventions should thus focus on giving employees the tools to change their own behaviors in their own way. To that end, self-determination theory, can enable employees to understand their own psychological needs and figure out ways to fulfill them.
Moreover, we think that providing employees with better knowledge of their own physical and psychological health will help them in finding ways to improve them, both on and off the job. By knowing what to change and how to change it, they can then modify their role to make it motivating and healthier.
This work package has three aims:
- To design, implement, and assess workplace interventions
- To encompass both the employee and their work context in the intervention scope
- To provide employees with the tools to assess and improve their motivation and health
The work package is conducted by going into organizations to deliver this comprehensive intervention. This delivery takes place within a broader process of understanding the needs of the employees and the organization, evaluating the current state of motivation and health, implementing the intervention itself, and evaluating the changes it brings.
Work package leaders: Associate Professor Christopher P. Niemiec (WP1) and Professor Geoffrey C. Williams (WP4)
WP2: Payment systems
This work package examines how various types of payments systems relate to motivational processes, performance, and occupational health.
The effect of compensation on motivation and performance is a heavily debated topic both in practice and among academics. Some scholars support the use of compensation to promote motivation and performance. This has given rise to pay-for-performance (PFP) schemes, which are intended to reward employees who achieve specific goals for the organization.
However, lab experiments have shown that providing people with monetary payments or other rewards for doing an interesting behavior can undermine their intrinsic motivation for that behavior.
Further, field research has shown that such types of compensation set pressure towards extrinsic motivation. In addition to such contradicting, studies of compensation systems have so far neglected the effects of compensation on occupational health. Hence, several important questions remain unanswered.
The aims of this work package are:
- To resolve some of the contradictions within the field by conducting a rigorous and comprehensive study of various forms of payment in relation to motivation and performance.
- To examine the effects of various forms of payment on occupational health.
We examine payment systems through a correlational longitudinal study using multimethod sources, where the goal is to examine the interplay between payment systems, work motivation, well-being, and work performance.
Work package leader: Professor Anja H. Olafsen
WP3: Health Promotion Through Job Recovery and Motivation
Mental and physical strain build up when work is stressful or highly demanding, threatening the occupational health and performance of employees. This work package examines job recovery during free time as an important process that protects employees from the harmful effects of work stress.
In two studies, we examine the role of employees’ recovery strategies and work motivation for successful job recovery, and if a better recovery is further related to better occupational health and performance – benefiting both employees and organizations.
Over the past decade, numerous research studies have highlighted the importance of recovery processes for occupational health. However, how individuals make their recovery happen in practice, in daily life, is still not fully understood.
Theoretically based on the stressor-detachment model, Conservation of Resources Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the studies in this work package bring detailed information on how recovery can be enhanced in practice through individual strategies and work motivation.
This work package has three aims:
- To examine if recovery can be enhanced through individual strategies
- To test the effectiveness of a recovery intervention focusing on individual recovery strategies
- To examine the role that work motivation plays for the process of successful recovery
We examine job recovery in two studies. The first study focuses on job recovery in daily life across a period of two weeks, with a detailed view on how the process of job recovery unfolds in practice.
In a second study, we develop a recovery intervention to examine if individuals’ recovery strategies can be enhanced. We also test whether the intervention is effective in improving the occupational health and performance of individuals.
Work package leader: Postdoc Miika Kujanpää
Quantitatively and qualitatively
In addition to these thematic focus areas, an important aspect of the project is the methodological approach.
The project will use a unique combination of rigorous quantitative and qualitative research methods, to gain more in-depth knowledge of optimal working conditions and outcomes in organizations.
