Finding your Totem: unveiling the effects of a positive technology intervention on employees’ well-being and perceived team effectiveness with self-determination theory

"Motivation, Knowledge Sharing, and Need Satisfaction in Groups"

Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) has contributed to the advancement of knowledge on the topics of leadership and knowledge sharing. SDT proposes a multidimensional conceptualization of work motivation that comprises intrinsic motivation (i.e., doing something out of enjoyment), identified extrinsic motivation (i.e., doing something out of values), introjected extrinsic motivation (i.e., doing something to maintain self-esteem), and external extrinsic motivation (i.e., doing something to obtain a reward). A recent meta-analysis has shown that autonomous types of motivation (i.e., intrinsic and identified) account for more positive variance in work outcomes than controlled forms of motivation (i.e., introjected and external; Van den Broeck et al., 2021). SDT also proposes that the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness promote autonomous over controlled types of motivation, and are also associated with a host of positive work outcomes (see Van den Broeck et al., 2016 for a meta-analysis). SDT has informed research on leadership by showing that the effects of good and bad leadership on followers’ performance and well-being can be importantly attributable to their impact on the satisfaction of the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness of followers (Hetland et al., 2011; Kovajnic et al., 2012, 2013) and their impact on followers’ work motivation (Bono & Judge, 2003; Eyal & Roth, 2011; Fernet et al., 2015; Gagné et al., 2020; Wang & Gagné, 2013). SDT has also informed research on knowledge sharing in organizations by showing that human resource practices that promote need satisfaction and autonomous types of motivation tend to promote knowledge sharing (Gagné, 2009; Gagné et al., 2019). To refine this knowledge further, the presenters will showcase new research on leadership and a literature review on algorithmic management informed by SDT. The first presentation addresses a gap in how leadership can have positive effects on follower well-being. Roche and colleagues present research, using data from New Zealand workers, examining whether and how leader’s own need satisfaction trickles down to followers and influences their well-being. Their results show that when leaders have satisfied psychological needs (particularly of their relatedness need) their followers tend to notice that they are more supportive in their leadership style, which helps satisfy the psychological needs of the followers. Follower need satisfaction in turn is positively associated with follower well-being. The second presentation addresses whether followers’ motivation influences the leadership behaviors of managers. There has not been much research on the possibility that autonomously motivated employees may trigger more transformational leadership behaviors in managers. Kanat-Maymon and colleagues present a longitudinal field study of Israeli workers that show multi-level cross-lagged associations between transformational and transactional leadership behaviors with autonomous and controlled work motivation. They found as usual that transformational leadership predicted change in autonomous motivation and that transactional leadership predicted changes in controlled motivation. More interesting is the finding that autonomous motivation predicted increases in transformational leadership, and that controlled motivation predicted changes in transactional leadership. The third presentation extends findings on the importance of need satisfaction, as well as the importance of attitudes and norms, to promote knowledge sharing (and discourage knowledge hiding) by examining the role of empowering leadership. Tian and colleagues, using prospective data from Australian workers, demonstrate that empowering leadership’s influence on employee need satisfaction, attitudes, and norms explains significant variance in knowledge sharing and hiding behavior. The fourth presentation reviews research on algorithmic management from the lens of SDT. Gagné and colleagues outline the effects that algorithmic management functions that are rapidly replacing human managers, including task assignment and scheduling, behavior and performance monitoring and management, and reward and termination management, have on the satisfaction of workers’ psychological needs, and what could be improved through future algorithmic system design and implementation. A Self-Determination Theory Model of Wellbeing at Work Presenter: Maree Roche; U. of Waikato Presenter: Jarrod Haar; Auckland U. of Technology Reversing the lens: How employees’ motivation summons transformational and transactional leadership Presenter: Yaniv Kanat-Maymon; Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya Presenter: Abira Reizer; Department of Social Sciences and Psychology, Ariel U. Presenter: Maor Elimelech; Ariel U. Empowering leadership, knowledge hiding and sharing: Integrating theories of motivation Presenter: Amy Wei Tian; Curtin Business School Presenter: Marylene Gagne; Curtin Uni Presenter: Christine Soo; U. of Western Australia Presenter: Bo Zhang; Beijing U. of Chemical Technology How Algorithmic Management Influences Worker Motivation: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective Presenter: Marylene Gagne; Curtin Uni Presenter: Marie-Claude Gaudet; HEC Montreal Presenter: Antoine Bujold; HEC Montreal Presenter: Pamela Lirio; U. of Montreal

To develop and validate a survey instrument designed to measure team dynamics in primary care. We studied 1,080 physician and nonphysician health care professionals working at 18 primary care practices participating in a learning collaborative aimed at improving team-based care. We developed a conceptual model and administered a cross-sectional survey addressing team dynamics, and we assessed reliability and discriminant validity of survey factors and the overall survey's goodness-of-fit using structural equation modeling. We administered the survey between September 2012 and March 2013. Overall response rate was 68 percent (732 respondents). Results support a seven-factor model of team dynamics, suggesting that conditions for team effectiveness, shared understanding, and three supportive processes are associated with acting and feeling like a team and, in turn, perceived team effectiveness. This model demonstrated adequate fit (goodness-of-fit index: 0.91), scale reliability (Cronbach's alphas: 0.71-0.91), and discriminant validity (average factor correlations: 0.49). It is possible to measure primary care team dynamics reliably using a 29-item survey. This survey may be used in ambulatory settings to study teamwork and explore the effect of efforts to improve team-based care. Future studies should demonstrate the importance of team dynamics for markers of team effectiveness (e.g., work satisfaction, care quality, clinical outcomes).

Documentation of primary care teams’ involvement in disparity reduction efforts exists, yet little is known about how teams interact or perceive their effectiveness. We investigated how the social network and structural ties among primary-care-clinic team members relate to their perceived team effectiveness (TE), in a large-scale disparity reduction intervention in Israel’s largest insurer and provider of services. A mixed-method design of Social Network Analysis and qualitative data collection was employed. 108 interviews with medical, nursing, and administrative teams of 26 clinics and their respective managerial units were performed and information on the organizational ties, analyzing density and centrality, collected. Pearson correlations examined association between network measures and perceived TE. Clinics with strong intra-clinic density and high clinic–subregional-management density were positively correlated with perceived TE. Clinic in-degree centrality was also positively associated with perceived TE. Qualitative analyses support these findings with teamwork emerging as a factor which can impede or facilitate teams’ ability to design and implement disparity reduction interventions. The study demonstrates that in an organization-wide disparity reduction initiative, cohesive intra-network structure and close relations with mid-level management increase the likelihood that teams perceive themselves as possessing the skills and resources needed to lead and implement disparity reduction efforts. List of abbreviations Team Effectiveness (TE); Clalit Health Services (Clalit); Social Network Analysis (SNA); Quality Improvement (QI); National Health Care Collaborative (NHPC); Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network (TBCCN)

Multiple models of interprofessional rounding (IPR) exist. However, researchers find mixed effects for the impact of IPR, pointing to the possibility that variations in design may influence the effectiveness of the practice. We explored whether IPR design variations (location, use of script, and role of the leader) are associated with team collaboration (partnership and cooperation) and team effectiveness as perceived by practitioners and patients (i.e., patient inclusion). A cross-sectional, survey-based method design was used targeting practitioners on 15 different hospital units at two academic health centers. Routinely collected Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Practitioners and Systems scores were used to capture patients’ perceptions. Statistical methods included multilevel modeling with moderation analysis. There were several significant relationships among design, team collaboration, and team effectiveness. For the design, role of the leader and use of a script had a significant positive association with cooperation. Practitioners’ perceptions of team effectiveness were associated with use of script, and cooperation moderated the relationships between practitioners’ perceptions of team effectiveness and location, as well as the role of the leader. There was a significant inverse relationship between cooperation and patient inclusion. Results can inform organizations that are exploring, implementing, or improving IPR as well as considering alternative ways to evaluate their practices.

Unraveling the importance of the quantity and the quality of workers’ motivation for well-being: A person-centered perspective

BackgroundPhysical activity can confer diverse benefits on cancer survivors. Unfortunately, many cancer survivors are not sufficiently active. The efficacy of physical activity interventions for this population may be increased by grounding them in Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Combining game design elements with wearable technologies may be a useful and scalable approach to targeting SDT constructs to promote cancer survivors’ physical activity.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Steps2Health, a physical activity intervention for cancer survivors. It also aims to investigate the effects of the intervention on motivation, physical activity, and step count.MethodsWe randomized 78 insufficiently active cancer survivors to an experimental or comparison group. All participants received a physical activity tracker. The experimental group participants also received a set sequence of multimedia messaging service messages that were triggered in real time by meeting predetermined cumulative step count totals. Messages presented information about a virtual journey and included photographs and vivid descriptions of locations to increase autonomous motivation. Additional messages targeted perceptions of relatedness (eg, role modeling) and competence (eg, facilitating mastery experiences). We administered pre- and postintervention surveys and conducted 15 individual interviews to evaluate the intervention. We performed directed content analysis of qualitative data and conducted mixed effects linear modeling to investigate participants’ changes in motivation, self-reported physical activity, and device-measured step counts.ResultsThere was minimal loss to follow-up (3/78, 4%), the device wear rate was high (2548/3044, 83.71% of days), and technical problems with messaging based on real-time step counts were limited. Our qualitative data analysis revealed 3 overarching themes: accessibility, autonomous motivation, and relatedness. Participants successfully navigated the technological aspects and game design elements of the intervention. Participants found messages targeting autonomous motivation and competence or self-efficacy to be enjoyable and compelling, but one feasibility criterion for participant engagement (response rate to text messages) was not met. Messages targeting relatedness were less highly rated than the messages targeting autonomous motivation and competence or self-efficacy. During the intervention, both groups increased their motivation for physical activity (B=0.16; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.30; P=.04; d=0.49), and assignment to the experimental group was associated with increased self-reported leisure activity score (B=10.78; 95% CI 3.54 to 18.02; P=.005; d=0.64). The experimental group had greater increases in daily step counts over time (B=322.08; 95% CI 54.01 to 590.15; P=.02; d=0.28).ConclusionsThis study supports the feasibility of using real-time game design elements to target SDT constructs and increase cancer survivors’ physical activity. Overall, our findings support the acceptability of the Steps2Health intervention, but fostering active participant engagement and targeting relatedness may present additional challenges. Steps2Health may help cancer survivors increase their physical activity levels.

Poor occupational health among physicians poses a serious risk both to physicians themselves and the patients under their care. Prior research has found that occupational health among nonphysicians is associated with both degree and type of work motivation. The main purpose of this article was to assess the association between physician work motivation and their occupational health. This study was a national survey of practicing physicians. A split-sample method was used to validate a measure of work motivation adapted for physicians. In total, 3589 physicians were selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile among whom 2247 physicians completed a survey (response rate of 62.6%). Eight-item measure adapted from the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale. Grounded in self-determination theory, this measure includes 2 superordinate subscales of autonomous and controlled work motivation (characterized by feeling free and volitional versus pressured or compelled, respectively). Indicators of physicians' occupational health included single-item measures of general health, burnout, job satisfaction, intention to leave their practice, and intention to leave medicine, and a 2-item measure of depression risk. Confirmatory factor analyses found that an 8-item, 2 superordinate (4 subordinate subscale) measure had good factor structure [χ(14, n=500)=35.62, P<0.001; χ(14, n=1747)=108.85, P<0.001]. Autonomous work motivation was found to be positively related to all 6 indicators of physicians' occupational health. Controlled work motivation was negatively related to 3 of 6 occupational health indicators. Physicians who are more autonomously motivated at work reported having better occupational health. Fostering a health care work environment that supports autonomous motivation may benefit the well-being of physicians and their patients.

Previous studies suggest a preretirement disengagement process from work, which includes reduced work motivation. In this study, we investigated changes in autonomous and controlled work motivation over two years among participants of the Health, Aging and Retirement Transition in Sweden (HEARTS) study. We found stability in both types of motivation; however, those who retired after the study period showed more distinct declines in autonomous motivation. A stronger sense of community at work was related to level, but not change in autonomous motivation. Intra‐individual fluctuations in the expected retirement age did not predict work motivation or vice versa. Future studies are needed to better understand the antecedents and consequences of preretirement declines in autonomous work motivation.

Influence of transactive memory on perceived performance, job satisfaction and identification in anaesthesia teams

Consistent with early assertions of self-determination theory (SDT), researchers have provided initial evidence of the role of being more mindful in the autonomous regulation of physical activity behavior. The purpose of this study was to test whether change in need satisfaction mediates the relationship between trajectories of change in state mindfulness during yoga classes and change in autonomous physical activity motivation. In this study, 315 students (Mage = 20.46, SDage = 2.15; 87% female) in university yoga classes completed measures of state and trait mindfulness, perceived competence and autonomy (i.e., need satisfaction), and autonomous physical activity motivation multiple times over 16 weeks. A latent growth curve was modeled for state mindfulness with four time points and used to predict change in need satisfaction and autonomous motivation. Bayes estimation results showed that change in need satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between the slope of state mindfulness and change in autonomous motivation for physical activity over 16 weeks of yoga participation (DIC = 2526.382, PPP = .344). The model explained 47% of the variance in need satisfaction and 65% of the variance in autonomous physical activity motivation. These results illustrate the potential for growth in mindfulness within the context of yoga to support autonomous motivation for physical activity more generally.

Updating cross-cultural research of the past decade on the relationship between life aspirations and wellbeing, we compared Romanian (N=69) and US (N=64) undergraduates on the contribution of the importance and likelihood of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations to psychological maladjustment and life satisfaction, and on the qualitative meaning they assign to financial success. Similarly to prior studies, we found that extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations tended to be either negatively or positively correlated with life satisfaction, respectively; however, wealth predicted life satisfaction for Romanian students. Unlike previous research, we found generally negative relationships between intrinsic aspirations and psychological maladjustment. Although there were no differences between Romanian and US undergraduates on extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, on the overall importance of attaining aspirations, or on specific extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations, Romanian students expressed weaker expectations of fulfilling intrinsic aspirations than did US students. Finally, the groups produced similar rankings of aspirations and assigned similar meaning to financial success. The results favored a social cognitive rather than a self-determination model of psychological wellbeing in that expectations for attaining aspirations were more often predictive of life satisfaction than were their content. We interpret these findings and their convergence and departure from earlier research in terms of political economic, demographic, and cultural factors. We encourage future cross-cultural investigations of the social construction of aspirations, subsidiation of seemingly contradictory aspirations to each other, and cognitive and ecological mediation of the complex relationship of aspirations to psychological functioning.

The aim of this paper is to examine how verbal rewards (praise) from superior public managers influence subordinate public managers’ work motivation coming from experiencing work tasks as important, exciting, interesting, and fun, so‐called autonomous motivation. We use self‐determination theory (SDT) to theorize that depending on how they are provided, verbal rewards can enhance or undermine autonomous motivation. This is because different verbal reward practices have different effects on subordinate public managers’ basic psychological needs, which in turn influences their autonomous motivation. Based on a cross‐sectional survey completed by 331 public managers in four Swedish local government organizations, we find that verbal rewards that are performance‐contingent and provided frequently undermine public managers’ autonomous motivation. Verbal rewards enhance autonomous motivation when they are based on skills and results. Our study contributes to the public management literature discussing the applicability of rewards in public sector organizations where autonomous motivation is crucial for performance. It contributes to practice by suggesting that superior managers who provide skills/result‐based verbal rewards are more likely to enhance than undermine the autonomous motivation of subordinates. In support of SDT, the overall conclusion is that the impact of verbal rewards on public managers’ autonomous motivation is contingent on how verbal rewards are provided by superiors. However, our results should be interpreted with some caution due to the circumstance that cross‐sectional survey research can only ensure associations between constructs and not causality.

Illegitimate tasks are tasks that are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable. They act as stressors and are expected to induce various strains on employees, including motivational strains. In previous studies, only the association between illegitimate tasks and intrinsic motivation was examined. In the present three-wave longitudinal study, the examination was expanded to include the full motivational continuum described in self-determination theory. Structural equation modeling was used to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between illegitimate tasks and behavioral regulations among Finnish working adults. In addition to intrinsic motivation, illegitimate tasks were observed to also be strongly associated with amotivation and more moderately associated with external regulation, introjected regulation, and identified regulation in the expected directions. In longitudinal analyses, illegitimate tasks were observed to predict an increase in amotivation and a decrease in autonomous motivation; introjected regulation was observed to predict an increase in illegitimate tasks; and autonomous motivation was observed to predict a decrease in illegitimate tasks. Illegitimate tasks and motivation described in self-determination theory may have reciprocal associations over time. Examining other behavioral regulatory styles in addition to intrinsic motivation is recommended.

This article describes a new conceptual framework for acute care nurse practitioner role enactment, boundary work and perceptions of team effectiveness. Acute care nurse practitioners contribute positively to patient care by enacting an expanded scope of practise. Researchers have found both positive and negative reactions to the introduction of acute care nurse practitioners in healthcare teams. The process of role enactment, shifting role boundaries, and perceptions of team effectiveness has been studied disparately. A framework linking team structures and processes to desirable outcomes is needed. Literature was obtained by searching CINAHL, PsycInfo, MedLine, PubMed, British Nursing Index, Cochrane Library, JSTOR Archive, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 1985-2010. A descriptive multiple-case study was completed from March 2009-May 2009. A new conceptual framework describing how role enactment and boundary work affect perceptions of team effectiveness was developed by combining theoretical and empirical sources. The framework proposes proximal indicators used by team members to assess their team's performance. The framework identifies the inter-related dimensions and concepts that different stakeholders need to consider when introducing nurse practitioners in healthcare teams. Further study is needed to identify team-level outcomes that reflect the contributions of all providers to quality patient care, and explore the patients' and families' perceptions of team effectiveness following the introduction of acute care nurse practitioners. The new framework can guide decision-making and research related to the structures, processes, and outcomes of nurse practitioner roles in healthcare teams.