Longitudinal Study on the Relationships between Organizational Factors and Autonomous and Controlled Motivation among Older Japanese Bridge Employees1

Abstract

AbstractLongitudinal relationships between organizational factors and autonomous and controlled motivation among older Japanese bridge employees were investigated. The study sample consisted of 331 older people working in bridge employment at the same organizations where they worked before retirement (Mage = 63.45 years, SD = 3.28 years). Data were taken at two time points 10 months apart. Multiple regression analysis indicated that organizational justice predicted autonomous motivation at Time 2, after controlling for demographic variables and autonomous motivation at Time 1, whereas organizational justice did not predict controlled motivation. Moreover, support from coworkers positively predicted autonomous motivation and negatively predicted controlled motivation at Time 2. These results indicate that optimal organizational environments might promote autonomous motivation and reduce controlled motivation among older workers. It is suggested that organizations develop environments where older workers can receive fair evaluations from their superiors and close relationships with their coworkers.