Opérationnaliser et mesurer le soutien managérial aux besoins psychologiques des employés : une recherche à méthodologie mixte

Many studies conducted within the framework of self-determination theory have shown the relevance of supporting the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and affiliation of employees at work. Because research is limited to knowledge from non-work environments, there remains uncertainty regarding the behaviours a manager should adopt to provide employees with the opportunity to meet their psychological needs at work. As a result, the operationalization and instrumentation of managerial need support rely primarily on those of need support validated with populations other than employees and managers, such as athletes and coaches, students and teachers, as well as children and parents. This dissertation aims to better understand how managers can concretely, through their behaviours, promote the satisfaction of employees’ psychological needs of autonomy, competence and affiliation at work. In addition, it aims to develop a psychometric instrument aligned with this operationalization of managerial need support that is ecologically valid for the organizational context. The first article of the thesis describes a qualitative study. This study aims to identify behaviours actually emitted by managers in the workplace that promote the satisfaction of the three psychological needs of employees. To meet this objective, three focus groups were conducted with employees and managers. A qualitative content analysis identified 141 management behaviours grouped into 12 management practices. In addition to providing a deeper understanding of management practices previously articulated by self-determination theory expressed in the workplace, this study highlights previously ignored practices and behaviours that can be adopted by managers to foster employees’ needs of autonomy, competence and affiliation at work. The second article of the thesis describes the development and validation of a measure of managerial need support through a series of two quantitative studies. Study 1 (N = 312 French-Canadian workers) establishes, by taking an exploratory approach, the structure of the instrument. Then, it verifies the criterion validity and the divergent validity of the instrument by investigating its relationship with three concepts rooted in self-determination theory: the satisfaction of employees’ psychological needs, employees’ work motivation as well as their perception of psychological control from their manager. Study 2, conducted with a second sample (N = 334 French-Canadian workers), takes a confirmatory approach in validating the structure of the instrument. In addition, it establishes the convergent validity of the measurement tool by verifying its links with transformational leadership and empowering leadership. It also verifies the criterion validity of the instrument by investigating its links with three indicators of employees’ functioning at work: engagement, psychological health and work performance. The results suggest that managerial need support is operationalized through five management practices, that is, 1) recognizing the strengths and contributions of employees, 2) offering flexibility to employees about how and when to complete one’s work, 3) demonstrating a concern for the interests and well-being of employees, 4) guiding employees to effectively perform their work, and 5) developing employees’ skills through discussions and concrete learning opportunities. This thesis contributes to the advancement of knowledge by providing a common base that will unify research conducted on managerial need support.

Keyphrases: performance, engagement, managerial need support, self-determination theory, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, work motivation, psychological health