title: Motivation, Needs, and Turnover in Human Services: Investigating the antecedents, interactions, and outcomes of work-related motivations and psychological needs in not-for-profit organisations
Creators: name: Brander-Peetz, Nicholas D
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: prosocial motivation
subject: psychological needs
subject: human services

description: Context. Following COVID-19 and institutional responses, the problems of burnout and demotivation worsened in human services. Workforce pressures continue to increase with the growth of unwell and aging populations. Many organisations leverage the promise of an ethical mission to attract candidates and enhance engagement. However, the risks associated with this approach appear to be underestimated, due to issues such as unmet expectations, motivational crowding, professional compromise, and job insecurity. Aims. This thesis is driven by the question: how can we improve our understanding of why some human service workers in the not-for-profit sector start out with strong motivations, yet become exhausted, disillusioned, and leave their organisation or the sector? With this query in mind, the thesis poses three questions to be explored across three studies, set within the context of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) providing human services: 1. What are some factors that motivate the work efforts of staff and impact their intentions to leave (ITL)? (Addressed in Study 1) 2. What are some factors that influence the relationship between different motivations (prosocial, public service, and extrinsic motivations) and job satisfaction and ITL? (Addressed in Study 2) 3. What are the relationships between basic psychological needs, job insecurity, professional compromise, and burnout, and how do they impact job satisfaction and ITL? (Addressed in Study 3) The thesis consolidates theories of prosocial motivation (Batson, 1987) and public service motivation (PSM; Perry &amp; Wise, 1990), as informed by self-determination theory (Ryan &amp; Deci, 2000b) and two of its sub-theories, cognitive evaluation theory and basic psychological needs (BPNs). This aims to enhance our understanding of how individual outcomes (job satisfaction and ITL) are influenced by the interplay between motivations and needs, organisational characteristics, and psychosocial risks. Method: To inform the content and design of the primary quantitative studies, 36 semi-structured interviews were initially conducted with Australian human service workers. Subsequently, Study 1 examined cross-sectional survey data from union staff (n = 160) through moderated multiple regression. The initial methodology included a panel design; however, complications relating to COVID-19 reduced participation at Time 2. Thus, additional survey data from a sample of 531 employees (unions, n = 199; employment services, n = 332) was analysed, with structural equation modelling deployed to test theorised paths of parallel mediation (Study 2) and serial parallel mediation (Study 3). Results: The model held strongly across samples, showing structural and measurement equivalence. In Study 1, training reduced the impact of low support on ITL; however, training did not reduce the impact of unmet prosocial expectations on ITL. In Study 2, rather than PSM, prosocial motives were associated with job satisfaction and intentions to leave; and extrinsic motivations showed opposite results to prosocial motivation in their relationships with all variables. In Study 3, compared to the BPNs (autonomy, competence and relatedness), job insecurity and low workforce mobility demonstrated a divergent pattern in their relationships with burnout, professional compromise, and the dependent variables of job satisfaction and ITL. Value: Selected contributions of this thesis include: (a) clarified the distinction between prosocial motivation and PSM in their relationship with psychological outcomes; (b) illuminated the risky "dark side" of PSM by integrating principles of the psychological contract, professional compromise, and motivational crowding; (c) challenged the "additive hypothesis" by examining how motivation driven by unfulfilled extrinsic needs may be at odds with prosocial goals; (d) tested the assumption that BPN fulfilment will improve psychological outcomes, and (e) presented a case for job security as a BPN at work.