Using data from 708 French-Canadian nurses, the present study relies on self-determination theory (SDT) and its proposed motivation mediation model to examine the associations between need satisfaction, work motivation, and various manifestations of psychological wellbeing (work satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions). To increase the precision and accuracy of these analyses, we relied on analytic approaches that explicitly account for the dual global/specific nature of both work motivation and need satisfaction. Results revealed that nurses' global psychological need satisfaction, and their specific autonomy and competence satisfaction, were positively associated with their global self-determined work motivation and specific intrinsic motivation. In turn, global self-determined work motivation and specific intrinsic motivation were associated with more desirable outcome levels. Nurses' global need satisfaction and specific autonomy satisfaction were also directly associated with more desirable outcome levels. Our results provided support for a partially mediated version of SDT's motivation mediation model.

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This study examined the profiles taken by global and specific facets of work engagement and burnout among a sample of novice ( M tenure = 3.77 years) nurses ( n = 570; 88.4% females; M age = 29.3 years). This study also investigated the role of psychological need satisfaction in the prediction of profile membership, and the implications of these profiles for attitudinal (job satisfaction), behavioral (in-role and extra-role performance, absenteeism, and presenteeism) and health (perceived health difficulties) outcomes. Latent profile analyses revealed six profiles: High Global Engagement and Low Global Burnout, Moderately High Global Engagement and Moderately Low Global Burnout, Low Dedication and Efficacy and Highly Cynical, Dedicated but Exhausted Burned-Out, Low Efficacy Burned-Out, and Very Low Global Engagement and Very High Global Burnout. Although these profiles were replicated over a 1-year period, profile membership was only weakly stable. The most beneficial outcomes were observed in the High Global Engagement and Low Global Burnout profile, and the most detrimental in the Very Low Global Engagement and Very High Global Burnout profile. Need satisfaction was also associated with profile membership, although associations were stronger for global levels of need satisfaction than for specific levels of autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction.

This research relies on a combination of variable‐ and person‐centered approaches to improve our understanding of the dimensionality of work engagement and burnout. Among 1004 teachers who completed a questionnaire twice over an eight‐month period, our results first revealed that work engagement and burnout ratings simultaneously reflected two global overarching constructs co‐existing with six specific dimensions (vigor, dedication, and absorption as well as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy). We then examined the profiles taken by these global and specific dimensions, documented their stability and interrelations over time, and tested their associations with theoretically relevant predictors. Three work engagement (Vigorously Engaged, Disengaged, Engaged) and three burnout (Burned‐Out, Adapted, Normative) profiles were identified. Most Disengaged teachers at Time 1 corresponded to the Burned‐Out profile at Time 2, and most Burned‐Out teachers at Time 1 corresponded to the Disengaged profile at Time 2. Workload perceptions increased teachers' likelihood of membership into the Disengaged profile relative to the Engaged one. In contrast, most job resources perceptions (control, rewards, and values) predicted an increased likelihood of membership into the Engaged profile relative to the Disengaged one.