Advancing the Conceptualization and Measurement of Psychological Need States: A 3 × 3 Model Based on Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

Based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this research aimed to investigate whether employees’ psychological need states could be expanded from two (need satisfaction and frustration) to three (need satisfaction, frustration, and unfulfillment). Relying on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor-ESEM, this research also offered to test the construct validity of the Psychological Need States at Work-Scale (PNSW-S) and to explore its criterion-related validity. Results from two studies and three distinct samples of employees (French and English speaking) provided support for the unfulfillment of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to be modeled as a distinct need state when tested alongside the satisfaction and frustration of those three needs. Moreover, results indicated that the different need states appeared to stem from distinct experiences (perceived supervisors’ supportive and thwarting behaviors) and that these need states had well-differentiated effects in terms of employee functioning (job satisfaction, job boredom, and work-related rumination). Our research therefore deepens our understanding of the nature of psychological need states in the workplace and offers a multidimensional instrument allowing to simultaneously assess not only need satisfaction and frustration, but also need unfulfillment. It also indicates that SDT’s explanatory framework may be expanded from two to three need processes to explain the effect of the socio-contextual environment on individual functioning.

Remote working: a double-edged sword for workers' personal and professional well-being

“…Because remote working blurs work-centered employees' traditional points of reference, it possibly makes their work-centered identity less relevant to their work engagement. In this context, their work engagement may come to depend more importantly on socio-environmental aspects of their work life, such as on the ability of their work environment's ability to nurture their work-centered identity (e.g., performance management: Aguinis & Pierce, 2008; supportive behaviors from one's supervisor: Huyghebaert-Zouaghi, Ntoumanis, Berjot, & Gillet, 2021). Conversely, when work-centered employees work onsite, their work-related identity can become anchored in a specific location (i.e., their office), increasing their feelings of connection with their work role, resulting in higher levels of work engagement (Lu et al, 2014).…”

“…More precisely, they suggest that, for remote working to be maximally efficient for most employees (e.g., high work engagement and family satisfaction), organizations could train managers on the best practices to manage remote workers, as remote working comes with new communication and coordination challenges (Shockley et al, 2021). For instance, research based on self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) has shown the importance of managers' interpersonal behaviors which help to nurture employees' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (e.g., Huyghebaert-Zouaghi et al, 2021). While the need for competence is unlikely to be importantly modified (as long as proper resources and support remains available) by remote work, working remotely is likely to interfere substantially with the need for relatedness, thus creating new challenges in how to maintain positive work-related socialization experiences likely to ensure the provision of adequate levels of social support.…”

Workaholism and work engagement: An examination of their psychometric multidimensionality and relations with employees’ functioning

“…This framework thus appears particularly well-suited to the examination of the dimensionality of workaholism and work engagement. Bifactor-ESEM models have recently been relied upon to investigate the multidimensional structure of various employee outcomes such as psychological need states (Huyghebaert-Zouaghi et al, 2020a, 2020b or well-being (Morin et al, 2016b(Morin et al, , 2017, but also work engagement (Gillet et al, 2019;Perera et al, 2018) and workaholism (Gillet et al, 2018b).…”

The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Need Frustration at Work Scale: A Validation Study

“…Moreover, while the present study, which was adapted and validated in Norwegian and English represents the first step toward a valid measurement instrument for use in the study of the work-related question in organizational psychology within the framework of SDT, validation of the scale in other languages will be fruitful. Lastly, in recent years the concept of need unfulfillment has emerged in the literature accounting for a possible third dimension of need states of relevance in considering the role of basic psychological needs in human motivation, functioning, and wellness (Huyghebaert-Zouaghi et al, 2020). Adding this dimension to the BPNSFWS to establish a common measurement of also this possible dimension of the basic psychological need can be worthwhile in future research efforts.…”