Examining Managerial Support Through Self-Determination Theory: A Mixed Method Study on Engagement and Affective Well-Being of Remote Workers

Abstract

The pandemic-forced shift to remote work resulted in adverse outcomes for employee well-being and organizational functioning. Despite the increasing prevalence of remote employment in Canada, only some studies have investigated how to support this population. Extending upon Hunt and Irak (2022), employee self-determined motivation was proposed to increase engagement, affective well-being, and optimal organizational functioning. The aims of this mixed method study were twofold: (a) establish whether self-determined motivation facilitated the relationship between managerial need support and affective well-being and (b) determine managerial behaviours that support the basic psychological needs of remote employees. In the first study, 133 remote employees from the Canadian labour force participated online through LimeSurvey, in which the participants’ mean age was 35.15 (SD = 12.37). The results indicated managerial need support as a central correlate and predictor of engagement and affective well-being. Furthermore, self-determined motivation mediated the relationship between managerial need support and affective well-being. Ten employees who participated in the first study were interviewed in the second study. Participants were mostly female (70%) and varied broadly in age. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed managerial support fell into three themes (sub-themes): (a) autonomy, (flexibility, trust, self-direction, explanatory rationale) (b) competence, (feedback, encouragement, optimal challenge) and (c) relatedness (social bonding). The first study’s results supported a multidimensional understanding of the remote manager-subordinate context, that may cultivate self-determined motivation to improve and sustain employee engagement and affective well-being. The second study’s results illustrated examples of need supportive managerial behaviour, both novel and consistent with past literature, suggesting generalizability to the remote work context