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Key points
- Meet autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs for well-being and job satisfaction.
- Starting the day with positive affect and energy while reducing home stress increases satisfaction at work.
- Transformational leaders foster autonomy but check in daily, positively impacting job satisfaction.
In today's work environment, we often find ourselves juggling various demands from our professional and personal lives. Researchers suggest that to navigate this intricate balance successfully, it's crucial to meet three fundamental psychological needs for motivation, well-being, and optimal performance. These are the needs for autonomy (i.e., the need to make free choices), competence (i.e., the need to become an expert in your tasks), and relatedness (i.e., the need to connect with others).
Satisfying your needs isn't a mere check-the-box exercise; it's an ongoing process that evolves with the changing dynamics of our work and home lives. Job demands can have a detrimental effect on the satisfaction of our needs, particularly on autonomy and relatedness. To help you navigate these challenges, here are some practical strategies based on a systematic review by Coxen and colleagues.
Setting the Tone for the Day
Start your day off on a good note by cultivating a mood of positive emotions, sentiments, and high energy. Research suggests that this morning mindset increases need satisfaction throughout the day. Engaging in activities that uplift your mood and energy levels can create a positive spiral, boosting intrinsic motivation and overall job satisfaction. Additionally, ensuring your personal and family affairs are organized helps prevent the spillover of home stress into your workday.
Finding Resources at Work
Job and organizational resources play a crucial role in meeting psychological needs. These resources could range from having a supportive colleague or boss to streamlining processes. Gaining more autonomy over your tasks can significantly impact your satisfaction of needs. Consider exploring ways to take charge of your schedule and decision-making.
Being a helpful resource for others also contributes to meeting your own needs. Proactive behaviors such as offering support, solving problems, and assisting colleagues create a positive work environment, enhancing well-being and job satisfaction.
Leadership Support
Leaders who are transformational in their style and support employees' autonomy are key components in influencing job satisfaction. Daily check-ins with your leader can better help them understand your ongoing experiences with resources and demands. This communication can help your leader identify and address challenges, provide coaching, or escalate issues when necessary. Organizations should also focus on leadership development activities to foster leaders' need-supportive behaviors.
Find Meaning After Work
If your needs are not being met during the workday, finding ways to meet those needs after work can help you reset. Using your leisure time for activities that involve learning, improvement, and contributions to society is especially helpful. Combining meaning-making and mastery during leisure time strengthens the impact on your well-being, reducing burnout and anxiety.
Meeting psychological needs at work is an ongoing journey that requires attention, self-awareness, and proactive steps. By starting your day positively, understanding the fluctuating nature of your demands, and actively seeking resources, you can enhance your psychological well-being. Leadership behaviors and the organizational context play pivotal roles, and organizations should prioritize interventions that support these elements.
In the meantime, crafting your work environment to promote autonomy, expertise, and support from others can lead to increased satisfaction, engagement, and success in your professional endeavors.
References
Coxen, L., van der Vaart, L., Van den Broeck, A., & Rothmann, S. (2021). Basic psychological needs in the work context: a systematic literature review of diary studies. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 698526.
Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determinism of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1449618
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford publications.
Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual review of organizational psychology and organizational behavior, 4, 19-43.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2019). Brick by brick: The origins, development, and future of self-determination theory. In Advances in motivation science (Vol. 6, pp. 111-156). Elsevier.
