En studie av tjänstepersoners autonomi och inre motivation ur ett self-determination theory perspektiv

Sammanfattning: Self-determination theory posits that autonomy, the experience of acting from choice rather than from external pressure, is essential for psychological well-being and development. Additionally, autonomy is thought to have a crucial role in facilitating intrinsic motivation in the workplace. Adopting a self-determination theory perspective, this thesis aimed to quantitatively study the relationship between an autonomy supportive management, autonomy, intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and self-perceived health. Three hypotheses were proposed to study these factors. The data analysis was done with a correlation analysis; a regression analysis was not used due to sample size. A secondary aim of the study was to consider the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, specifically the increase in remote work, in regard to these variables. The study was conducted by the means of an internet-based survey and examined Swedish office workers from two different organizations. The main findings were largely in line with previous research. Perceived autonomy support had a strong, positive correlation with autonomy. Autonomy had a positive, albeit weak, correlation with intrinsic motivation. Contrary to previous research, no significant relationship was found between intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction or intrinsic motivation and self-perceived health. The results suggest that an autonomy supportive management is important for the autonomy of office workers, implying that organizations should actively work towards providing employees with sufficient autonomy. Furthermore, the results suggest that employees high in autonomy feel more intrinsically motivated towards their work.