Empowering Choice: Exploring Workplace Motivation in the Era of Hybrid Work Environments

Sammanfattning: Research question: How does hybrid work, regulated and unregulated, influence the intrinsic motivation of employees within knowledge-intensive organizations in Sweden? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore employees experiences and perceptions of intrinsic workplace motivation with implemented hybrid work arrangements. Additionally, it seeks to compare two groups of workers: with mandatory work regulations and without.  Method: The thesis was formed by a qualitative research method where the empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with knowledge-intensive employees from different companies. This paper also discusses the prevalent theoretical frameworks in motivation. Conclusion: In both sample groups, fulfillment of autonomy as a psychological need is a prerequisite for relatedness and self-perceived competence. Relatedness is better met in the group with mandatory days at the office, whilst in the unregulated group this need was not fully satisfied. No major differences between the groups were noted in terms of self-perceived competence. Both groups expressed satisfaction of this need, and there was no strong indication saying it was influenced by hybrid work arrangements. Overall, regulated hybrid work settings were found to have a positive influence on intrinsic motivation.