Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Corresponding Author:
Anja Van den Broeck, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Email: Anja.VandenBroeck@psy.kuleuven.be
NOTE: The first authors contribution was supported by the grant from the Fund for Scientific
Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen). We would like to thank Filip Germeijs and Rein De
Cooman for their help in the data collection and Lance Ferris for his helpful suggestions in
conducting this research.
Abstract
The satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and
relatedness, as defined by Self-Determination Theory, has been identified as an
important predictor of individuals optimal functioning. The study of work-related
need satisfaction is, however, hampered by the lack of a validated measure. The
present study aimed to develop and validate a Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction
scale (W-BNS). Using four samples, evidence was found for the 3-factor structure of
the scale, the discriminant validity and reliability of the three needs, and their
criterion-related and predictive validity. Based on these results, it is concluded that
the W-BNS represents a promising tool for future research and practice.
KEY WORDS: Scale Development, Basic Need Satisfaction, Self-Determination Theory, Work
Motivation
negatively predictive of employees turnover, which was assessed six months after the assessment of
need satisfaction. These findings are consistent with research in other life domains, showing that
autonomous functioning is associated with less school drop-out (e.g., Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997).
These findings support the predictive validity of the scale and confirm once more that need satisfaction
might be a useful concept in the context of organizational psychology.
In sum, the present results support the psychometric properties of the work-related need
satisfaction scale. We hope this measure may assist researchers who seek to study employees need
satisfaction. The use of a validated need satisfaction measure rather than the reliance on ad hoc need
satisfaction measures may allow for more consistent cross-study comparisons and may contribute to a
more unified development of this field. We believe that the concept of need satisfaction deserves further
attention as need satisfaction may be a powerful tool to examine the motivational impact of
organizational environments and the motivational process underlying employees well-being. Notably,
researchers may want to use the three needs separately or focus on one of them, depending on their
research questions. It was not purpose of the current study to examine unique associations between each
of the needs and external variables. This might, however, be an important avenue for future research as
the lack of an association between the need for competence and turnover in the current study hints at
such potential unique associations of each of the needs.
On the practical level, these results indicate that work-related need satisfaction versus frustration
may have implications for individuals functioning, both on the job and in general. Employees might
therefore assess and monitor the need supportiveness of their jobs and seek for environments which
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
297
297
170
261
Male
51%
48%
33%
46%
Female
49%
52%
67%
54%
Range
21 63 years
20 57 years
22 60 years
18-58 years
Mean
38.62 years
38.48 years
36.70 years
28.23 years
SD
11.25 years
10.95 years
8.17 years
9.00 years
Primary or Secondary
education
39%
37%
29%
41%
Bachelors degree
44%
47%
56%
54%
Masters degree
17%
16%
15%
5%
17%
15%
0%
0%
Administrative personnel
40%
43%
41%
100%
Professionals
20%
22%
35%
0%
Managers
5%
2%
24%
0%
Full-time
77%
81%
73%
71%
Part-time
23%
19%
27%
28%
93%
92%
94%
13%
7%
8%
6%
86%
Range
1 month
37 years
1 months
36 years
1 month
39 years
1 week
7 years
Mean
9.50 years
9.88 years
9.78 years
1.24 years
SD
9.96 years
9.76 years
10.55 years
1.72 years
N
Gender
Age
Education
Professional level
Hours worked
Contract
Fixed
Temporary
Tenure
Sample
Sample 1
Sample 2
Models
SBS-
df
RMSEA
CFI
Model
p-value
df
SBS SBSSRMR Compar
ison SBS- -
Model A
211.46
132
.000
.04
.97
.06
Model B
499.96
134
.000
.09
.92
.08
288.50
.000
Model C
583.46
134
.000
.10
.91
.07
372.00
.000
Model D
825.47
134
.000
.12
.88
.10
614.01
.000
Model E
Autonomy-Relatedness-Competence
919.89
135
.000
.13
.84
.11
708.43
.000
Model F
920.83
134
.000
.13
.85
.11
709.37
.000
Model G
156.28
126
.030
.03
.98
.05
Model H
261.42
128
.000
.06
.95
.08
105.14
.000
Model A
230.02
132
.050
.05
.97
.05
Model B
485.71
134
.000
.09
.83
.08
255.69
.000
Model C
577.36
134
.000
.10
.92
.08
347.34
.000
Model D
759.39
134
.000
.12
.89
.10
529.37
.000
Model E
Autonomy-Relatedness-Competence
893.16
135
.000
.13
.86
.10
663.14
.000
Model F
902.05
134
.000
.13
.87
.10
672.03
.000
Model G
194.06
126
.000
.04
.97
.05
Model H
294.27
128
.000
.06
.94
.08
100.21
.000
Need for
Competence
Sample
Sample
3
4
Need for
Relatedness
Sample
Sample
3
4
Job Resources
1. Task Autonomy
.45**
.47**
.23**
.22**
.02
.33**
2. Skill Utilization
.10
.55**
.13
.10
.23**
.38**
3. Social Support
.34**
.39**
.10
.33**
.58**
.58**
4. Job Satisfaction
.66**
.54**
.18*
.15*
.41**
.40**
5. Vigor
.54**
.49**
.41**
.31**
.38**
.40**
6. Exhaustion
-.52**
-.28**
-.27**
-.26**
-.32**
-.23**
7. Life Satisfaction
.30**
.22**
.24**
.16**
.41**
.32**
8. Intrinsic Motivation
.64**
.62**
.21*
.22**
.37**
.38**
9. Organisational Commitment
.51**
.58**
.18*
.18**
.36**
.42**
10. Performance
.31**
.21**
.44**
.35**
.19*
.18**
Outcomes
Appendix
You are welcomed to use the W-BNS provided that you agree to the following two conditions:
1. The use is for non-commercial educational or research purposes only.
2. You agree to share the data you obtain with these items and some background-variables (age,
gender, occupation, ) with the authors to be used for further validation.
Need Satisfaction at work Scale
Werkbeleving
De volgende uitspraken gaan over hoe u uw werk beleeft. Wilt u aangeven in welke mate u akkoord gaat met
deze stellingen door steeds het best passende cijfer van 1 tot 5 te omcirkelen?
1
2
3
4
5
Helemaal niet
akkoord
Niet akkoord
Akkoord
Helemaal akkoord
Disagree
Somewhat disagree
/ somewhat agree
Agree
Totally agree
En disaccord
Plus ou moins
d'accord
D'accord
Relatedness Satisfaction
b4*
Ik voel niet echt een band met de andere mensen op mijn werk
Je ne me sens pas vraiment li(e) aux autres personnes au travail.
I dont really feel connected with other people at my job
b6
b7*
Totalement d'accord
Ik kan met anderen op het werk praten over wat ik echt belangrijk vind
Je puis parler avec dautres au travail de ce que je trouve vraiment important
At work, I can talk with people about things that really matter to me
Competence Satisfaction
c1*
c2
c3
c4*
c5
c8
Ik heb het gevoel dat ik ook de moeilijke taken op mijn werk tot een goed einde kan brengen
Jai limpression de pouvoir mener aussi les tches difficiles bonne fin dans mon travail
I have the feeling that I can even accomplish the most difficult tasks at work
Autonomy Satisfaction
a3
a5*
Op mijn werk heb ik vaak het gevoel dat ik moet doen wat anderen mij bevelen.
Au travail jai souvent limpression de devoir faire ce que dautres me commandent de faire
At work, I often feel like I have to follow other peoples commands
a8*
a9
Mijn taken op het werk stemmen overeen met wat ik echt wil doen
Ik voel me vrij mijn werk te doen zoals ik denk dat het goed is
Je me sens libre dexcuter mon travail comme je crois quil est bon de le faire
I feel free to do my job the way I think it could best be done
a12* Op mijn werk, voel ik me gedwongen dingen te doen die ik niet wil doen
Au travail, je me sens forc(e) de faire des choses que je ne veux pas faire.
In my job, I feel forced to do things I do not want to do