Decent work and work motivation: A fuzzy sets qualitative comparative analysis

Abstract

O presente estudo tem como objetivo verificar quais dimensões do Trabalho Digno combinam as condições necessárias e / ou suficientes para um determinado resultado em termos dos vários tipos de Motivação do Trabalho, de acordo com a tipologia definida pela Teoria da Autodeterminação. A Escala Multidimensional de Motivação para o Trabalho e o Questionário de Trabalho Decente foram aplicados a 83 trabalhadores em Portugal e a análise comparativa qualitativa dos conjuntos difusos foi realizada para o produto desses instrumentos. Dentre os diferentes resultados apresentados e discutidos mais adiante nesta pesquisa, os que apresentam maior consistência são a ausência da dimensão Remuneração Significativa para o Exercício da Cidadania, necessária à Amotivação, e a presença da dimensão Realização e Trabalho Produtivo como elemento necessário vinculado à motivação social extrínseca e introjetada no trabalho; e como condição suficiente para a motivação identificada no trabalho. Isso pode indicar, entre outras descobertas, a importância de uma remuneração significativa e como a realização da atividade de trabalho é percebida. As condições necessárias e suficientes são interpretadas como processos psicológicos. Os resultados deste estudo oferecem uma melhor compreensão dos vínculos entre as variáveis, incentivando pesquisas futuras em diferentes escalas e contextos. Outras implicações teóricas e práticas, limitações do estudo e perspectivas para o futuro são apresentadas na conclusão do estudo.

This present study aims to verify which dimensions of Decent Work combine as necessary and / or sufficient conditions for a given outcome in terms of the various types of Work Motivation, according to the typology defined by the Self-Determination Theory. The Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale and the Decent Work Questionnaire were applied to 83 workers in Portugal and the fuzzy sets Qualitative Comparative Analysis was performed to the product of these instruments. Among the different results presented and discussed further in this research, those who show the highest consistency are the absence of the dimension of Meaningful Remuneration for the Exercise of Citizenship as necessary for Amotivation, and the presence of the dimension of Fulfilling and Productive Work as a necessary element linked to Extrinsic Social and Introjected work motivation; and as a sufficient condition for Identified Work Motivation. This can indicate, among other findings, the importance of a meaningful remuneration and how fulfilling the working activity is perceived. The necessary and the sufficient conditions are interpreted as psychological processes. The results of this study offer a better understanding of the links between the variables, encouraging future research in different scales and contexts. Further theoretical and practical implications, limitations of the study and perspectives for the future are presented at the conclusion of the study.The International Labor Organization (ILO) introduced the concept of Decent Work (DW) (ILO, 1999a, 1999b; Ferraro et al., 2015) and defined it as “opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity” (ILO, 1999b p. 3,). Since then, several disciplines have studied DW, being Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology (WOPP) one of them (Ferraro et al., 2017). The approach given by the WOPP perspective (individual and subjective) improves upon the knowledge previously achieved on this concept through a micro-level of analysis (Ferraro et al, 2017), and also can add to the theory by developing new psychometric measurements of DW.On the other hand, motivation has been a popular topic for various researches trough history. Trying to find an answer on how people are and remain motivated, we focus on The Self Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000, Gagné & Deci, 2005). SDT emphasize on the differences between the content (the “what”) of the outcomes and the regulatory processes (the “why”) through which the outcomes are pursued, this differentiation helps in making predictions for different contents and for different processes (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Fuzzy sets Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is especially attuned to multiple conjunctural causations (Vis, 2012), which can be a combination of conditions that produce an outcome, when there is more than one condition that generates the same outcome (equifinality), or when depending on the context, an outcome is the result from the presence of a condition or its absence (Vis, 2012) We apply fsQCA in order to analyze the relation between the DW factors and the WM