Abstract
Background: self-determination theory (SDT) posits that the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness affects employees’ work-related psychological outcomes. Despite the wealth of studies addressing SDT in the workplace domain, little is known of the effect of each basic need to the work-related psychological outcomes of healthcare workers. Objective: To evaluate the relative effect of each basic psychological need to occupational and physical therapists’ work-related psychological outcomes. Methods: Participants were 152 occupational and physical therapists who completed questionnaires tapping basic psychological needs satisfaction, well-being, work meaning, work satisfaction and compassion fatigue. A series of linear regressions were performed. Results: Competence, relatedness toward co-workers, and relatedness toward patients were positive predictors of occupational and physical therapists’ mental well-being. Autonomy and competence predicted job satisfaction. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness toward patients predicted work meaning. Autonomy and competence were significant negative predictors of compassion fatigue. Conclusions: Study results demonstrate each basic psychological need makes its own influence to different psychological outcomes, highlighting the importance of supporting all three needs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1634-1639 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Work |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2025 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords
- compassion fatigue
- health personnel
- interpersonal relations
- job satisfaction
- mental health
- personal autonomy
- professional competence
