Loneliness in the workplace and work motivation A mediation analysis

Abstract

Loneliness in the workplace, for many people a familiar sensation, yet not much research has been done in this field. The present study focused on the associations between loneliness in the workplace and work motivation, assuming that these associations would be mediated through the degree to which the three basic needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) were satisfied. At the heart of this study layed the idea that loneliness affects autonomous motivation negatively and controlled motivation and amotivation positively, through the (lack of) satisfaction of basic psychological needs. 149 Dutch workers participated in this research and they were retrieved through the researchers social network and social media. The results suggested that loneliness in the workplace as a whole, did not relate to motivation. However, emotional deprivation (a factor of loneliness) was an important construct when it comes to different types of workplace motivation. Results also showed that autonomy plays an important role in workplace motivation. These results suggested that emotional deprivation and autonomy deserve more attention in the academic field, and in the workplace.