THE INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATION AND NEEDS FOR AUTONOMY, COMPETENCE AND RELATEDNESS ON WORK MOTIVATION

The aim of this research was to test whether work motivation is affected by global motivational orientation or by the perception of the degree of satisfact ion of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness in a work context. Self-determination theory provided conceptual framework. The sample comprised 428 respondents. The following scales were used: the Global Motivation Scale, the Basic Need Satisfaction at Work Scale, while the scale for measuring work motivation was designed for the purposes of this research paper. Regression analysis was applied. The results show that every aspect of work motivation is mostly under the influence of the eponymous tendency on the level of a global motivational orientation. The influence of environmental factors associated with the work context on an individual’s work motivation depends mostly on the perception of the degree of satisfaction of the need for competence at work.


Introduction
Self-determination theory maintains that extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are not discrete categories but rather types of motivational orientation arranged along the motivational continuum. At one end of the continuum there is intrinsic motivation as the most autonomous and most self-determined type of motivation. At the opposite end of the continuum is amotivation characterized by a complete lack of any intention of action. Set between intrinsic motivation and amotivation are various forms of extrinsic motivation which differ according to the degree of relative autonomy, that is, to the degree of internalization of reasons to take action (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
To what extent an individual will be motivated by extrinsic or intrinsic reasons depends on the influence of social factors. According to self-determination theory, extrinsic motivational orientations are the result of a compromise with negative environmental conditions (Deci & Ryan, 2008).
The hierarchical model of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation elaborates on the concept of motivational continuum, presuming that all three forms of motivational orientationintrinsic motivation (to know, to accomplish, to experience stimulation), extrinsic motivation (by identification, by introjection, by external regulation) and amotivationexist on three levels of generality (Diagram 1). These levels are global, contextual (associated with various life domains) and situational (associated with a specific situation). On the most global level, motivation is a type of personal disposition and under the influence of the most general social factors. Contextual motivation is developed in a particular life domain as a result of the influence of motivation on the global level and social factors operating within the given life domain. Some of the most important life contexts include education, interpersonal relations and work. Situational motivation is associated with individual situations and is influenced by the type of motivation directly above it in the hierarchy (contextual motivation) and the social factors operating in the given situation (Vallerand & Ratelle, 2004). Diagram 1. Hierarchical Model of Self-determined Motivation (A-autonomy; C-competence; R-relatedness; IM-intrinsic motivation; EM-extrinsic motivation; AM-amotivation) Grafikon 1. Hijerarhijski model samodeterminisane motivacije (A-Autonomija; C-kompetencija; R-povezanost; IM-intrinzička motivacija; EM-ekstrinzička motivacija) The researches done so far leave the question of the influence of social factors and personal variables on work motivation open (according to Vallerand & Ratelle, 2004). In a particular life context such as work, motivation may be the result of the influence of social factors associated with that context and personal variables from the higher level (global motivation). For example, will motivation remain unchanged in the work context if it is, say intrinsic, at the global level, or will it be less self-determined in the work context if the social factors are less favourable? This question is particularly significant in the circumstances involving not entirely clear and inconsistent social factors associated with the work context, which consequently makes them less favourable for the development of intrinsic work motivation.
The objective of this research was to determine whether work motivation is affected by global motivation as a dispositional quality and by social factors mediated by the perception of basic psychological need satisfaction in the work context (the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness with other people at work). The aim was also to determine whether work motivation is more affected by various aspects of global motivation or motivation in a specific life domain, such as work, is more affected by social factors associated with the work context.
The main hypothesis proposes that work motivation is more affected by social factors associated with work than by global motivation. Self-determination theory suggests that unfavourable and not entirely clear social influences cause individuals to stray from internal initiators of behavior and adopt extrinsic motivational orientations. If social influences in the examined context are characterized as less favourable for the survival of intrinsic motivation, work motivation can be expected to belong to the types of extrinsic motivation.

Method Sample
The sample comprised 428 respondentstechnical professionals. Convenience sampling was applied. All the respondents were employed, the majority of which (76.6%) were working in the public sector. The remaining 23.4% were employed in private or foreign companies. The majority of respondents were men (88.1%), while women accounted for 11.9%. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 62. One half of the respondents were younger than 37, and the age of the other half ranged from 38 to 62. The largest percentage of the respondents held a three-year (12.6%) or four-year (66.1%) technical high school degree. A two-year technical college degree was held by 5.6% of the respondents, and 15.7% of the respondents graduated from a four-or five-year school of engineering.

Instruments
Two available instruments were used in the research: the Global Motivation Scale (Guay, Mageau & Vallerand, 2003) and the Basic Need Satisfaction at Work Scale (Deci, Ryan, Gagne, Leone, Usunov, & Kornazheva, 2001). The third instrument, used for measuring work-related motivation, was designed for the purposes of this research. In the preliminary research performed to validate the reliability of the instruments, Cronbach's alpha measured 0.82 for the Global Motivation Scale and 0.89 for both the Basic Need Satisfaction at Work Scale and the Work Motivation Scale.

Results
The data were processed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. As regards global motivation, it turned out that the highest mean value was obtained for intrinsic motivation to know. It was followed by intrinsic motivation to accomplish, extrinsic motivation by identification, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, introjected extrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation by external regulation and amotivation (Table 1). Regarding basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness with others at work, the highest mean value was recorded for the need for competence, followed by the need for relatedness, while the lowest average value was recorded for the need for autonomy at work (Table 2). As for mean values, work motivation proved to be very similar to global motivation. Intrinsic motivation to know occupied the first place, and was followed by intrinsic motivation to accomplish, extrinsic motivation by identification, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, introjected extrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation by external regulation and amotivation (Table 3). The research checked for differences in gender, age and level of education and showed some significant differences (Table 4).  Significant differences were also found between respondents employed in the public sector and those working in private sector and foreign companies regarding specific types of work motivation. With respondents employed in private and foreign companies, intrinsic motivation to know (M dif =0.27; p<0.01) and extrinsic motivation by identification (M dif =0.36; p<0.01) prevailed considerably.
The results of regression analysis show that predictors contribute significantly to the explanation of work motivation (Table 5). Global intrinsic motivation to know and to accomplish, and the needs for competence and autonomy, particularly contribute to the explanation of work motivation resting on intrinsic motivation to know. The contribution of other predictor variables amounts to around 0.6% (R 2 change=0.006) and bears no significance (F change=0.892). Work motivation resting on intrinsic motivation to accomplish is substantially explained by global intrinsic motivation to accomplish, global amotivation, and the needs for competence and autonomy. The contribution of other predictors amounts to about 1.2% (R 2 change = 0.012) and bears no significance (F change=1.527).
Global motivation to experience stimulation, global amotivation and the need for autonomy and for competence make a significant contribution to the explanation of work motivation resting on intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation. The contribution of other predictor variables amounts to about 1.7% (R 2 change=0.017) and bears no significance (F change=1.980).  In view of the types of extrinsic work motivation, the greatest contribution to the explanation of motivation resting on the identification mechanism is made by global motivation resting on the same principle, followed by global intrinsic motivation to accomplish and the needs for competence and autonomy. The contribution of other predictor variables amounts to around 1.5% (R 2 change=0.015) and bears no significance (F change=1.776).
Extrinsic work motivation resting on the introjection regulation is largely explained by the same global motivational orientation, while global amotivation also makes a significant contribution to the explanation.
The largest contribution to work motivation based on external regulation is given by the same global motivational tendency, as well as by global amotivation and the lack of global intrinsic motivation to know. The contribution of other predictor variables amounts to about 1% (R 2 change=0.010) and bears no significance (F change=1.227).
Work amotivation is best explained by global amotivation, as well as the lack of intrinsic motivation to know and the need for competence. The contribution of other predictor variables amounts to around 1.3% (R 2 change=0.013) and bears no significance (F change=1.547).
For the purpose of testing the specific effects of global motivation and basic psychological needs on work motivation in our social context, demographic variables were taken into consideration. Due to the structure of the tested sample, regression analysis could only be based on the age of respondents. As shown in Tables 6 and 7, some specific effects of global motivation and the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness with work on work motivation were found on the basis of the respondents' age.

Discussion
Contrary to the main hypothesis based on self-determination theory, it has been found that every aspect of work motivation is primarily affected by a similar aspect of global motivation, and not by environmental factors acting through perception of the degree of basic psychological needs satisfaction in the work context. This leads to the conclusion that global motivation, as a kind of personality disposition, affects the "resistance" of motivation to negative influences in various life domains, including the work context as well (Mladenović, 2010).
Regarding the effect of environmental factors in the work context, our research shows that the greatest significance and impact on work motivation is made by the perception of the degree of satisfaction of the need for competence. Based on self-determination theory, it can be deduced that perception of the need for autonomy bears the highest importance for motivation in any life domain. In that sense, it can be concluded that social factors affecting work motivation do not favour personal initiative, offer very little or no freedom of choice and, after all, probably lead to the sense of subjective suffering. However, the fact that perception of the need for competence has stronger effect on work motivation is not completely surprising. Work is a life domain that is most related to and most suitable for achieving personal competence in adults. We can even say that work is a sphere of life in which the competence of an adult is displayed most clearly.
The introduction of respondents' age in the analysis sheds additional light on the specific nature of the effect of social factors on work motivation in our environment. The effect of environmental factors on work motivation in persons younger than 37 results exclusively from perception of the degree of satisfaction of the need for competence, while in persons older than 38 this effect results primarily from perception of the satisfaction of the need for autonomy. One can say that in the work context, the need for competence is of primary importance for personal development. Younger persons find the confirmation of their own competence at work more important than personal autonomy and freedom of choice. Taking into consideration the competence development concept discussed by Elliot and associates (Elliot et al, 2004), it can be said that competence in a sphere of life closely connected with competence, such as work, is "ontogenetically" more crucial. It is important to competently master an activity first, and then strive towards autonomy and the possibility of choice. We cannot speak about autonomy in the context of an activity which is not sufficiently mastered. In that sense, it can be concluded that the need for competence is more important to younger individuals who are only just checking and confirming their personal competence in the work context. The neglect of the need for autonomy by younger individuals cannot be considered an indicator of subjective suffering, but rather a developmental phase which in the work context gives advantage to the satisfaction of the need for competence.
In persons older than 38, it has been shown that the influence of environmental factors on work motivation is primarily reflected through the perception of the degree of satisfaction of the need for autonomy. The need for autonomy can be secondary and even totally neglected in individuals with less life and work experience. However, the need for personal causality becomes increasingly significant with age. An unrealistic desire to change the world around them may sometimes be more typical of younger persons, but the feeling that one is able to influence events around oneself definitely becomes more and more important with age. Younger persons, who are only just testing their competencies and generally have a larger possibility of choice in life, may not attach importance to the need for autonomy at work. It is, however, evident that, with time, the sense of personal autonomy becomes increasingly important for personality functioning and work motivation.
Another fact from this research seems contradictory and opposite to the one of the basic premises of the theory of self-determined motivation. It has been shown that the degree of perceived autonomy at work is positively linked with and has a positive impact on motivation by material rewards. According to self-determination theory, the only possible link between autonomy and material rewards is always negative. On the other hand, critics have for decades been endeavoring to relativize and refute such a viewpoint (Cameron, Banko & Pierce, 2001). The findings from this research are seemingly in favour of the critics, but when explaining positive relatedness and the positive impact of the perception of autonomy on work motivation by material rewards, caution is necessary and the specific nature of a wider social context in which this research was carried out should be taken into consideration.
First of all, work as a separate life domain implies a material reward for a particular achievement and a particular level of competence. Deci and associates agree that the existing connection between cause and consequence is one of the most important prerequisites for motivation in the work context (Deci et al, 2001). The material reward following the invested work is not only one of the premises of contemporary civilization, but is also a condition for existential survival. In a specific social context such as ours, it is essential to establish a connection between cause and consequence in the work-related life context. This may lead to a positive influence and positive relatedness between the perception of satisfaction of the need for autonomy and the motivation based on instrumental principles. Self-determination theory suggests that this positive relatedness can exist only in the initial phases of generating motivation and during the establishment of instrumental principles. Over time, the instrumental principle and material rewards can become a double-edged sword and have a negative influence on the intrinsic interest in an activity and perception of the need for autonomy. However, in insufficiently clear and diffuse wider social conditions which may be characterized by the lack of any connection between cause and consequence, the establishment of an instrumental connection between work and material rewards can have a positive effect on the sense of personal causality.
Basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness with others are universal and exist regardless of cultural or demographic specificities (Ryan & Deci, 2006), but can differ in the ways they are satisfied (Čizmić, 2003). Thus, the same social factors in different social and economic circumstances can reflect on the subjective experience of personal autonomy in different ways. When the general social climate is not clear and predictable enough, the material reward is not experienced as a part of social control but is perceived as a confirmation of personal causality. The sense of personal causality is indeed crucial for the sense of personal autonomy, but in different cultures or perhaps only in different social circumstances, material rewards in the work context can be perceived not as a consequence of an external locus of control, but as an individual's sense of "controlling the work situation", of being able to influence events in their work environment, to be the center and cause of action. Those individuals who believe they can affect the events in the work context will be motivated in the situations producing a specific material reward.
This research may be said to contribute to the theory of self-determined motivation in two ways. First, even though self-determination theory suggests the need for autonomy is of key significance in all life domains, the need for competence seems to be of primary importance for personal development in the work context. Second, in specific social circumstances such as ours, the presence of a material reward for a particular work behaviour is not experienced as the presence of an external locus of control which manages the life of an individual, but rather causes an individual to feel that he or she is free to "control the situation", and this sense of personal causality and autonomous activity positively affects the motivation by material rewards in the work context.

Conclusion
The results of this research confirm some fundamental premises of self-determination theory and the hierarchical model of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. It has been shown that in a specific life context, such as work, motivation is affected by both personal and environmental variables. Work motivation is primarily affected by a global motivational orientation which has a great impact on motivation in the work context and "helps" work motivation resist negative environmental influences. In the work context, perception of the degree of satisfaction of the need for competence exerts the biggest influence on motivation, while in collectively-oriented societies and social environments, the need for relatedness also seems important. The need for autonomy can be repressed in the work context since the need for competence is primary in the work domain. With age, however, the need for personal autonomy at work becomes increasingly significant. The deprivation of the need for autonomy may then cause the sense of subjective suffering and may have negative consequences on personal psychological functioning, as suggested by selfdetermination theory. Future research should further explore these differences.