The Employees’ State of Mind during COVID-19: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Mark Anthony Camilleri
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Mark Anthony Camilleri: Department of Corporate Communication, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta, 2080 Msida, Malta

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: The unprecedented outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a devastating effect on the global economy. Many businesses experienced a significant decline in their business activities. As a result, their employees were concerned on their job security and long-term employment prospects. This research explores the service employees’ motivations in their workplace environment and sheds light on their perceptions about their employers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). The methodology integrated key measures from the self-determination theory (SDT), CSR, job security and organizational performance. A structural equations modelling (SEM-PLS3) approach was used to analyze the proposed research model. The findings confirmed that the employees’ intrinsic motivations were significantly predicting their organizational performance. Their identified motivations, job security as well as their employers’ social responsibility were significant antecedents of their intrinsic motivations. Moreover, there were significant indirect effects that predicted the employees’ productivity in their workplace during COVID-19.

Keywords: external motivation; intrinsic motivation; identified motivation; introjected motivation; job security; corporate social responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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