The Effects of Job Demands and Organizational Resources through Psychological Need Satisfaction and Thwarting

A Multilevel Person-Centered Perspective on the Role of Job Demands and Resources for Employees' Job Engagement and Burnout Profiles

The present study examined the configurations, or profiles, taken by distinct global and specific facets of job engagement and burnout (by relying on a bifactor operationalization of these constructs) among a nationally representative sample of Canadian Defence employees (n = 13,088; nested within 65 work units). The present study also adopted a multilevel perspective to investigate the role of job demands (work overload and role ambiguity), as well as individual (psychological empowerment), workgroup (interpersonal justice), supervisor (transformational leadership), and organizational (organizational support) resources in the prediction of profile membership. Latent profile analyses revealed five profiles of employees: Burned-Out/Disengaged (7.13%), Burned-Out/Involved (12.13%), Engaged (18.14%), Engaged/Exhausted (15.50%), and Normative (47.10%). The highest turnover intentions were observed in the Burned-Out/Disengaged profile, and the lowest in the Engaged profile. Employees' perceptions of job demands and resources were also associated with profile membership across both levels, although the effects of psychological empowerment were more pronounced than the effects of job demands and resources related to the workgroup, supervisor, and organization. Individual-level effects were also more pronounced than effects occurring at the work unit level, where shared perceptions of work overload and organizational support proved to be the key shared drivers of profile membership.

Zusammenhänge zwischen psychologischer Bedürfnisbefriedigung und emotionaler Erschöpfung sowie Vitalität bei Sportlehrkräften im Vorbereitungsdienst

Zusammenfassung. Sportlehrkräfte sind mit hohen Arbeitsbelastungen konfrontiert, die insbesondere bei einem Mangel an beruflicher Bedürfnisbefriedigung zu Burnoutsymptomen führen können. Basierend auf dem Job-Demands-Ressource-Modell hat die vorliegende Untersuchung daher zum Ziel, Einflüsse von beruflicher Bedürfnisbefriedigung als Arbeitsplatzressource auf Burnout und das berufliche Engagement bei Sportlehrkräften im Vorbereitungsdienst zu untersuchen. Mittels einer Fragebogenuntersuchung werden Zusammenhänge zwischen beruflicher Bedürfnisbefriedigung und -frustration, emotionaler Erschöpfung und Vitalität an einer Stichprobe von N = 263 angehenden Sportlehrkräften untersucht. Strukturgleichungsmodelle ergaben einerseits einen signifikant negativen Effekt der Befriedigung des Autonomie- sowie des Kompetenzbedürfnisses auf Vitalität als auch einen signifikant positiven Effekt beider Bedürfnisse auf die emotionale Erschöpfung. Zudem zeigt die Frustration dieser Bedürfnisse signifikant negative Effekte auf Vitalität. Die Frustration des Bedürfnisses nach Kompetenz hat einen signifikant positiven Effekt auf emotionale Erschöpfung. Die Befunde werden mit Blick auf praktische Implikationen im Sinne einer Burnoutprävention für angehende Sportlehrkräfte diskutiert.

Mediation role of work motivation and job satisfaction between work-related basic need satisfaction and work engagement among doctors in China: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to examine the association of work-related basic need satisfaction (W-BNS) with doctors' work engagement and explore the mediating role of work motivation and job satisfaction between the two variables.

DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study.

SETTING

The study was conducted in four public grade A tertiary hospitals in China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1000 doctors were invited to participate; 849 doctors completed questionnaires validly.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Questionnaires were administered online and offline to collect data, consisting of six parts: social demographic characteristics, work-related characteristics, and scales related to W-BNS, work motivation, job satisfaction and work engagement. One-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis were performed using SPSS, and mediation analysis was carried out via PROCESS macro.

RESULTS

Our research showed that W-BNS, work motivation, job satisfaction and work engagement were positively correlated. Work engagement was significantly predicted by W-BNS (β＝0.15, p<0.001) through motivation at work (β＝0.23, p<0.001) and job satisfaction (β＝0.44, p<0.001), respectively. Compared with work motivation, the mediating effect of job satisfaction was stronger (95% CI -0.22 to -0.06).

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that job satisfaction and work motivation may be important pathways through which doctors' W-BNS may influence their work engagement. In order to maintain and promote doctors' work engagement, hospital administrators should consider strengthening the internal motivation of doctors and improving their job satisfaction.

Losing sleep over work: A self-determination theory view on need frustration, sleep disturbance, and mental ill health

Given the centrality of sleep and work in most individuals' lives, it is interesting to note that an empirical understanding of the association between what happens in the workplace and how well people sleep is in an early stage of development, at least relative to other topics that are of interest in the literature on stress and health. Using self-determination theory, the current study examined how maladaptive motivational processes at work relate to sleep disturbance and mental ill health. In line with hypotheses, the results of a cross-sectional analysis and analyses using data from two time points over 15 months revealed that employees are more likely to report sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depressive symptoms when they experience frustration of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the workplace. Additional results revealed an indirect effect of change in basic psychological need frustration on change in anxiety-but not on change in depressive symptoms-through change in sleep disturbance. Taken together, these findings add to the burgeoning literature on the maladaptive motivational origins of ill health and dysfunction in the workplace.

Is a Match Better Than No Match? On the Interaction of Demands and Support During Technological Change

Progressing digitalization and technological changes triggered by COVID-19 lockdowns means for organizations that new technologies need to be implemented in shorter time periods. The implementation of new technologies in the workplace poses various change demands on employees. Organizations try to counteract these effects by providing change support in the form of for example training or participation options. However, to date, it is unclear how change demands develop a detrimental effect and whether change support can buffer this relation due to which working mechanisms, and whether the effectiveness of support measures can be increased by matching them to specific change demands. Based on the integrative framework of social support theory, which draws on the job demands-resources model and self-determination theory, we hypothesize that change demands can be most effectively addressed through matching change support. In three consecutive experimental vignette studies (N₁ = 89, N₂ = 134, N₃ = 138) of dependently employed samples, we analyzed the interaction of change demands and change support on attitude to change, satisfaction with the change process, and behavioral intention to use by manipulating the degree of demand (high vs. low) and provided support (high vs. low) and by conducting moderated mediation analyses, and integrated the results meta-analytically. The results show that change demands have a detrimental effect on technology implementation outcomes. In one of the three studies we confirmed a moderating effect of change support. The relation was mediated by perceived frustration, but the mediating effect of psychological need satisfaction was inconclusive. Based on our results, we discuss that the research on matching support requires the evaluation of the personal relevance of the support receiver to increase the chance of achieving a match.

Supervisor expectations regarding work-related messages: their differential effects among remote and on-site workers

Purpose

Research suggests that supervisor expectations regarding the need to respond quickly to work-related messages (SE) tend to be positively related to employees' levels of emotional exhaustion. In the present research paper, the authors examine the indirect – through emotional exhaustion – effects of these expectations on employees' levels of family satisfaction, life satisfaction and sleep quality. They also explore whether and how these associations differ between employees working on-site (n = 158) or remotely (n = 284).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 442 employees completed an online survey that covered measures on SE, emotional exhaustion, family and life satisfaction and sleep quality.

Findings

As hypothesized, the results of the study revealed that the indirect effects of SE on family satisfaction, life satisfaction and sleep quality were significantly mediated by emotional exhaustion. Finally, the relations between SE and the mediator (emotional exhaustion) were stronger among employees working on-site than among employees working remotely.

Practical implications

SE prevention could be encouraged to decrease employees' emotional exhaustion, in turn increasing their sleep quality, family satisfaction and life satisfaction.

Originality/value

These results revealed that working remotely helped buffer the undesirable effects of SE on emotional exhaustion.

Having the Cake and Eating It Too: First-Order, Second-Order and Bifactor Representations of Work Engagement

Even though work engagement is a popular construct in organizational psychology, the question remains whether it is experienced as a global construct, or as its three components (vigor, dedication, absorption). The present study thus contributes to the ongoing scientific debate about the dimensionality of work engagement systematically compared one-factor, first-order, higher-order, and bifactor confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) representations of work engagement measured by the short version of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). We also documented the validity evidence of the most optimal representation based on its test-criterion relationship with basic psychological need fulfillment at work, turnover intentions, work addiction, and work satisfaction. Based on responses provided by two distinct samples of employees (N ₁ = 242, N ₂ = 505), our results supported the superiority of the bifactor-CFA representation including a global factor of work engagement and three co-existing specific factors of vigor, dedication, and absorption. This representation replicated well across the two samples through tests of measurement invariance. Finally, while global work engagement was substantially related to all correlates, the specific factors also demonstrated meaningful associations over and above the global levels of work engagement.

Tenets of self-determination theory as a mechanism behind challenge demands: a within-person study

Purpose

This study investigated a mechanism by which challenge stressors may affect employee well-being outcomes. This study tested a within-person longitudinal model in which the effects of challenge demands relate to basic psychological need satisfaction/thwarting and worker well-being outcomes. In particular, basic psychological need satisfaction and thwarting were hypothesized to mediate challenge demands and outcomes at the intraindividual level.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 84 employees from a weekly survey across four weeks (308 observations) were used in Bayesian multilevel path analyses to test hypotheses.

Findings

Although significant indirect effects showed that basic psychological needs mediate between demands and worker outcomes, only a few specific indirect effects (e.g. the path from time pressure via thwarting the need for autonomy to emotional exhaustion) operated as hypothesized. Interestingly, in this study, time pressure was only mediated via thwarting the need for autonomy when considering undesirable worker outcomes (i.e. increased emotional exhaustion, decreased job satisfaction). Job complexity, however, led to decreased emotional exhaustion via the need for competence satisfaction. Implications for need satisfaction and thwarting as mechanisms in the challenge–hindrance framework are discussed.

Originality/value

This study (1) extends the challenge–hindrance framework to include basic psychological needs as a mechanism, (2) expands basic psychological needs to include need thwarting and (3) may enhance our understanding of stressor categories.

Effect of psychosocial safety climate on psychological distress via job resources, work engagement and workaholism: a multilevel longitudinal study

Objective. Our innovation was to propose a multilevel model to explain how an organizational factor, psychosocial safety climate (PSC) - the climate for worker psychological health - related to work investment (work engagement and workaholism) and, in turn, psychological distress. Methods. Longitudinal data were collected in Peninsular Malaysia across 26 police departments from 392 police personnel, matched across 4 months, and were tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results. The analysis revealed between-group effects linking PSC to job resources, to work engagement and to workaholism. When PSC operated by improving job resources, aside from increased work engagement, it could unwittingly boost workaholism. However, this only existed under low PSC conditions. The secondary function of PSC buffered the impact of job resources on workaholism and psychological distress. When PSC was high, job resources reduced both workaholism and psychological distress, suggesting that PSC enabled resources to do their job of mitigating unfavorable conditions. Conclusions. Results support a multilevel PSC-extended job demands-resources motivational path with cross-links, and PSC's moderation function, as an explanation of worker psychological health. Confirming PSC as a leading indicator and the importance of a motivational path, this article presents new evidence in support of targeting PSC to improve worker psychological health.

A Longitudinal Person-Centered Perspective on Positive and Negative Affect at Work

This research examines how the direction and intensity of employee's positive and negative affect at work combine within different profiles, and the relations between these profiles and theoretically-relevant predictors (psychological need satisfaction and supervisor autonomy support) and outcomes (work-family conflict, absenteeism, and turnover intentions). A total sample of 491 firefighters completed our measures initially, and 139 of those completed the same measures again four months later, allowing us to examine the stability of these affect profiles over time. Latent profile analyses and latent transition analyses revealed five identical profiles across the two measurements occasions: (1) Low Negative Affect Facilitators; (2) Moderately Low Positive Affect Incapacitators; (3) High Positive Affect Facilitators; (4) Very Low Positive Affect Incapacitators; and (5) Normative. Membership into Profiles 3, 4, and 5 was very stable over time. In contrast, Profiles 1 and 2 were associated with a highly unstable membership over time. The highest levels of work-family conflict, absenteeism, and turnover intentions were associated with the Very Low Positive Affect Incapacitators. In contrast, the lowest levels of turnover intentions were associated with the Low Negative Affect Facilitators and High Positive Affect Facilitators.

The Dark Side of Motivational Practices in Exercise Professionals: Mediators of Controlling Strategies

According to the Self-Determination Theory, perceived job pressures can coerce professionals to develop more controlled motivations towards their work, and consequently increase the probability of using controlling motivational strategies. This study sought to analyze work-related motivations as mediators between two types of perceived job pressures: organizational constraints and perceptions of clients' controlled motivation and the use of controlling motivational strategies by exercise professionals. Using a cross-sectional design, involving 366 exercise professionals (172 women), mediation paths were assessed following Preacher and Hayes statistical procedures. Models were adjusted for gender, work experience (years), and the internal tendency to feel events as pressuring. Organizational constraints were associated with lower autonomous motivation for work and the use of controlling strategies. Perceptions of clients' controlled motivation were associated with work-related amotivation and the use of controlling strategies. Amotivation mediated the association between organizational constraints and controlling strategies. Overall, results support theoretical predictions and previous research, extending it to the exercise domain, highlighting the interplay between job pressures, work-related motivations, and the use of controlling strategies. The understanding of what influences exercise professionals' motivation, and consequently the motivational strategies they use, is of paramount importance for exercise promotion and the benefit of those who seek their expert guidance.

Business Results and Well-Being: An Engaging Leadership Intervention Study

The present quasi-experimental study tested the business impact of a leadership development program focusing on psychological well-being through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Based on the concept of engaging leadership and self-determination theory, the 8-month program targeted midlevel team leaders of the customer fulfilment center of a health systems multinational organization. The program was designed in co-creation between senior leadership and the team leaders that participated in the program. Outcomes showed positive business results through significant increases in a preselected key performance indicator and decreased employee absenteeism. Through changes in autonomy satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, the team leaders (N = 14) benefitted in a moderate to very large extent relative to a similar control group (N = 52). In contrast, team members (N = 148) displayed no such benefits. Specifically, higher levels of autonomy satisfaction are said to lead to higher levels of psychological well-being and motivation. Still, the link with business performance is absent in most organizational studies within self-determination theory, making the present study one of the first to fill this gap. The study discloses the program design, compares the effects to a relevant control group, evaluates the lessons learned, and provides practical suggestions.

On the Value of Considering Specific Facets of Interactional Justice Perceptions

This research seeks to verify the value of considering specific perceptions of informational and interpersonal justice over and above employees' global perceptions of interactional justice. In Study 1 (Sample 1: n = 592; Sample 2: n = 384), we examined the underlying structure of workers' perceptions of interactional justice by contrasting first-order and bifactor representations of their ratings. To investigate the true added value of specific informational and interpersonal justice perceptions once global interactional justice perceptions are taken into account, we also considered the relations between these global and specific perceptions and various outcomes. Our findings revealed that workers' perceptions of interactional justice simultaneously reflected a global interactional justice factor and two specific facets (interpersonal and informational justice). In Study 2, we identified employees' latent justice profiles based on their global (interactional justice) and specific (interpersonal and informational justice) levels of interactional justice. Five different interactional justice profiles were identified: low interpersonal, high interpersonal/average informational, high informational, normative, and high interpersonal/low informational. Employees' perceptions of transformational leadership are a significant predictor of profile membership. Finally, the five profiles were significantly associated with anxiety and emotional exhaustion.

The Spillover Effect of Autonomy Frustration on Human Motivation and Its Electrophysiological Representation

It is a commonplace that some people may adopt a controlling style, which brings about autonomy frustration to others. Existing studies on autonomy frustration mainly examined its effect in the primary thwarting context, ignoring its potential spillover to subsequent activities. In this study, we examined whether prior autonomy frustration would have a sustaining negative impact on one's motivation in another autonomy-supportive activity that follows. In this electrophysiological study, participants worked on two irrelevant tasks organized by two different experimenters. We adopted a between-group design and manipulated participants' autonomy frustration by providing varied audio instructions during Session 1. In Session 2, all participants were instructed to complete a moderately difficult task that is autonomy-supportive instead, and we observed a less pronounced reward positivity (RewP) difference wave and a smaller P300 in the autonomy-frustration group compared with the control group. These findings suggested that the negative influence of autonomy frustration is longstanding and that it can undermine one's motivation and attention in a following activity that is autonomy-supportive itself. Thus, our findings provided original neutral evidence for the adverse intertemporal effect of autonomy frustration, and suggested important practical implications.

Managerial style and well-being among psychiatric nurses: A prospective study

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Numerous studies have shown that organizational and managerial factors have significant effects on nurses' workplace well-being. There are few studies on the effects of nurses' perceptions of their supervisors' autonomy-supportive behaviours on their workplace well-being. There are few studies on the determinants of nurses' workplace well-being within a psychiatric context. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This study examines the psychological processes underlying the relationship between nurses' perceptions of their supervisors' autonomy-supportive behaviours and their workplace well-being. Mental health nurses' perceptions of their supervisors' autonomy-supportive behaviours are indirectly and positively related to their workplace well-being through their positive effects on psychological need satisfaction. Autonomy and competence need satisfaction has stronger effects on workplace well-being than relatedness need satisfaction. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: When their supervisor gives nurses a meaningful rationale for tasks and acknowledges their feelings and views, they feel more autonomous, competent and related to others. It is important for nurses to feel autonomous and competent in order to experience well-being at work. Nurses' workplace well-being might be positively and negatively linked to quality of care and turnover intentions, respectively. Abstract Introduction There is growing interest in the relationships between work factors and nurses' workplace well-being. However, there has been very little research on the psychological processes underlying the relationships between nurses' perceptions of supervisors' autonomy-supportive managerial style and their workplace well-being. Aim/question Drawing on self-determination theory, we explored the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence and relatedness) in the relationships between nurses' perceptions of supervisors' autonomy-supportive managerial style and their workplace well-being, using a prospective design. Method A prospective questionnaire was given to nurses in eight French psychiatric units. Data were collected from a sample of 294 French nurses who completed measures of perceived supervisors' autonomy-supportive behaviours at Time 1 and of psychological need satisfaction, work engagement and job satisfaction at Time 2 one year later. Results Results revealed that nurses' perceptions of supervisors' autonomy-supportive managerial style were indirectly and positively related to their vigour, dedication, absorption and job satisfaction one year later through their positive effects on psychological need satisfaction. Discussion/implications for practice Overall, this paper sheds light on the indirect effect of nurses' perceptions of supervisors' autonomy-supportive behaviours on their workplace well-being. Theoretical contributions and future directions, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.

A Person-Centered Representation of Basic Need Satisfaction Balance at Work

Abstract. This study examines how a global overarching need satisfaction construct, together with three specific dimensions (autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction) combine within different profiles of workers among two independent samples ( n = 1,419 and n = 677). In addition, this research investigates the role of job demands and resources in the prediction of profile membership, and documents the relation between these profiles and maladaptive outcomes (anxiety and physical fatigue). The results revealed four distinct profiles. Job resources (e.g., participation, organizational support, and work scheduling autonomy) predicted an increased likelihood of membership in the normative profile in both samples. The globally dissatisfied yet moderately autonomous profile was also associated with the highest anxiety levels relative to all other profiles.

Role clarity, role conflict, and vitality at work: The role of the basic needs

This study aimed to provide new information on the relationships between vitality at work and role clarity, role conflict, and psychological basic need satisfaction. Participants of the cross-sectional study were 110 employees in a preventive intervention program. Associations between the focal constructs were examined with regression and bootstrapping analyses. The results suggest that the role clarity is associated with subjective vitality at work through higher autonomy and higher competence, and that role conflict is negatively associated with subjective vitality at work through lower autonomy and lower relatedness. Additionally, an interaction between the role characteristics was observed, suggesting that the strength of the association between role clarity and competence, and the strength of the indirect association between role clarity and vitality through competence may vary depending on the level of role conflict. The findings are consistent with the notion that that managers and co-workers may affect the opportunities of individuals to achieve need satisfaction and feel energized by delineating and negotiating role-related factors at work. Need satisfaction, in turn, is an antecedent of well-being and motivation. Employees should feel able to clarify role ambiguities with their supervisor or co-workers and thus reduce the role conflicts imposed by the expectations of various stakeholders. Limitations of the study include the self-rating methodology, cross-sectional design, and properties of the sample restricting generalizability.

Effects of Co-worker and Supervisor Support on Nurses’ Energy and Motivation through Role Ambiguity and Psychological Flexibility

One of the job resources most strongly associated with nurses’ well-being and motivation is social support. However, the psychosocial mechanisms that would explain this relationship have not been sufficiently researched. Thus, the main aim of this study was analyze whether this relationship could be mediated by two variables: role ambiguity and psychological flexibility. A total of 196 nurses from various Spanish hospitals and primary health care centers participated in this cross-sectional study. A multiple mediation analysis was run using the “PROCESS” macro script in SPSS 23.0. The results showed that co-worker support was related to higher levels of vigor and vitality through role ambiguity (Estimate = .158, 95% CI [.050, .298], and Estimate = .212, 95% CI [.076, .390], respectively). The same applied to supervisor support, (Estimate = .197, 95% CI [.059, .378], and Estimate = .212, 95% CI [.076, .390], respectively). Co-worker support was also related to higher levels of vigor and vitality through psychological flexibility, (Estimate = .132, 95% CI [.048, .271], and Estimate = .216, 95% CI [.086, .394], respectively). The same applied to supervisor support (Estimate = .092, 95% CI [.024, .208], and Estimate = .157, 95% CI [.035, .333], respectively). However, in the relationships between co-worker, supervisor support and exhaustion, only psychological flexibility played a mediating role. In conclusion, social support in nursing is a job resource that is associated with high levels of energy and motivation among nurses through the mediating role of certain job demands and personal resources.

A Surprising Source of Self-Motivation: Prior Competence Frustration Strengthens One's Motivation to Win in Another Competence-Supportive Activity

According to self-determination theory (SDT), competence is among the three basic psychological needs essential for one’s well-being and optimal functioning, and the frustration of these needs is theoretically predicted to induce a restorative response. While previous studies have explored the restoration process of autonomy and relatedness, empirical evidence for such a process is still lacking for competence. In order to explore this process and to examine the effect of prior competence frustration on one’s motivation to win in a subsequent competence-supportive task, we adopted a between-group experimental design and manipulated one’s competence frustration through task difficulty in an electrophysiological study. Participants in both groups were instructed to work on the time-estimation task and the stop-watch task in two successive sessions respectively. Participants in the experimental group were asked to complete a highly difficult task in the first session and a task of medium difficulty in the second session, while those in the control group were instructed to work on tasks of medium difficulty in both sessions. In the second session, an enlarged feedback-related negativity (FRN) loss-win difference wave (d-FRN) was observed in the experimental group compared to the control group, indicating that the competence-frustrated participants have an enhanced motivation to win in a subsequent competence-supportive task. Thus, results of the present study provided original neural evidence for the restoration process of frustrated competence, which provided important guidelines for the managerial practice.

The effects of work factors on nurses' job satisfaction, quality of care and turnover intentions in oncology

AIMS

We examined the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and hospital nurse staffing on nurses' job satisfaction through the satisfaction of the three psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Then, we examined the links between job satisfaction and quality of care as well as turnover intentions from the workplace.

BACKGROUND

There is growing interest in the relationships between work factors and nurses' job satisfaction. However, minimal research has investigated the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and staffing on nurses' job satisfaction and the psychological mechanisms by which these factors lead to positive outcomes.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed in 11 oncology units between September 2015 - February 2016.

METHOD

Data were collected from a sample of 144 French nurses who completed measures of perceived supervisor support, value congruence, staffing adequacy, psychological need satisfaction, job satisfaction, quality of care and turnover intentions.

RESULTS

The hypothesized model was tested with path analyses. Results revealed that psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the effects of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and hospital nurse staffing on job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction was positively associated with quality of care and negatively linked to turnover intentions.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these findings provide insight into the influence of perceived supervisor support, value congruence and staffing on nurses' attitudes and behaviours.

Being Eager to Prove Oneself: U-Shaped Relationship between Competence Frustration and Intrinsic Motivation in Another Activity

Competence frustration has been consistently found to undermine one's intrinsic motivation in the same activity. However, the relationship between competence frustration in a preceding activity and one's intrinsic motivation in a subsequent one remains unclear. In order to explore this relationship, self-reported data were collected from 617 undergraduate students of a large comprehensive university in southern China, who took varied courses immediately before taking a less-demanding one. Results suggested a U-shaped relationship between students' competence frustration in a preceding course and intrinsic motivation in a subsequent one. To be specific, for students whose competence frustration reached the inflection point, a restoration process would be activated if the current course would help restore their competence. Importantly, these students' competence frustration in a preceding course was found to positively predict their intrinsic motivation level in a subsequent course. As far as we are concerned, this is the first study to reveal a potential positive effect of need frustration outside of its primary thwarting context, which complements and extends existing literatures on the dynamics between need frustration and intrinsic motivation.