Exploring autonomous motivation: Knowledge workers’ perspective of South African hybrid organisations

Abstract

Hybrid work as prompted and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic is a preferred work approach that is here to stay. The global phenomenon has also gained momentum in South Africa as more corporate organisations are adopting this new way of working. As organisational leaders grapple with the varying factors that are required to create optimal working conditions in hybrid settings, they should also gain a better understanding of what motivates knowledge workers to perform and to stay engaged, regardless of their place of work. Building upon the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) which is a well-recognised human motivation theory, this study was purposed to explore and deepen a conceptual understanding of knowledge workers’ perception of autonomous motivation and how it can be achieved in hybrid work settings. The multi-level explorative study gained insights from 18 knowledge workers who were either managers or individual contributors and they worked for organisations that have adopted hybrid working in the financial services and in the consulting services industries. Through the conducted semi-structured interviews, the researcher sought to explore knowledge workers’ lived experiences of working in hybrid environments. The study findings uncovered expectations of how knowledge workers desire to be managed to increase autonomous motivation. In addition, the findings revealed principal leadership practices and work experiences that contribute to the satisfaction of the psychological need for autonomous motivation among knowledge workers. The study contributes to literature by confirming and expanding on the desirable leader practices and the work experiences that should be cultivated to maximise autonomous motivation among knowledge workers in the hybrid work settings. The findings also outline the undesirable leader practices and the work experiences that should be avoided as they thwart autonomous motivation. A leadership development framework detailing the approaches that may be utilised to lead knowledge workers in hybrid teams for increased autonomous motivation is recommended.