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Fluctuations in work motivation: tasks do not matter!

Jose Navarro¹, Fernando Curioso, Duarte Gomes

¹University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. j.navarro@ub.edu

Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences

|December 19, 2012

Summary

Work motivation fluctuates unpredictably, regardless of the specific tasks performed. These fluctuations exhibit a fractal pattern, suggesting underlying complex dynamics in employee motivation over time.

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Area of Science:

Organizational Psychology
Work and Motivation Studies

Background:

Work motivation is known to fluctuate non-linearly over time.
Previous research has not extensively examined the influence of specific tasks on these motivational fluctuations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether the nature of tasks and subtasks influences the presence and pattern of fluctuations in work motivation.
To analyze the relationship between task characteristics and daily variations in motivation, self-efficacy, and instrumentality.

Main Methods:

Collected daily registers (N=7036) from 69 workers over 21 days, recording task development and motivation levels.
Categorized labor activities into main tasks and subtasks using three independent judges with high inter-rater reliability.
Applied the Mean Squared Successive Difference (MSSD) statistic and hierarchical regression analysis to assess motivational fluctuations.

Main Results:

Task and subtask characteristics were found to have no statistically significant effect on the presence of fluctuations in work motivation (p > .05).
Results indicate inherent instability in work motivation, independent of the specific labor activities undertaken.
Analysis revealed that fluctuations in work motivation demonstrate a fractal structure across various tasks performed during a workday.

Conclusions:

Work motivation is inherently unstable and fluctuates irrespective of task type or complexity.
The fractal nature of motivational fluctuations suggests complex, possibly affective, underpinnings that warrant further investigation.
Findings have implications for motivational theory and suggest future research directions focusing on non-task-related influences, such as affect.