importance of work from research

10 Reasons Why Research is Important

No matter what career field you’re in or how high up you are, there’s always more to learn . The same applies to your personal life. No matter how many experiences you have or how diverse your social circle, there are things you don’t know. Research unlocks the unknowns, lets you explore the world from different perspectives, and fuels a deeper understanding. In some areas, research is an essential part of success. In others, it may not be absolutely necessary, but it has many benefits. Here are ten reasons why research is important:

#1. Research expands your knowledge base

The most obvious reason to do research is that you’ll learn more. There’s always more to learn about a topic, even if you are already well-versed in it. If you aren’t, research allows you to build on any personal experience you have with the subject. The process of research opens up new opportunities for learning and growth.

#2. Research gives you the latest information

Research encourages you to find the most recent information available . In certain fields, especially scientific ones, there’s always new information and discoveries being made. Staying updated prevents you from falling behind and giving info that’s inaccurate or doesn’t paint the whole picture. With the latest info, you’ll be better equipped to talk about a subject and build on ideas.

#3. Research helps you know what you’re up against

In business, you’ll have competition. Researching your competitors and what they’re up to helps you formulate your plans and strategies. You can figure out what sets you apart. In other types of research, like medicine, your research might identify diseases, classify symptoms, and come up with ways to tackle them. Even if your “enemy” isn’t an actual person or competitor, there’s always some kind of antagonist force or problem that research can help you deal with.

#4. Research builds your credibility

People will take what you have to say more seriously when they can tell you’re informed. Doing research gives you a solid foundation on which you can build your ideas and opinions. You can speak with confidence about what you know is accurate. When you’ve done the research, it’s much harder for someone to poke holes in what you’re saying. Your research should be focused on the best sources. If your “research” consists of opinions from non-experts, you won’t be very credible. When your research is good, though, people are more likely to pay attention.

#5. Research helps you narrow your scope

When you’re circling a topic for the first time, you might not be exactly sure where to start. Most of the time, the amount of work ahead of you is overwhelming. Whether you’re writing a paper or formulating a business plan, it’s important to narrow the scope at some point. Research helps you identify the most unique and/or important themes. You can choose the themes that fit best with the project and its goals.

#6. Research teaches you better discernment

Doing a lot of research helps you sift through low-quality and high-quality information. The more research you do on a topic, the better you’ll get at discerning what’s accurate and what’s not. You’ll also get better at discerning the gray areas where information may be technically correct but used to draw questionable conclusions.

#7. Research introduces you to new ideas

You may already have opinions and ideas about a topic when you start researching. The more you research, the more viewpoints you’ll come across. This encourages you to entertain new ideas and perhaps take a closer look at yours. You might change your mind about something or, at least, figure out how to position your ideas as the best ones.

#8. Research helps with problem-solving

Whether it’s a personal or professional problem, it helps to look outside yourself for help. Depending on what the issue is, your research can focus on what others have done before. You might just need more information, so you can make an informed plan of attack and an informed decision. When you know you’ve collected good information, you’ll feel much more confident in your solution.

#9. Research helps you reach people

Research is used to help raise awareness of issues like climate change , racial discrimination, gender inequality , and more. Without hard facts, it’s very difficult to prove that climate change is getting worse or that gender inequality isn’t progressing as quickly as it should. The public needs to know what the facts are, so they have a clear idea of what “getting worse” or “not progressing” actually means. Research also entails going beyond the raw data and sharing real-life stories that have a more personal impact on people.

#10. Research encourages curiosity

Having curiosity and a love of learning take you far in life. Research opens you up to different opinions and new ideas. It also builds discerning and analytical skills. The research process rewards curiosity. When you’re committed to learning, you’re always in a place of growth. Curiosity is also good for your health. Studies show curiosity is associated with higher levels of positivity, better satisfaction with life, and lower anxiety.

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2.1 Why Is Research Important?

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain how scientific research addresses questions about behavior
• Discuss how scientific research guides public policy
• Appreciate how scientific research can be important in making personal decisions

Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people’s authority, and blind luck. While many of us feel confident in our abilities to decipher and interact with the world around us, history is filled with examples of how very wrong we can be when we fail to recognize the need for evidence in supporting claims. At various times in history, we would have been certain that the sun revolved around a flat earth, that the earth’s continents did not move, and that mental illness was caused by possession ( Figure 2.2 ). It is through systematic scientific research that we divest ourselves of our preconceived notions and superstitions and gain an objective understanding of ourselves and our world.

The goal of all scientists is to better understand the world around them. Psychologists focus their attention on understanding behavior, as well as the cognitive (mental) and physiological (body) processes that underlie behavior. In contrast to other methods that people use to understand the behavior of others, such as intuition and personal experience, the hallmark of scientific research is that there is evidence to support a claim. Scientific knowledge is empirical : It is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

While behavior is observable, the mind is not. If someone is crying, we can see behavior. However, the reason for the behavior is more difficult to determine. Is the person crying due to being sad, in pain, or happy? Sometimes we can learn the reason for someone’s behavior by simply asking a question, like “Why are you crying?” However, there are situations in which an individual is either uncomfortable or unwilling to answer the question honestly, or is incapable of answering. For example, infants would not be able to explain why they are crying. In such circumstances, the psychologist must be creative in finding ways to better understand behavior. This chapter explores how scientific knowledge is generated, and how important that knowledge is in forming decisions in our personal lives and in the public domain.

Use of Research Information

Trying to determine which theories are and are not accepted by the scientific community can be difficult, especially in an area of research as broad as psychology. More than ever before, we have an incredible amount of information at our fingertips, and a simple internet search on any given research topic might result in a number of contradictory studies. In these cases, we are witnessing the scientific community going through the process of reaching a consensus, and it could be quite some time before a consensus emerges. For example, the explosion in our use of technology has led researchers to question whether this ultimately helps or hinders us. The use and implementation of technology in educational settings has become widespread over the last few decades. Researchers are coming to different conclusions regarding the use of technology. To illustrate this point, a study investigating a smartphone app targeting surgery residents (graduate students in surgery training) found that the use of this app can increase student engagement and raise test scores (Shaw & Tan, 2015). Conversely, another study found that the use of technology in undergraduate student populations had negative impacts on sleep, communication, and time management skills (Massimini & Peterson, 2009). Until sufficient amounts of research have been conducted, there will be no clear consensus on the effects that technology has on a student's acquisition of knowledge, study skills, and mental health.

In the meantime, we should strive to think critically about the information we encounter by exercising a degree of healthy skepticism. When someone makes a claim, we should examine the claim from a number of different perspectives: what is the expertise of the person making the claim, what might they gain if the claim is valid, does the claim seem justified given the evidence, and what do other researchers think of the claim? This is especially important when we consider how much information in advertising campaigns and on the internet claims to be based on “scientific evidence” when in actuality it is a belief or perspective of just a few individuals trying to sell a product or draw attention to their perspectives.

We should be informed consumers of the information made available to us because decisions based on this information have significant consequences. One such consequence can be seen in politics and public policy. Imagine that you have been elected as the governor of your state. One of your responsibilities is to manage the state budget and determine how to best spend your constituents’ tax dollars. As the new governor, you need to decide whether to continue funding early intervention programs. These programs are designed to help children who come from low-income backgrounds, have special needs, or face other disadvantages. These programs may involve providing a wide variety of services to maximize the children's development and position them for optimal levels of success in school and later in life (Blann, 2005). While such programs sound appealing, you would want to be sure that they also proved effective before investing additional money in these programs. Fortunately, psychologists and other scientists have conducted vast amounts of research on such programs and, in general, the programs are found to be effective (Neil & Christensen, 2009; Peters-Scheffer, Didden, Korzilius, & Sturmey, 2011). While not all programs are equally effective, and the short-term effects of many such programs are more pronounced, there is reason to believe that many of these programs produce long-term benefits for participants (Barnett, 2011). If you are committed to being a good steward of taxpayer money, you would want to look at research. Which programs are most effective? What characteristics of these programs make them effective? Which programs promote the best outcomes? After examining the research, you would be best equipped to make decisions about which programs to fund.

Link to Learning

Watch this video about early childhood program effectiveness to learn how scientists evaluate effectiveness and how best to invest money into programs that are most effective.

Ultimately, it is not just politicians who can benefit from using research in guiding their decisions. We all might look to research from time to time when making decisions in our lives. Imagine that your sister, Maria, expresses concern about her two-year-old child, Umberto. Umberto does not speak as much or as clearly as the other children in his daycare or others in the family. Umberto's pediatrician undertakes some screening and recommends an evaluation by a speech pathologist, but does not refer Maria to any other specialists. Maria is concerned that Umberto's speech delays are signs of a developmental disorder, but Umberto's pediatrician does not; she sees indications of differences in Umberto's jaw and facial muscles. Hearing this, you do some internet searches, but you are overwhelmed by the breadth of information and the wide array of sources. You see blog posts, top-ten lists, advertisements from healthcare providers, and recommendations from several advocacy organizations. Why are there so many sites? Which are based in research, and which are not?

In the end, research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions. Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate. In the scientific community, facts can be established only using evidence collected through empirical research.

NOTABLE RESEARCHERS

Psychological research has a long history involving important figures from diverse backgrounds. While the introductory chapter discussed several researchers who made significant contributions to the discipline, there are many more individuals who deserve attention in considering how psychology has advanced as a science through their work ( Figure 2.3 ). For instance, Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939) was the first woman to earn a PhD in psychology. Her research focused on animal behavior and cognition (Margaret Floy Washburn, PhD, n.d.). Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) was a preeminent first-generation American psychologist who opposed the behaviorist movement, conducted significant research into memory, and established one of the earliest experimental psychology labs in the United States (Mary Whiton Calkins, n.d.).

Francis Sumner (1895–1954) was the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920. His dissertation focused on issues related to psychoanalysis. Sumner also had research interests in racial bias and educational justice. Sumner was one of the founders of Howard University’s department of psychology, and because of his accomplishments, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Black Psychology.” Thirteen years later, Inez Beverly Prosser (1895–1934) became the first African American woman to receive a PhD in psychology. Prosser’s research highlighted issues related to education in segregated versus integrated schools, and ultimately, her work was very influential in the hallmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional (Ethnicity and Health in America Series: Featured Psychologists, n.d.).

Although the establishment of psychology’s scientific roots occurred first in Europe and the United States, it did not take much time until researchers from around the world began to establish their own laboratories and research programs. For example, some of the first experimental psychology laboratories in South America were founded by Horatio Piñero (1869–1919) at two institutions in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Godoy & Brussino, 2010). In India, Gunamudian David Boaz (1908–1965) and Narendra Nath Sen Gupta (1889–1944) established the first independent departments of psychology at the University of Madras and the University of Calcutta, respectively. These developments provided an opportunity for Indian researchers to make important contributions to the field (Gunamudian David Boaz, n.d.; Narendra Nath Sen Gupta, n.d.).

When the American Psychological Association (APA) was first founded in 1892, all of the members were White males (Women and Minorities in Psychology, n.d.). However, by 1905, Mary Whiton Calkins was elected as the first female president of the APA, and by 1946, nearly one-quarter of American psychologists were female. Psychology became a popular degree option for students enrolled in the nation’s historically Black higher education institutions, increasing the number of Black Americans who went on to become psychologists. Given demographic shifts occurring in the United States and increased access to higher educational opportunities among historically underrepresented populations, there is reason to hope that the diversity of the field will increasingly match the larger population, and that the research contributions made by the psychologists of the future will better serve people of all backgrounds (Women and Minorities in Psychology, n.d.).

The Process of Scientific Research

Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as the scientific method . Basically, ideas (in the form of theories and hypotheses) are tested against the real world (in the form of empirical observations), and those empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on. In this sense, the scientific process is circular. The types of reasoning within the circle are called deductive and inductive. In deductive reasoning , ideas are tested in the real world; in inductive reasoning , real-world observations lead to new ideas ( Figure 2.4 ). These processes are inseparable, like inhaling and exhaling, but different research approaches place different emphasis on the deductive and inductive aspects.

In the scientific context, deductive reasoning begins with a generalization—one hypothesis—that is then used to reach logical conclusions about the real world. If the hypothesis is correct, then the logical conclusions reached through deductive reasoning should also be correct. A deductive reasoning argument might go something like this: All living things require energy to survive (this would be your hypothesis). Ducks are living things. Therefore, ducks require energy to survive (logical conclusion). In this example, the hypothesis is correct; therefore, the conclusion is correct as well. Sometimes, however, an incorrect hypothesis may lead to a logical but incorrect conclusion. Consider this argument: all ducks are born with the ability to see. Quackers is a duck. Therefore, Quackers was born with the ability to see. Scientists use deductive reasoning to empirically test their hypotheses. Returning to the example of the ducks, researchers might design a study to test the hypothesis that if all living things require energy to survive, then ducks will be found to require energy to survive.

Deductive reasoning starts with a generalization that is tested against real-world observations; however, inductive reasoning moves in the opposite direction. Inductive reasoning uses empirical observations to construct broad generalizations. Unlike deductive reasoning, conclusions drawn from inductive reasoning may or may not be correct, regardless of the observations on which they are based. For instance, you may notice that your favorite fruits—apples, bananas, and oranges—all grow on trees; therefore, you assume that all fruit must grow on trees. This would be an example of inductive reasoning, and, clearly, the existence of strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi demonstrate that this generalization is not correct despite it being based on a number of direct observations. Scientists use inductive reasoning to formulate theories, which in turn generate hypotheses that are tested with deductive reasoning. In the end, science involves both deductive and inductive processes.

For example, case studies, which you will read about in the next section, are heavily weighted on the side of empirical observations. Thus, case studies are closely associated with inductive processes as researchers gather massive amounts of observations and seek interesting patterns (new ideas) in the data. Experimental research, on the other hand, puts great emphasis on deductive reasoning.

We’ve stated that theories and hypotheses are ideas, but what sort of ideas are they, exactly? A theory is a well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena. Theories are repeatedly checked against the world, but they tend to be too complex to be tested all at once; instead, researchers create hypotheses to test specific aspects of a theory.

A hypothesis is a testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct, and it is often worded as an if-then statement (e.g., if I study all night, I will get a passing grade on the test). The hypothesis is extremely important because it bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world. As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the result of these tests Figure 2.5 .

To see how this process works, let’s consider a specific theory and a hypothesis that might be generated from that theory. As you’ll learn in a later chapter, the James-Lange theory of emotion asserts that emotional experience relies on the physiological arousal associated with the emotional state. If you walked out of your home and discovered a very aggressive snake waiting on your doorstep, your heart would begin to race and your stomach churn. According to the James-Lange theory, these physiological changes would result in your feeling of fear. A hypothesis that could be derived from this theory might be that a person who is unaware of the physiological arousal that the sight of the snake elicits will not feel fear.

A scientific hypothesis is also falsifiable , or capable of being shown to be incorrect. Recall from the introductory chapter that Sigmund Freud had lots of interesting ideas to explain various human behaviors ( Figure 2.6 ). However, a major criticism of Freud’s theories is that many of his ideas are not falsifiable; for example, it is impossible to imagine empirical observations that would disprove the existence of the id, the ego, and the superego—the three elements of personality described in Freud’s theories. Despite this, Freud’s theories are widely taught in introductory psychology texts because of their historical significance for personality psychology and psychotherapy, and these remain the root of all modern forms of therapy.

In contrast, the James-Lange theory does generate falsifiable hypotheses, such as the one described above. Some individuals who suffer significant injuries to their spinal columns are unable to feel the bodily changes that often accompany emotional experiences. Therefore, we could test the hypothesis by determining how emotional experiences differ between individuals who have the ability to detect these changes in their physiological arousal and those who do not. In fact, this research has been conducted and while the emotional experiences of people deprived of an awareness of their physiological arousal may be less intense, they still experience emotion (Chwalisz, Diener, & Gallagher, 1988).

Scientific research’s dependence on falsifiability allows for great confidence in the information that it produces. Typically, by the time information is accepted by the scientific community, it has been tested repeatedly.

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• Authors: Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett
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• Book title: Psychology 2e
• Publication date: Apr 22, 2020
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/2-1-why-is-research-important

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What Is the Importance of Research? 5 Reasons Why Research is Critical

by Logan Bessant | Nov 16, 2021 | Science

Most of us appreciate that research is a crucial part of medical advancement. But what exactly is the importance of research? In short, it is critical in the development of new medicines as well as ensuring that existing treatments are used to their full potential. 

Research can bridge knowledge gaps and change the way healthcare practitioners work by providing solutions to previously unknown questions.

In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of research and its impact on medical breakthroughs.  

The Importance Of Health Research

The purpose of studying is to gather information and evidence, inform actions, and contribute to the overall knowledge of a certain field. None of this is possible without research. 

Understanding how to conduct research and the importance of it may seem like a very simple idea to some, but in reality, it’s more than conducting a quick browser search and reading a few chapters in a textbook. 

No matter what career field you are in, there is always more to learn. Even for people who hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in their field of study, there is always some sort of unknown that can be researched. Delving into this unlocks the unknowns, letting you explore the world from different perspectives and fueling a deeper understanding of how the universe works.

To make things a little more specific, this concept can be clearly applied in any healthcare scenario. Health research has an incredibly high value to society as it provides important information about disease trends and risk factors, outcomes of treatments, patterns of care, and health care costs and use. All of these factors as well as many more are usually researched through a clinical trial. 

What Is The Importance Of Clinical Research?

Clinical trials are a type of research that provides information about a new test or treatment. They are usually carried out to find out what, or if, there are any effects of these procedures or drugs on the human body. 

All legitimate clinical trials are carefully designed, reviewed and completed, and need to be approved by professionals before they can begin. They also play a vital part in the advancement of medical research including:

• Providing new and good information on which types of drugs are more effective.  
• Bringing new treatments such as medicines, vaccines and devices into the field. 
• Testing the safety and efficacy of a new drug before it is brought to market and used in clinical practice.
• Giving the opportunity for more effective treatments to benefit millions of lives both now and in the future. 
• Enhancing health, lengthening life, and reducing the burdens of illness and disability. 

This all plays back to clinical research as it opens doors to advancing prevention, as well as providing treatments and cures for diseases and disabilities. Clinical trial volunteer participants are essential to this progress which further supports the need for the importance of research to be well-known amongst healthcare professionals, students and the general public. 

Five Reasons Why Research is Critical

Research is vital for almost everyone irrespective of their career field. From doctors to lawyers to students to scientists, research is the key to better work. 

• Increases quality of life

 Research is the backbone of any major scientific or medical breakthrough. None of the advanced treatments or life-saving discoveries used to treat patients today would be available if it wasn’t for the detailed and intricate work carried out by scientists, doctors and healthcare professionals over the past decade. 

This improves quality of life because it can help us find out important facts connected to the researched subject. For example, universities across the globe are now studying a wide variety of things from how technology can help breed healthier livestock, to how dance can provide long-term benefits to people living with Parkinson’s. 

For both of these studies, quality of life is improved. Farmers can use technology to breed healthier livestock which in turn provides them with a better turnover, and people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease can find a way to reduce their symptoms and ease their stress. 

Research is a catalyst for solving the world’s most pressing issues. Even though the complexity of these issues evolves over time, they always provide a glimmer of hope to improving lives and making processes simpler. 

• Builds up credibility 

People are willing to listen and trust someone with new information on one condition – it’s backed up. And that’s exactly where research comes in. Conducting studies on new and unfamiliar subjects, and achieving the desired or expected outcome, can help people accept the unknown.

However, this goes without saying that your research should be focused on the best sources. It is easy for people to poke holes in your findings if your studies have not been carried out correctly, or there is no reliable data to back them up. 

This way once you have done completed your research, you can speak with confidence about your findings within your field of study. 

• Drives progress forward 

It is with thanks to scientific research that many diseases once thought incurable, now have treatments. For example, before the 1930s, anyone who contracted a bacterial infection had a high probability of death. There simply was no treatment for even the mildest of infections as, at the time, it was thought that nothing could kill bacteria in the gut.

When antibiotics were discovered and researched in 1928, it was considered one of the biggest breakthroughs in the medical field. This goes to show how much research drives progress forward, and how it is also responsible for the evolution of technology . 

Today vaccines, diagnoses and treatments can all be simplified with the progression of medical research, making us question just what research can achieve in the future. 

• Engages curiosity 

The acts of searching for information and thinking critically serve as food for the brain, allowing our inherent creativity and logic to remain active. Aside from the fact that this curiosity plays such a huge part within research, it is also proven that exercising our minds can reduce anxiety and our chances of developing mental illnesses in the future. 

Without our natural thirst and our constant need to ask ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ many important theories would not have been put forward and life-changing discoveries would not have been made. The best part is that the research process itself rewards this curiosity. 

Research opens you up to different opinions and new ideas which can take a proposed question and turn into a real-life concept. It also builds discerning and analytical skills which are always beneficial in many career fields – not just scientific ones. 

• Increases awareness 

The main goal of any research study is to increase awareness, whether it’s contemplating new concepts with peers from work or attracting the attention of the general public surrounding a certain issue. 

Around the globe, research is used to help raise awareness of issues like climate change, racial discrimination, and gender inequality. Without consistent and reliable studies to back up these issues, it would be hard to convenience people that there is a problem that needs to be solved in the first place. 

The problem is that social media has become a place where fake news spreads like a wildfire, and with so many incorrect facts out there it can be hard to know who to trust. Assessing the integrity of the news source and checking for similar news on legitimate media outlets can help prove right from wrong. 

This can pinpoint fake research articles and raises awareness of just how important fact-checking can be. 

The Importance Of Research To Students

It is not a hidden fact that research can be mentally draining, which is why most students avoid it like the plague. But the matter of fact is that no matter which career path you choose to go down, research will inevitably be a part of it. 

But why is research so important to students ? The truth is without research, any intellectual growth is pretty much impossible. It acts as a knowledge-building tool that can guide you up to the different levels of learning. Even if you are an expert in your field, there is always more to uncover, or if you are studying an entirely new topic, research can help you build a unique perspective about it.

For example, if you are looking into a topic for the first time, it might be confusing knowing where to begin. Most of the time you have an overwhelming amount of information to sort through whether that be reading through scientific journals online or getting through a pile of textbooks. Research helps to narrow down to the most important points you need so you are able to find what you need to succeed quickly and easily. 

It can also open up great doors in the working world. Employers, especially those in the scientific and medical fields, are always looking for skilled people to hire. Undertaking research and completing studies within your academic phase can show just how multi-skilled you are and give you the resources to tackle any tasks given to you in the workplace. 

The Importance Of Research Methodology

There are many different types of research that can be done, each one with its unique methodology and features that have been designed to use in specific settings. 

When showing your research to others, they will want to be guaranteed that your proposed inquiry needs asking, and that your methodology is equipt to answer your inquiry and will convey the results you’re looking for.

That’s why it’s so important to choose the right methodology for your study. Knowing what the different types of research are and what each of them focuses on can allow you to plan your project to better utilise the most appropriate methodologies and techniques available. Here are some of the most common types:

• Theoretical Research: This attempts to answer a question based on the unknown. This could include studying phenomena or ideas whose conclusions may not have any immediate real-world application. Commonly used in physics and astronomy applications.
• Applied Research: Mainly for development purposes, this seeks to solve a practical problem that draws on theory to generate practical scientific knowledge. Commonly used in STEM and medical fields. 
• Exploratory Research: Used to investigate a problem that is not clearly defined, this type of research can be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships. It can be applied in a wide range of fields from business to literature. 
• Correlational Research: This identifies the relationship between two or more variables to see if and how they interact with each other. Very commonly used in psychological and statistical applications. 

The Importance Of Qualitative Research

This type of research is most commonly used in scientific and social applications. It collects, compares and interprets information to specifically address the “how” and “why” research questions. 

Qualitative research allows you to ask questions that cannot be easily put into numbers to understand human experience because you’re not limited by survey instruments with a fixed set of possible responses.

Information can be gathered in numerous ways including interviews, focus groups and ethnographic research which is then all reported in the language of the informant instead of statistical analyses. 

This type of research is important because they do not usually require a hypothesis to be carried out. Instead, it is an open-ended research approach that can be adapted and changed while the study is ongoing. This enhances the quality of the data and insights generated and creates a much more unique set of data to analyse. 

The Process Of Scientific Research

No matter the type of research completed, it will be shared and read by others. Whether this is with colleagues at work, peers at university, or whilst it’s being reviewed and repeated during secondary analysis.

A reliable procedure is necessary in order to obtain the best information which is why it’s important to have a plan. Here are the six basic steps that apply in any research process. 

• Observation and asking questions: Seeing a phenomenon and asking yourself ‘How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?’. It is best that these questions are measurable and answerable through experimentation. 
• Gathering information: Doing some background research to learn what is already known about the topic, and what you need to find out. 
• Forming a hypothesis: Constructing a tentative statement to study.
• Testing the hypothesis: Conducting an experiment to test the accuracy of your statement. This is a way to gather data about your predictions and should be easy to repeat. 
• Making conclusions: Analysing the data from the experiment(s) and drawing conclusions about whether they support or contradict your hypothesis. 
• Reporting: Presenting your findings in a clear way to communicate with others. This could include making a video, writing a report or giving a presentation to illustrate your findings. 

Although most scientists and researchers use this method, it may be tweaked between one study and another. Skipping or repeating steps is common within, however the core principles of the research process still apply.

By clearly explaining the steps and procedures used throughout the study, other researchers can then replicate the results. This is especially beneficial for peer reviews that try to replicate the results to ensure that the study is sound. 

What Is The Importance Of Research In Everyday Life?

Conducting a research study and comparing it to how important it is in everyday life are two very different things.

Carrying out research allows you to gain a deeper understanding of science and medicine by developing research questions and letting your curiosity blossom. You can experience what it is like to work in a lab and learn about the whole reasoning behind the scientific process. But how does that impact everyday life? 

Simply put, it allows us to disprove lies and support truths. This can help society to develop a confident attitude and not believe everything as easily, especially with the rise of fake news.

Research is the best and reliable way to understand and act on the complexities of various issues that we as humans are facing. From technology to healthcare to defence to climate change, carrying out studies is the only safe and reliable way to face our future.

Not only does research sharpen our brains, but also helps us to understand various issues of life in a much larger manner, always leaving us questioning everything and fuelling our need for answers. 

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Six Reasons Why Research is Important

Everyone conducts research in some form or another from a young age, whether news, books, or browsing the Internet. Internet users come across thoughts, ideas, or perspectives - the curiosity that drives the desire to explore. However, when research is essential to make practical decisions, the nature of the study alters - it all depends on its application and purpose. For instance, skilled research offered as a  research paper service  has a definite objective, and it is focused and organized. Professional research helps derive inferences and conclusions from solving problems. visit the HB tool services for the amazing research tools that will help to solve your problems regarding the research on any project.

What is the Importance of Research?

The primary goal of the research is to guide action, gather evidence for theories, and contribute to the growth of knowledge in data analysis. This article discusses the importance of research and the multiple reasons why it is beneficial to everyone, not just students and scientists.

On the other hand, research is important in business decision-making because it can assist in making better decisions when combined with their experience and intuition.

Reasons for the Importance of Research

• Acquire Knowledge Effectively
• Research helps in problem-solving
• Provides the latest information
• Builds credibility
• Helps in business success
• Discover and Seize opportunities

1-  Acquire Knowledge Efficiently through Research

The most apparent reason to conduct research is to understand more. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about a subject, there is always more to learn. Research helps you expand on any prior knowledge you have of the subject. The research process creates new opportunities for learning and progress.

2- Research Helps in Problem-solving

Problem-solving can be divided into several components, which require knowledge and analysis, for example,  identification of issues, cause identification,  identifying potential solutions, decision to take action, monitoring and evaluation of activity and outcomes.

You may just require additional knowledge to formulate an informed strategy and make an informed decision. When you know you've gathered reliable data, you'll be a lot more confident in your answer.

3- Research Provides the Latest Information

Research enables you to seek out the most up-to-date facts. There is always new knowledge and discoveries in various sectors, particularly scientific ones. Staying updated keeps you from falling behind and providing inaccurate or incomplete information. You'll be better prepared to discuss a topic and build on ideas if you have the most up-to-date information. With the help of tools and certifications such as CIRS , you may learn internet research skills quickly and easily. Internet research can provide instant, global access to information.

4- Research Builds Credibility

Research provides a solid basis for formulating thoughts and views. You can speak confidently about something you know to be true. It's much more difficult for someone to find flaws in your arguments after you've finished your tasks. In your study, you should prioritize the most reputable sources. Your research should focus on the most reliable sources. You won't be credible if your "research" comprises non-experts' opinions. People are more inclined to pay attention if your research is excellent.

5-  Research Helps in Business Success

R&D might also help you gain a competitive advantage. Finding ways to make things run more smoothly and differentiate a company's products from those of its competitors can help to increase a company's market worth.

6-  Research Discover and Seize Opportunities

People can maximize their potential and achieve their goals through various opportunities provided by research. These include getting jobs, scholarships, educational subsidies, projects, commercial collaboration, and budgeted travel. Research is essential for anyone looking for work or a change of environment. Unemployed people will have a better chance of finding potential employers through job advertisements or agencies. 

How to Improve Your Research Skills

Start with the big picture and work your way down.

It might be hard to figure out where to start when you start researching. There's nothing wrong with a simple internet search to get you started. Online resources like Google and Wikipedia are a great way to get a general idea of a subject, even though they aren't always correct. They usually give a basic overview with a short history and any important points.

Identify Reliable Source

Not every source is reliable, so it's critical that you can tell the difference between the good ones and the bad ones. To find a reliable source, use your analytical and critical thinking skills and ask yourself the following questions: Is this source consistent with other sources I've discovered? Is the author a subject matter expert? Is there a conflict of interest in the author's point of view on this topic?

Validate Information from Various Sources

Take in new information.

The purpose of research is to find answers to your questions, not back up what you already assume. Only looking for confirmation is a minimal way to research because it forces you to pick and choose what information you get and stops you from getting the most accurate picture of the subject. When you do research, keep an open mind to learn as much as possible.

Facilitates Learning Process

Learning new things and implementing them in daily life can be frustrating. Finding relevant and credible information requires specialized training and web search skills due to the sheer enormity of the Internet and the rapid growth of indexed web pages. On the other hand, short courses and Certifications like CIRS make the research process more accessible. CIRS Certification offers complete knowledge from beginner to expert level. You can become a Certified Professional Researcher and get a high-paying job, but you'll also be much more efficient and skilled at filtering out reliable data. You can learn more about becoming a Certified Professional Researcher.

Stay Organized

You'll see a lot of different material during the process of gathering data, from web pages to PDFs to videos. You must keep all of this information organized in some way so that you don't lose anything or forget to mention something properly. There are many ways to keep your research project organized, but here are a few of the most common:  Learning Management Software , Bookmarks in your browser, index cards, and a bibliography that you can add to as you go are all excellent tools for writing.

Make Use of the library's Resources

If you still have questions about researching, don't worry—even if you're not a student performing academic or course-related research, there are many resources available to assist you. Many high school and university libraries, in reality, provide resources not only for staff and students but also for the general public. Look for research guidelines or access to specific databases on the library's website. Association of Internet Research Specialists enjoys sharing informational content such as research-related articles , research papers , specialized search engines list compiled from various sources, and contributions from our members and in-house experts.

of Conducting Research

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The link between social work research and practice

When thinking about social work, some may consider the field to solely focus on clinical interventions with individuals or groups.

There may be a mistaken impression that research is not a part of the social work profession. This is completely false. Rather, the two have been and will continue to need to be intertwined.

This guide covers why social workers should care about research, how both social work practice and social work research influence and guide each other, how to build research skills both as a student and as a professional working in the field, and the benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills. 

A selection of social work research jobs are also discussed.  

• Social workers and research
• Evidence-based practice
• Practice and research
• Research and practice
• Build research skills
• Social worker as researcher
• Benefits of research skills
• Research jobs

Why should social workers care about research?

Sometimes it may seem as though social work practice and social work research are two separate tracks running parallel to each other – they both seek to improve the lives of clients, families and communities, but they don’t interact. This is not the way it is supposed to work.

Research and practice should be intertwined, with each affecting the other and improving processes on both ends, so that it leads to better outcomes for the population we’re serving.

Section 5 of the NASW Social Work Code of Ethics is focused on social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the social work profession. There are two areas in which research is mentioned in upholding our ethical obligations: for the integrity of the profession (section 5.01) and for evaluation and research (section 5.02). 

Some of the specific guidance provided around research and social work include:

• 5.01(b): …Social workers should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession.
• 5.01(d): Social workers should contribute to the knowledge base of social work and share with colleagues their knowledge related to practice, research, and ethics…
• 5.02(a) Social workers should monitor and evaluate policies, the implementation of programs, and practice interventions.
• 5.02(b) Social workers should promote and facilitate evaluation and research to contribute to the development of knowledge.
• 5.02(c) Social workers should critically examine and keep current with emerging knowledge relevant to social work and fully use evaluation and research evidence in their professional practice.
• 5.02(q) Social workers should educate themselves, their students, and their colleagues about responsible research practices.

Evidence-based practice and evidence-based treatment

In order to strengthen the profession and determine that the interventions we are providing are, in fact, effective, we must conduct research. When research and practice are intertwined, this leads practitioners to develop evidence-based practice (EBP) and evidence-based treatment (EBT).

Evidence-based practice is, according to The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) , a process involving creating an answerable question based on a client or organizational need, locating the best available evidence to answer the question, evaluating the quality of the evidence as well as its applicability, applying the evidence, and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution. 

Evidence-based treatment is any practice that has been established as effective through scientific research according to a set of explicit criteria (Drake et al., 2001). These are interventions that, when applied consistently, routinely produce improved client outcomes. 

For example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was one of a variety of interventions for those with anxiety disorders. Researchers wondered if CBT was better than other intervention options in producing positive, consistent results for clients.

So research was conducted comparing multiple types of interventions, and the evidence (research results) demonstrated that CBT was the best intervention.

The anecdotal evidence from practice combined with research evidence determined that CBT should become the standard treatment for those diagnosed with anxiety. Now more social workers are getting trained in CBT methods in order to offer this as a treatment option to their clients.

How does social work practice affect research?

Social work practice provides the context and content for research. For example, agency staff was concerned about the lack of nutritional food in their service area, and heard from clients that it was too hard to get to a grocery store with a variety of foods, because they didn’t have transportation, or public transit took too long. 

So the agency applied for and received a grant to start a farmer’s market in their community, an urban area that was considered a food desert. This program accepted their state’s version of food stamps as a payment option for the items sold at the farmer’s market.

The agency used their passenger van to provide free transportation to and from the farmer’s market for those living more than four blocks from the market location.

The local university also had a booth each week at the market with nursing and medical students checking blood pressure and providing referrals to community agencies that could assist with medical needs. The agency was excited to improve the health of its clients by offering this program.

But how does the granting foundation know if this was a good use of their money? This is where research and evaluation comes in. Research could gather data to answer a number of questions. Here is but a small sample:

• How many community members visited each week and purchased fruits and vegetables? 
• How many took advantage of the transportation provided, and how many walked to the market? 
• How many took advantage of the blood pressure checks? Were improvements seen in those numbers for those having repeat blood pressure readings throughout the market season? 
• How much did the self-reported fruit and vegetable intake increase for customers? 
• What barriers did community members report in visiting and buying food from the market (prices too high? Inconvenient hours?)
• Do community members want the program to continue next year?
• Was the program cost-effective, or did it waste money by paying for a driver and for gasoline to offer free transportation that wasn’t utilized? What are areas where money could be saved without compromising the quality of the program?
• What else needs to be included in this program to help improve the health of community members?

How does research affect social work practice?

Research can guide practice to implement proven strategies. It can also ask the ‘what if’ or ‘how about’ questions that can open doors for new, innovative interventions to be developed (and then research the effectiveness of those interventions).

Engel and Schutt (2017) describe four categories of research used in social work:

• Descriptive research is research in which social phenomena are defined and described. A descriptive research question would be ‘How many homeless women with substance use disorder live in the metro area?’
• Exploratory research seeks to find out how people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to their actions, and what issues concern them. An example research question would be ‘What are the barriers to homeless women with substance use disorder receiving treatment services?’
• Explanatory research seeks to identify causes and effects of social phenomena. It can be used to rule out other explanations for findings and show how two events are related to each other.  An explanatory research question would be ‘Why do women with substance use disorder become homeless?’
• Evaluation research describes or identifies the impact of social programs and policies. This type of research question could be ‘How effective was XYZ treatment-first program that combined housing and required drug/alcohol abstinence in keeping women with substance use disorder in stable housing 2 years after the program ended?’

Each of the above types of research can answer important questions about the population, setting or intervention being provided. This can help practitioners determine which option is most effective or cost-efficient or that clients are most likely to adhere to. In turn, this data allows social workers to make informed choices on what to keep in their practice, and what needs changing. 

How to build research skills while in school

There are a number of ways to build research skills while a student.  BSW and MSW programs require a research course, but there are other ways to develop these skills beyond a single class:

• Volunteer to help a professor working in an area of interest. Professors are often excited to share their knowledge and receive extra assistance from students with similar interests.
• Participate in student research projects where you’re the subject. These are most often found in psychology departments. You can learn a lot about the informed consent process and how data is collected by volunteering as a research participant.  Many of these studies also pay a small amount, so it’s an easy way to earn a bit of extra money while you’re on campus. 
• Create an independent study research project as an elective and work with a professor who is an expert in an area you’re interested in.  You’d design a research study, collect the data, analyze it, and write a report or possibly even an article you can submit to an academic journal.
• Some practicum programs will have you complete a small evaluation project or assist with a larger research project as part of your field education hours. 
• In MSW programs, some professors hire students to conduct interviews or enter data on their funded research projects. This could be a good part time job while in school.
• Research assistant positions are more common in MSW programs, and these pay for some or all your tuition in exchange for working a set number of hours per week on a funded research project.

How to build research skills while working as a social worker

Social service agencies are often understaffed, with more projects to complete than there are people to complete them.

Taking the initiative to volunteer to survey clients about what they want and need, conduct an evaluation on a program, or seeing if there is data that has been previously collected but not analyzed and review that data and write up a report can help you stand out from your peers, be appreciated by management and other staff, and may even lead to a raise, a promotion, or even new job opportunities because of the skills you’ve developed.

Benefits of being a social worker with strong research skills

Social workers with strong research skills can have the opportunity to work on various projects, and at higher levels of responsibility. 

Many can be promoted into administration level positions after demonstrating they understand how to conduct, interpret and report research findings and apply those findings to improving the agency and their programs.

There’s also a level of confidence knowing you’re implementing proven strategies with your clients. 

Social work research jobs

There are a number of ways in which you can blend interests in social work and research. A quick search on Glassdoor.com and Indeed.com retrieved the following positions related to social work research:

• Research Coordinator on a clinical trial offering psychosocial supportive interventions and non-addictive pain treatments to minimize opioid use for pain.
• Senior Research Associate leading and overseeing research on a suite of projects offered in housing, mental health and corrections.
• Research Fellow in a school of social work
• Project Policy Analyst for large health organization
• Health Educator/Research Specialist to implement and evaluate cancer prevention and screening programs for a health department
• Research Interventionist providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia patients participating in a clinical trial
• Research Associate for Child Care and Early Education
• Social Services Data Researcher for an organization serving adults with disabilities.
• Director of Community Health Equity Research Programs evaluating health disparities.

No matter your population or area of interest, you’d likely be able to find a position that integrated research and social work. 

Social work practice and research are and should remain intertwined. This is the only way we can know what questions to ask about the programs and services we are providing, and ensure our interventions are effective. 

There are many opportunities to develop research skills while in school and while working in the field, and these skills can lead to some interesting positions that can make a real difference to clients, families and communities. 

Drake, R. E., Goldman, H., Leff, H. S., Lehman, A. F., Dixon, L., Mueser, K. T., et al. (2001). Implementing evidence-based practices in routine mental health service settings. Psychiatric Services, 52(2), 179-182. 

Engel, R.J., & Schutt, R.K. (2017). The Practice of Research in Social Work. Sage.

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d). Evidence Based Practice. Retrieved from: https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Research-Data/Social-Work-Policy-Research/Evidence-Based-Practice

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Professional quality of life in animal research personnel is linked to retention & job satisfaction: A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey on compassion fatigue in the USA

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, The 3Rs Collaborative, Denver, Colorado, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Consulting and Training in Animal Research, Berlin, Germany

Roles Validation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Investigation, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Refinement and Enrichment Advancements Laboratory, Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Office of Research, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation The 3Rs Collaborative, Denver, Colorado, United States of America

• Lauren Young, 
• Fabienne Ferrara, 
• Lisa Kelly, 
• Tara Martin, 
• Sally Thompson-Iritani, 
• Megan R. LaFollette

• Published: April 16, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Working with research animals can be both rewarding and challenging. The rewarding part of the work is associated with understanding the necessity for animal research to improve the health of humans and animals and the knowledge that one can provide care and compassion for the animals. Challenges with animal research include witnessing stress/pain in animals necessitated by scientific requirements, end of study euthanasia, and societal stigmatization about animal research. These challenges could be compounded with more general workplace stresses, in turn, impacting job retention and satisfaction. However, these factors have yet to be formally evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of this survey was to comprehensively evaluate professional quality of life’s correlation with key workplace metrics.

Six institutions were recruited to participate in a longitudinal intervention trial on compassion fatigue resiliency. This manuscript reports key baseline metrics from this survey. A cross-sectional mixed methods survey was developed to evaluate professional quality of life, job satisfaction, retention, and factors influencing compassion fatigue resiliency. Quantitative data were analyzed via general linear models and qualitative data were analyzed by theme.

Baseline data was collected from 198 participants. Personnel who reported higher compassion satisfaction also reported higher retention and job satisfaction. Conversely, personnel who reported higher burnout also reported lower job satisfaction. In response to open-ended questions, participants said their compassion fatigue was impacted by institutional culture (70% of participants), animal research (58%), general mental health (41%), and specific compassion fatigue support (24%).

Conclusions

In conclusion, these results show that professional quality of life is related to important operational metrics of job satisfaction and retention. Furthermore, compassion fatigue is impacted by factors beyond working with research animals, including institutional culture and general mental health support. Overall, this project provides rationale and insight for institutional support of compassion fatigue resiliency.

Citation: Young L, Ferrara F, Kelly L, Martin T, Thompson-Iritani S, LaFollette MR (2024) Professional quality of life in animal research personnel is linked to retention & job satisfaction: A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey on compassion fatigue in the USA. PLoS ONE 19(4): e0298744. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744

Editor: Rosemary Frey, University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Received: June 19, 2023; Accepted: January 29, 2024; Published: April 16, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Young et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary information files. The dataset used in this study is available in the University of Michigan's Deep Blue Data repository, accessible at https://doi.org/10.7302/cdpa-qp43 .

Funding: MRL received funding for this project from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under Federal Training Grant T42OH008433. https://deohs.washington.edu/nwcohs/research/pilot-funding The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: All authors are employed by the institution noted in their affiliation except for Lauren Young who was a student during data collection and initial writing and then transitioned to a full-time role with the 3Rs Collaborative during manuscript revision. All authors are also members of the 3Rs Collaborative’s Compassion Fatigue Initiative. Elizabeth Nunamaker and Sally Thompson-Iritani also sat on the board of directors and leadership team of the 3Rs Collaborative during publication. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Introduction

Professionals that work with research animals can experience both distinct rewards and challenges due to the unique nature of their work. They contribute to critical scientific research that benefits the lives of people and animals such as through developing treatments for diseases and contributing to scientific breakthroughs. They often work in dynamic professional roles that help safeguard and enhance the lives of research animals themselves [ 1 , 2 ]. Both factors can provide great meaning for these professionals. Conversely, to accomplish these key scientific aims, it may be necessary to approve, view, or cause pain and/or distress to research animals as part of the experimental paradigm. This can lead to a sticky moral situation that we term the “Caring-Harming Paradox” and at the end of a study, although some animals may be rehomed or adopted, many are euthanized for reasons such as post-mortem scientific examinations or due to biohazard concerns [ 3 , 4 ]. Additionally, these professionals can experience negative social stigma for working with research animals which can be exacerbated by misrepresentation of animal research by some individuals or organizations [ 1 , 5 ]. Despite finding their work meaningful, these personnel may not feel as valued as other care workers [ 6 ].

Beyond the unique factors related to working with research animals, these professionals are also subject to general workplace factors that can influence burnout. As can occur in any field (although especially caring professions) staff may be asked to work long hours, feel unappreciated by other sectors of their institution, and face interpersonal conflicts with colleagues [ 6 , 7 ]. They may not fully understand their own or other key job responsibilities in the organization. Good work-life balances practices may not be promoted well in the face of organizational pressures. Furthermore, personal life and mental health challenges from outside of work can impact experiences at work [ 8 – 10 ].

Both the unique factors of working in animal research and typical workplace stressors can lead to decreased professional quality of life. Professional quality of life in caring professions can be segmented into compassion satisfaction (e.g., feeling good about their caring role) and compassion fatigue (e.g., feeling challenged by their caring role). Compassion fatigue is often described as being comprised of secondary traumatic stress (which is like post-traumatic stress disorder but caused by exposure to the stress of others) and burnout [ 11 , 12 ], considered by many as a manifestation of chronic psychological strain [ 13 ].

Research thus far has shown that compassion fatigue in animal research personnel is associated with several factors. One of the strongest findings is that personnel with less social support experience higher compassion fatigue [ 3 , 14 , 15 ] and evident by both quantitative and qualitative studies, seems to be a moderating factor for the development of psychological strain in the laboratory [ 13 ]. Animal-related findings include exposure to higher animal stress/pain [ 3 , 14 ], less enrichment frequency/diversity [ 3 ], physical euthanasia methods [ 3 , 13 ], close animal relationships [ 7 ], more euthanasia [ 16 ] less control over performing euthanasia [ 3 , 7 , 16 ] and internal conflicts between animal welfare and scientific needs [ 17 – 19 ]. General mental and physical factors are also associated with compassion fatigue such as poor mental or physical health as well as lower emotional stability, openness, and extraversion [ 7 ]. Finally, poor relationships with superiors and a lack of training and resources for coping with compassion fatigue have been identified as negative factors [ 7 ].

Although previous literature has begun to establish associations between professional quality of life and potential risk factors, a few gaps remain. Although a few studies have connected professional quality of life to general workplace factors such as staffing and workplace relationships [ 7 ], no studies have yet connected professional quality of life to key factors of interest to workplace management such as retention and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be described as the feelings or attitudes an individual has in relation to their job and workplace [ 10 ]. Based on the literature, job satisfaction seems to be the most important factor for working motivation, performances and job retention [ 10 , 20 , 21 ], which is important to maintain an adequately qualified workforce and reduce turnover [ 22 ]. Thus far, most research has primarily used close-ended questions and limited free response, and there has been no extensive qualitative research on the subject to our knowledge.

Considering the gaps in previous research on workplace stress in research personnel, our objective in this survey was to explore associations between reported professional quality of life (i.e., compassion fatigue and satisfaction) and important workplace metrics (e.g., retention and satisfaction) and explore factors that individuals report as impacting their compassion fatigue resiliency. We hypothesized that higher compassion fatigue and lower compassion satisfaction would be associated with lower workplace satisfaction and retention. We also hypothesized that participants would cite key factors related to mental health support and working with research animals as impacting their compassion fatigue. With this knowledge, we hope to provide additional rationale and guidance for interventions promoting compassion fatigue resiliency for animal research personnel.

Materials and methods

All procedures and waived signed consent protocols were approved by University of Michigan’s Human Research Protection Program Institutional Review Board (IRB), protocol # HUM00207730. Participants provided waived signed consent via a yes or no question on the online survey platform after reading an informed consent document. No IACUC approval was sought as there were no interactions between the researchers or animals during this study.

Participants and procedures

Institutions were recruited to participate in this study via direct email or verbal communication with previously known contacts, presentations by members of the 3Rs Collaborative, and a request via the 3Rs Collaborative newsletter. Institutional inclusion criteria included being located in the USA or Canada, either not currently having a compassion fatigue resiliency program or having a newly established program, and be willing to work closely with the 3Rs Collaborative for recruitment and implementation of a program. In this manuscript, we present baseline data from a 2-year longitudinal study investigating the effectiveness of implementing institutional compassion fatigue resiliency programs.

Ultimately six institutions met inclusion criteria and were able to participate in the study. The institutions included one academic institution, three research institutes, and two large pharmaceutical companies. Institutions could choose to allow participation of only animal care staff or all related research personnel (e.g., researchers, IACUC members, etc.), based on the intended recipients of their individual planned compassion fatigue resiliency program. Each institution contained a possible sample size between 7 and 429 individuals. Altogether they represented approximately 723 eligible participants.

At each institution, one to three local contacts were identified to coordinate participation. These contacts were typically directors, managers, or supervisors with authority to coordinate compassion fatigue resiliency activities. These contacts recruited participants between Feb 11 and March 22, 2022, via three email contacts and one physical flyer. To compensate them for their time, participants were entered into a random drawing for a $25 visa gift card. Inclusion criteria for participants were being over the age of 18 and currently working at one of the included institutions; there were no exclusion criteria.

Following reading an informed consent document with the assurance that responses would be kept confidential, including from supervisors, participants confirmed documentation of waived signed consent. They then completed an online questionnaire estimated to take an average of 10 minutes via Qualtrics. Participants were informed that they could skip any question that made them feel uncomfortable. Although 3 of the authors had access to email addresses that could identify individual participants during data collection, during the data analysis phase the responses were de-identified with a participant and institutional code to ensure they were kept anonymous and confidential. Potentially identifiable information was only accessible to core research team members.

The 3Rs Collaborative’s Compassion Fatigue Resiliency committee created a mixed-method cross-sectional survey based on a review of the literature and consultations with experts in survey methodology and laboratory animal science. When possible, the survey contained validated survey instruments (e.g., professional quality of life scale [ 1 ]), but when such items did not exist similar survey scales were modified for purpose (e.g., modified nurse retention index, [ 2 ]) or created new for purpose. When new scales were created, they were reviewed by our team, piloted, and revised as necessary.

Overall, participants were asked 78 to 85 questions. The additional questions were asked only to personnel that worked with research animals in a hands-on role to attempt to determine if retention was unique for these types of roles. Questions were subdivided into 5 subsections as described below. All survey text and scoring can be found in S1 Table .

Demographics & work factors

After gaining documentation of waived signed consent, participants were asked their age for inclusion and their email to allow linking of responses across yearly surveys. Additional work and demographic factors were then asked including working role, years of work in the field, sex, average hours of work in a week, and highest education. Participants were also asked if they currently worked hands-on with research animals to allow for segmentation. Finally, they were asked to report the degree of stress/pain that most animals in their care experience based off the official United States Depart of Agriculture pain and distress categories for laboratory animal research [ 3 ] as this has previously been shown to impact professional quality of life [ 4 ].

Professional quality of life knowledge and experiences.

Participants were asked direct questions about their own self-reported compassion fatigue knowledge and experiences. They were first asked in close-ended questions of their familiarity with the definition of compassion fatigue, effective strategies to combat compassion fatigue, their own implementation of strategies to combat compassion fatigue, and whether they had experienced compassion fatigue in the past. Then, participants were asked to rate their level of compassion fatigue on a descriptive one to five scale. Finally, participants were asked two open-ended questions about what makes compassion fatigue worse or better for them personally.

Participants were then asked to complete the 30-question professional quality of life scale (PROQOL) to determine compassion fatigue (comprised of burnout and secondary traumatic stress) and compassion satisfaction [ 1 ]. The PROQOL is a widely used instrument to determine the positive and negative aspects of caring for others.

Job satisfaction & retention.

Participants then completed scales to assess job satisfaction and retention. For satisfaction, participants were asked to complete the seven item Brief Index of Affective Job Satisfaction Scale which includes 3 distractor questions [ 5 ]. It asks participants to evaluate how much they agreed or disagreed with four statements about their current job. The scale ranges from 4 being very low job satisfaction and 20 being high job satisfaction. Then participants were asked to complete a modified nurse retention index [ 2 ] where “nursing” was replaced with “Research animals”. The original MNRI has six questions including four positively worded questions and two negatively worded items. The scored scale ranges from 6 being very low planned retention to 48 being very high retention. Additionally, participants who worked hands-on with research animals were then asked a modified nurse retention index substituting “hands-on with research animal” where appropriate.

Institutional program.

To evaluate implementation of future institutional programs, participants were then asked two final questions about the program. First, participants were asked what they thought would be the most beneficial aspect of an institutional compassion fatigue resiliency program. Then, participants were asked which program components they planned to participate in.

Data analysis

Quantitative analysis..

Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and general linear models. Continuous data are presented as mean and standard deviation (SD). Counts are presented as n and percent (%). Any duplicate responses were identified via matching email addresses; the most complete or recent response was retained. Only participants that answered questions through rating their level of compassion fatigue were included. For use in general linear models, categorical data with less than 20 responses were collapsed into larger categories. Additionally, summary scales were calculated according to instructions for each individual scale.

General linear mixed models were run to test associations between professional quality of life and both retention and job satisfaction. The dependent variables were retention and job satisfaction. The independent variables included compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, work factors (animal stress/pain, hands-on work, role, years of work, and hours per week), and demographics (highest education, age, sex). Institution was included as a random blocking factor. Significance level was set at p < 0.05. Results are presented as mean +- standard deviation. Effect sizes are reported using Cohen’s f 2 , where when f 2 > = 0.02, 0.15, and 0.35 indicating a small, medium, and large effect size, respectively [ 23 ].

This representative analysis was used: Retention = Compassion Satisfaction + Burnout + Secondary Traumatic Stress + Perceived Stress Scale + Animal Stress/Pain + Hands-On Work with Animals + Role + Years + Hours per Week + Highest Education + Sex + Institution

Qualitative analysis.

Open-ended questions were assessed using inductive, bottom-up, content analysis to derive themes from all respondent answers. This process resulted in the formation of a coding manual used to identify common themes. The complete manual is found in S2 Table . The same manual was created and used to code all open-ended qualitative questions. Microsoft Excel was used for manual creation and thematic analysis.

Coding manual creation involved an iterative and collaborative process with multiple steps and researchers. The goal was to extract all general themes from the open-ended survey question that respondents identified to create one coding manual. This began with one researcher (LEY) reading through all written responses and noting the themes within each question. These themes were compiled into a master list, and in collaboration with a second researcher (MRL), themes were discussed to look for similarities, differences, relationships between themes and overlap with the Culture of Care terminology. A preliminary manual was created by grouping the identified themes. The data was subsequently re-read and coded based on the preliminary manual. This process was repeated to refine the coding manual and ensure all themes in the data were represented in the final coding manual.

The coding process itself involved breaking down responses to identify themes to subsequently code. Each response was broken down into grammatical clauses and based on the theme in the coding manual it described, each clause was given a code. There was no limit to the number of codes a single response was given, and every clause was coded. For example, one respondent stated their compassion fatigue is made worse by “having to euthanize many animals on a single day”. This was coded as the theme Research Animals, and the subtheme ‘euthanasia’. When possible, responses were coded with a subtheme, to increase specificity. When a response did not clearly fall into a subtheme, they were coded only with the main theme. Non-comprehensive responses were coded as ambiguous.

Coding was performed by LEY and inter-rater reliability was assessed by having an additional individual, who was not involved in the manual creation process, code a random 20% of the data.

We calculated the prevalence of each theme by taking the number of participants whose response was coded with a particular theme/subtheme, divided by the total participants that responded to the survey. The formula used ensured each theme was only counted once per respondent, even if mentioned more than once across all qualitative questions.

Quantitative

Of the approximately 723 potentially eligible participants, a total of 302 survey responses were started, but only 198 individuals were included in the survey as they gave responses at least through the first block of questions through rating their level of compassion fatigue resiliency. From the total response pool, included participants results in a response rate of 27%. The number of participants per institution ranged from 9 to 54.

Complete demographics are reported in Table 1 . Participants were primarily animal caretakers (30%) and researchers (30%) although many other roles were represented. Most worked hands-on with animals (84%) and most worked with animals experiencing level 2 stress/pain (minor stress or pain of short duration, 51%). The majority of participants worked at research institutes (55%) or pharmaceutical organizations (39%). Most participants either had the highest degree of a bachelors (43%) or their veterinary or graduate degree (34%). Participants were age of 38 ± 12, primarily female (72%), worked 40 hours a week (57%), and just over half had worked in the field for 10 years or more (51%).

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.t001

Research animal personnel reported about their compassion fatigue knowledge and experiences ( Fig 1 ). Most participants (87%) agreed that they were familiar with the definition and components of compassion fatigue. Most also agreed that they had experienced compassion fatigue in the past (70%). A little more than half agreed that they understood effective strategies for combatting compassion fatigue (58%). However, less than half (44%) agreed that they had implemented strategies to combat compassion fatigue.

Animal research personnel (N = 198) from 6 institutions across the USA answered questions about their understanding on compassion fatigue, whether they had experienced it, and whether they both understood/implemented strategies to combat compassion fatigue.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.g001

Participants reported their compassion fatigue via a descriptive scale and the professional quality of life scale which are presented in categorized form in Table 2 . Based on a descriptive scale, most participants indicated they felt occasional burnout or stress but not compassion fatigue (64%), although a considerable portion felt they had symptoms of compassion fatigue (29%). Based on the PROQOL cutoff scores, no participants had low compassion satisfaction, high burnout, or high secondary traumatic stress. Based on continuous data ( Table 3 ), on average, participants experienced moderate compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. On average, participants agreed with statements that they were satisfied with their job ( Table 3 ). Finally, participants reported higher planned retention to continue with their research animal career than to continue working hands-on with research animals ( Table 3 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.t002

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.t003

Participants (n = 166) anticipated participating in the following components of a compassion fatigue program in decreasing order: webinar on overview of CFR (60%), webinar on culture of care (54%), webinar on mindfulness (52%), webinar on communication & trust in the workshop (51%), enrichment activities (50%), accessing independent activities (45%), accessing mindfulness or gratitude materials (42%), accessing reading materials on compassion fatigue (40%), in person activities (39%), poster viewing (36%), participating in group activities (36%), webinar on meaning making (30%), and memorial activities (26%).

Associations with job satisfaction, & retention.

In this survey, job satisfaction and retention were found to be associated with several factors ( Table 4 ). Research animal personnel who reported higher job satisfaction indicated less burnout (p < 0.0001, f 2 = 0.13) with a small effect size and higher compassion satisfaction (p < 0.0001, f 2 = 0.23) with medium effect size. Research personnel who reported higher general retention reported higher compassion satisfaction (p < 0.0001, f 2 = 0.16) with medium effect size. Research personnel who worked in hands-on roles with research animals who reported higher retention indicated compassion satisfaction (p < 0.0001, f 2 = 0.11) with small effect size and reported more average hours working per week (p < 0.0184, f 2 = 0.04) with a small effect size.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.t004

Qualitative results.

A total of 85% (n = 167) participants responded to at least one open-ended, qualitative question. Participants responded to three questions: what makes your compassion fatigue worse (n = 160, 81%), what makes your compassion fatigue better (n = 156, 79%) and what would be most beneficial about a compassion resiliency program (n = 106, 54%). Theme prevalence is summarized across all three questions. Each subtheme’s name and response frequency are noted in paratheses. A detailed summary of qualitative results can be found in Fig 2 and S2 Table .

The percentage of research animal personnel (n = 167) whose responses included each of the themes (solid bars) and subthemes (hashed lines) created in qualitative coding of all responses. Each color represents a different thematic category.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.g002

Theme 1: The culture of my institution contributes to my compassion fatigue.

Nearly three-quarters of participants (n = 118, 71%) indicated that something related to institutional culture or organization, unrelated to animal research, impacted their compassion fatigue. Specifically, participants mentioned work-life balance, staff interactions, feeling valued, general organization, training, or pay. One response that captures a number of these themes’ states, “our constant lack of adequate and reliable staff and the constantly growing list of things we as a department and I as a supervisor are behind on. Everyone is stressed, but when people snap at others, it doesn’t help the situation and makes me want to not assist other areas.”

Most often participants mentioned that maintaining a work-life balance, or lack thereof, is instrumental in their experience with compassion fatigue (subtheme = work-life balance , 44%). As one participant states, “lowering the expectations for scientists and allow[ing] them to create a healthy life-work balance” would be beneficial for compassion resiliency. Another emphasized the importance of “Vacations, mental health days, and coworkers who are willing to do some of the more stressful tasks when you are feeling burnt out.” Generally, participants indicated that it was important to spend time away from the workplace to cope with stress and burnout.

About a third of participants indicated that interactions with other staff members, whether positive or negative, can impact compassion fatigue (subtheme = interactions with staff , 30%). One participant stated that a “lack of understanding from other colleagues or managers of the workload/tasks I have been assigned” makes compassion fatigue worse. Additionally, a large proportion of these responses specifically mentioned something related to feeling valued (subtheme = feeling undervalued by staff , 17%). Feeling undervalued or underappreciated at work makes compassion fatigue worse, while recognition, especially by organizational leads, makes compassion fatigue better. As one participant states, their compassion fatigue is relieved by “receiving recognition, understanding, and help from higher-ups in the department (manager and veterinarians).”

About a fifth of respondents mention general institutional factors, as opposed to the specific factors represented by other subthemes (subthemes = general , 20%). For example, one participant states that “those who are not involved from an animal use perspective making decisions for animal staff” impacts their compassion fatigue. Others mention, “switching from my ex-vivo role and helping with in-vivo” and “the sense of knowing that tasks are completed”.

Although not a particularly common response, we note that a small proportion of respondents mentioned pay (subtheme = employee pay , 2%) or training (subtheme = employee training , 4%) as impactful to their compassion fatigue. Participants stated more pay and more training are needed to reduce compassion fatigue. For example, one participant stated, “I would like to see changes in the structure of operations. The issues that we run into usually stem from lack of training…”.

Theme 2: Working with research animals can be challenging or rewarding.

Over half of participants (n = 97, 58%) mentioned animal research-related factors that are inherent to their work as contributing to their compassion fatigue. Specifically, participants mentioned performing euthanasia, procedures, changes in animal welfare, research translatability, openness about research or the human-animal bond.

A quarter of participants indicated that “having to euthanize animals” is a key contributor to their compassion fatigue (subtheme = euthanasia of animals , 25%). One participant stated, “I sometimes experience this now when working with the mice at my new job. For me, it’s hard to bring them in alive, put them under and then decapitate them. It feels like it goes against everything I have done/ stood for the last few years; saving lives instead of taking them.” Other participants indicated that performing procedures on animals can be challenging (subtheme = performing animal procedures , 7%). Examples include, “long, repeated procedures” and “large animals being dissected in the necroscopy room”. For some individuals, performing these types of procedures can contribute to compassion fatigue just as much as performing euthanasia.

A quarter of participants stated that witnessing animals with reduced welfare (e.g. in pain or suffering) impacts compassion fatigue (subtheme = animal welfare , 25%). As one participant stated, their compassion fatigue is worse “when a level of long-term pain or distress is necessary to meet the scientific requirements of a study”. In particular, participants indicated it was difficult to handle events described in their words as “repeated”, “high-intensity” or “unexpected”. Conversely, participants indicated that reducing the frequency of these negative events would make compassion fatigue better.

About a fifth of participants mentioned that knowing and thinking about the translatability, “the big picture”, and the “greater good” of animal research impacted compassion fatigue (subtheme = research translatability , 17%). These statements generally indicated that these thoughts made compassion fatigue better. As one participant stated, “[I] hope that my work with animals may one day produce a beneficial therapeutic that helps people manage disease and improve their lives.” Some participants indicate that learning about the specific research aims of their own lab is helpful, stating, “I try to remember the important work being accomplished by our researchers. I talk to the researchers about their studies so I can put the animals and the procedures into context.”

Another fifth of respondents mention general factors about working with research animals that impact compassion fatigue (subtheme = general , 16%). Some examples include “other people denying that animals feel pain” and “anything with the animals honestly”.

A small number of participants also mention that openness, or lack thereof, about their work with animals can impact compassion fatigue (subtheme = openness about animal research , 4%). As one participant stated, “feeling so responsible for the animals in my care and working so hard to make sure they have the best lives possible but still receiving public backlash/lack of understanding”.

Of note, a few participants state specific factors like “naming the animals”, “learning their behaviours” or “playing with them” contribute to compassion resiliency (subtheme = human-animal bond , 3%). As one participant stated, “short studies are easier to feel compassion fatigue since the animals are not around as long and there isn’t much of a bond between animals and handlers.”

Theme 3: My general mental health impacts my work life.

General mental health factors were commonly mentioned by participants when asked about compassion fatigue. A total of 38% of respondents (n = 64) made statements related to self-care, work stress, personal stress, talking about their mental health, or having a community.

Some participants mentioned using self-care practices (subtheme = self care , 17%) to help with compassion fatigue. Participants mentioned practices such as, “spending time with friends”, “exercising”, “thinking of happy thoughts”, “funny movies, trying to take a walk outside, watching funny videos of kids and pets online” and “adequate sleep.”

A portion of participants stated that their general mental health, or general stress levels were impacted (subtheme = general , 15%). Respondents make statements such as, “Heightened stress levels for prolonged periods” and “volume of stressful situations.” One participant specifically states, “if your mental health is not being taken care of outside of work then you will be even more affected at work and by the work that you do”, which emphasizes the importance of good mental health.

Respondents mentioned that talking to someone about their feelings, either a close colleague or a professional, can help their mental health, improving compassion resiliency (subtheme = talking about mental health , 8%). As one participant stated, it would be beneficial to “give employees an outlet to understand their feelings, talk about them and have them help makes changes as needed.”

Additional respondents indicated that when their personal lives were stressful then that made their compassion fatigue worse (subtheme = personal stress , 7%). For example, participants mentioned factors such as “pets or children [they] are responsible for” or “upsetting personal experiences”. One participant clearly described how work and personal stress can overlap stating, “deadlines, stresses when large experiments are coming up with heavy expectations. This can be made worse if my personal life is also heavy with stress or pain.”

Some participants mentioned that group events and creating a sense of community are important (subtheme = having a community , 6%). For example, one participant stated that it would be beneficial to have “a supportive community with regular gatherings”.

Theme 4: I need compassion-fatigue specific help.

Compassion fatigue specific factors and resources were mentioned by approximately a quarter of participants (n = 40, 24%). They indicated the importance of promoting awareness of compassion fatigue, resources to combat it, and talking to others with compassion fatigue.

Participants discussed that there can be lack of knowledge or even stigma around compassion fatigue–and that normalizing compassion fatigue would be beneficial (subtheme = normalize CF , 12%). As one participant states, “just acknowledging [compassion fatigue] is a huge first step.” Participants expressed a desire for compassion fatigue awareness to be widespread from upper management, to staff from other departments, and even the public. For example, one respondent stated it would be beneficial to “educating research staff on compassion fatigue and what care staff go through in a day.”

Other participants highlighted the need for more resources to combat or prevent compassion fatigue (subtheme = resources to combat CF , 11%). As a few participants state, “recognizing the signs would be beneficial” and “teaching employees coping mechanisms for combatting compassion fatigue before it gets serious”. One participant emphasizes that each individual may experience compassion fatigue in a unique manner, stating “there are many different factors that contribute to compassion fatigue, and not everyone will experience it in the same way…with a matter as serious as compassion fatigue, it is crucial to make sure that every individual does know how to have their needs with regards to receiving support met.”

A few participants mentioned that hearing real-world stories from those who have experienced compassion fatigue before is helpful (subtheme = talking to people with CF , 4%). As one participant states, “discussion/talks by real people sharing their experiences–it makes me feel less alone when I see others who feel the same way I do.” Some of these responses linked sharing experiences with normalizing compassion fatigue and therefore were coded in both categories. For example, as one participant states, “more discussion and sharing of personal experiences for the purposes of acknowledging this is a common and shared experience.”

A couple of participants mentioned general compassion fatigue-specific factors that did not align with any of our other subthemes (subtheme = general , 2%). One participant says, “having an organization/workplace that is very aware of compassion fatigue” makes their compassion fatigue better.

Of note, 4% of participants state they do not experience compassion fatigue, and 2% state that nothing impacts their compassion fatigue levels.

Themes by role.

Post hoc , we further investigated the percentage of respondents in each role who mentioned each theme ( Fig 3 ). We investigated this for animal caretakers and researchers; the two participant groups with a sufficient sample size to make accurate conclusions based on subsequent results. The majority of animal caretakers state that their institutional culture (n = 37, 74%) and working with research animals (n = 27, 54%) contributes to their compassion fatigue. In comparison, researchers more often mention research animals (n = 31, 66%), and discuss institutional culture slightly less (n = 28, 59%). Both roles equally mention the impact their general mental health has on their compassion fatigue. Finally, researchers mention compassion fatigue-specific factors (n = 14, 29%) more often than animal caretakers (n = 5, 10%).

The percentage of animal caretakers (n = 50) and researchers (n = 47) whose responses included each of the themes created in qualitative coding in at least one of their responses. Each color represents a different personnel role.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.g003

To our knowledge, this is the first cross-sectional survey to find that professional quality of life in research animal personnel, including compassion satisfaction and burnout, is associated with retention and job satisfaction in animal research. Additionally, it is one of the first large qualitative surveys of compassion fatigue which found personnel reported the importance of institutional culture, factors unique to animal research, general mental health factors, and a desire for targeted resources. We successfully surveyed 198 individuals across 6 independent institutions and 9 unique sites.

Professional quality of life is linked to job satisfaction and retention

In this survey, compassion satisfaction was positively associated with both job satisfaction and retention with a medium effect size. That is, personnel who reported higher levels of compassion satisfaction also reported being more likely to be satisfied with, and stay in, their current jobs. Furthermore, this association was found regardless of whether individuals currently worked hands-on with research animals and when personnel who were currently working in a hands-on role were asked about staying in a hands-on role.

The link between compassion satisfaction, job satisfaction, and retention may be unsurprising, as compassion satisfaction could be considered a particular subtype of job satisfaction. Additionally, our findings mirror previous work, that faculty in higher education that reported higher compassion fatigue also reported less intended retention [ 24 ]. And in turn, past research has found that less burnout and higher job satisfaction is associated with higher retention of nurses [ 8 , 21 , 22 , 25 ]. This survey provides important evidence of this linkage in the research animal personnel field across roles using previously validated scales.

In this survey, burnout (as assessed as a key component of compassion fatigue through the professional quality of life scale) was negatively associated with job satisfaction. That is, personnel who reported higher levels of burnout also reported lower levels of job satisfaction. In the nursing field, a high quality of communication and information exchange between management and employees was negatively correlated with burnout [ 8 ] supporting the idea that as job satisfaction increases, burnout decreases.

Taken together, these findings provide a good rationale for institutions to promote professional quality of life. Not only are decreasing burnout and increasing compassion satisfaction good for personnel individually, both may also help prevent expensive and time-consuming employee turnover.

It is more than just research animals: Culture and mental health matter

In this survey, we asked participants open-ended questions about what makes their compassion fatigue better and worse, as well as what they believed would be beneficial in a compassion fatigue resiliency program. Through analyzing the responses of 167 personnel across roles (including both caretakers and researchers), we were able to gain new insights into what factors may matter most in promoting professional quality of life in this field.

Significantly, the most common response given by participants was that factors related to institutional culture were important in their professional quality of life. In this way, the people working with research animals are just like any other employee in any other workplace. They want to feel supported in their home life, have positive interactions with other staff that lead them to feeling valued, and receive adequate training and pay. In fact, previous research has found increased compassion fatigue is linked to understaffing, feeling valued, long working hours, poor relationships/communication with superiors, and a generally poor work environment [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 16 ]. Similarly, in a systematic review of emergency healthcare workers many typical work- and job-related factors were found to lead to burnout [ 8 ]. These factors include interpersonal conflict and lack of supervisory support [ 26 , 27 ], quality of staff communication [ 28 ], adequate staffing [ 29 ], and workload [ 27 ].

Similarly, in our qualitative responses, participants often stated that their general mental health impacts their compassion fatigue. Again, just as in any other workplace, personnel discussed the importance of self-care and community, the ability to talk with others about their mental health, and stressors in their personal lives. Similarly, three previous studies have found worse compassion fatigue in animal research personnel who reported less social support or increased loneliness [ 3 , 14 , 15 ], while social support [ 13 ] and promoting mental well-being is suggested as an important component to building compassion-fatigue resiliency in an animal facility [ 30 ]. Additionally, previous work has found that poor personal mental health contributes to worse compassion fatigue, while talking to others is a good coping strategy [ 7 ]. Finally, a recent investigation found that high levels of mental well-being are positively associated with compassion satisfaction [ 14 ].

Together, these two findings highlight the ways that working in animal research has similarities to other jobs. These findings could be considered quite positive as they indicate that general strategies and workplace wellness programs designed for general institutional staff could also benefit animal research personnel’s professional quality of life, and, in turn, retention. Furthermore, these findings point to potentially solvable problems, despite some of the inherent challenges of working with research animals.

Working with research animals is uniquely rewarding and challenging

Despite our findings of the similar concerns of animal research personnel to other workplaces, there are still unique aspects of animal research that impact compassion fatigue. On the one hand, our participants state that it can be rewarding to contribute scientific advances, bond with research animals and promote research animal welfare. These results are supported by previous findings that higher enrichment levels are associated with less burnout [ 3 ] and involvement and insight into research are relevant to psychological strain [ 13 ]. It is therefore possible that ensuring and communicating translational studies, promoting good relationships with animals, and generally promoting animal welfare could increase compassion satisfaction. In turn, retention may also be increased.

Conversely, our participants discussed the challenges of performing euthanasia, stressful procedures, witnessing an animal with reduced welfare, and societal stigma contributing to worsened compassion fatigue. Again, these findings are supported by previous research that worse compassion fatigue is associated with personnel reporting increased animal stress and pain, less control of euthanasia, physical methods, and greater euthanasia distress [ 3 , 6 , 15 ]. These factors align with research suggesting that unique aspects of the research animal environment can contribute to compassion fatigue [ 31 , 32 ]. Interestingly, our quantitative analysis didn’t reveal a direct association between either animal stress/pain or hands-on animal work with retention or job satisfaction.

Post hoc , we were able to investigate similarities and differences between two roles distinct to the animal research setting: animal caretakers and researchers. Although with a small sample size and unable to investigate this for all the research animal personnel surveyed, this suggests different roles within the animal research setting may be impacted uniquely. Further research is needed to adequately investigate this topic.

Compassion-fatigue specific resources are beneficial

Finally, our survey results suggest that the provision of specific resources may help alleviate compassion fatigue. Participants discussed the importance of compassion fatigue-specific support which included normalizing and reducing stigma with compassion fatigue, talking to others with compassion fatigue and having targeted resources and strategies to combat it. Indeed, previous research has found that providing training and resources for coping with compassion fatigue is linked to improved compassion fatigue [ 6 , 7 ].

Investigations of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic found that social stigma was associated with increased compassion fatigue and decreased compassion satisfaction [ 33 ]. This is especially pertinent to research animal professionals experiencing compassion fatigue, as there is the negative stigma generally associated with animal care workers combined with the ongoing stigma surrounding mental health [ 34 , 35 ]. Lastly, numerous studies support the notion that talking to others is helpful through talk therapy [ 36 ] and specifically talking to others with a shared experience through group therapy [ 37 , 38 ].

Specific resources for compassion fatigue may include educating staff on what compassion fatigue is, recognizing its signs, and outlining the steps for prevention or mitigation. Additionally, programs may attempt to normalize and decrease the stigma surrounding compassion fatigue. To our knowledge, two institutions have published about their compassion fatigue programs: University of Washington [ 39 ] and Ohio Status University [ 16 ]. Additional institutions, such as the University of Michigan, also provide online resources detailing their programs. These programs could be used as models of institutional programs. Providing specific resources to promote professional quality of life has the potential to increase job satisfaction and retention in research animal personnel.

Limitations & generalizability

This survey includes key limitations that are important to acknowledge. As this was a cross-sectional survey, it is not possible to determine the causation, if any, of determined associations. That is, it’s possible that rather than poor professional quality of life causing decreased job retention that instead individuals who do not plan to stay in their job experience poor professional quality of life due to that choice. A randomized empirical intervention trial would be necessary to determine any direction of causation. However, this survey still provides further rationale for the importance of institutional compassion fatigue resiliency programs for animal research personnel and provides guidance for future research.

Additionally, this survey was limited as we might have failed to capture information from personnel currently experiencing compassion fatigue and by design would have missed information from those who have already left the field. Individuals with high levels of compassion fatigue may have been less likely to respond to this survey due to workplace withdrawal and decreased motivation. Individuals that already left the field would not have been reached due to distribution being through current workplace emails and networks. If anything, these limitations may cause our findings to be stronger than what was found here. It is also important to note that although we surveyed research personnel at 6 institutions, this was not a representative sample of all personnel working in animal research across the United States. Therefore, our results may not be generalizable beyond this particular sample. Despite these limitations, our findings still provide insight into the lives of those currently working in the research field in the United States.

In conclusion, these results show that research animal personnel professional quality of life is linked to two critical workplace factors: job satisfaction and retention. Furthermore, research animal personnel in the United States are impacted not only by the work they do with research animals and whether they have been provided compassion fatigue specific resources, but also by their general institutional culture and mental health support. These results suggest that institutions that focus on improving compassion satisfaction and decreasing compassion fatigue could improve employee satisfaction and retention. To accomplish these aims, institutions may benefit from improving workplace culture, improving specific animal research factors, providing general mental health support, and providing compassion fatigue specific resources. Ultimately these results provide insight and rationale for improving the professional lives of a critical sector of our society that conducts animal research.

Supporting information

S1 table. survey text and coding scheme..

The question text and answers shown to participants as well as the corresponding variable name, scale, and coded value of each answer.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.s001

S2 Table. Qualitative coding manual, results, and descriptions.

The name of each thematic code, a generalized participant response created by the researchers, subtheme response % and n, main theme response % and n, description of each category, key phrases, and representative quotes.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298744.s002

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the institutions and research animal personnel who took the time to participate in and promote this survey. We also thank the 3Rs Collaborative’s staff, volunteers, and members for making this research possible. We appreciate all research animal personnel who have worked to promote institutional compassion fatigue resiliency. Finally, we thank all research animals currently being used in science.

The authors would first like to thank the institutions who chose to participate in this pilot study, especially for the individual champions who helped coordinate distribution of the survey. We also wish to thank all the research personnel who took the time to participate in this survey and provide useful insight, also acknowledging those who champion compassion fatigue resiliency efforts. We wish to thank that research animals used in research worldwide. Lastly, we would like to thank the 3Rs Collaborative staff, volunteers, and sponsors for making this research possible, and the participation from the entire compassion fatigue resiliency initiative on this project.

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• 12. Stamm BH. The Concise ProQOL Manual. 2nd ed. Pocatello, ID: ProQOL.org ; 2010.

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5 Strategies for Improving Mental Health at Work

• Morra Aarons-Mele

Benefits and conversations around mental health evolved during the pandemic. Workplace cultures are starting to catch up.

Companies are investing in — and talking about — mental health more often these days. But employees aren’t reporting a corresponding rise in well-being. Why? The author, who wrote a book on mental health and work last year, explores several key ways organizations haven’t gone far enough in implementing a culture of well-being. She also makes five key suggestions on what they can do to improve the mental health of their employees.

“I have never felt so seen.”

• Morra Aarons-Mele is a workplace mental health consultant and author of  The Anxious Achiever: Turn Your Biggest Fears Into Your Leadership Superpower (Harvard Business Review Press, 2023). She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, O the Oprah Magazine, TED, among others, and is the host of the Anxious Achiever podcast from LinkedIn Presents. morraam

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Most Americans say it’s very important to vote to be a good member of society

Around seven-in-ten U.S. adults (69%) say it’s very important to vote in elections to be a good member of society – more than say the same about any of the other activities included in a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year.

By comparison, fewer than half of Americans say it’s very important to get a COVID-19 vaccine (44%), to make choices that help reduce the effects of global climate change (42%), or to follow what’s happening in politics in their own country (37%) to be a good member of society. Fewer – around two-in-ten – say it’s very important to follow current events in other countries (22%) or attend religious services frequently (22%). And only 13% say it’s very important to join demonstrations about issues they think are important to be a good member of society.

This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on U.S. public opinion about what it means to be a good member of society. It is based on a survey of 3,581 U.S. adults conducted from March 21 to 27, 2022. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology . Here is the question used in this analysis, along with responses.

The comparison of responses by 2020 voter turnout relies on a measure of validated turnout among citizens who are currently at least 20 years old. Validated voters are citizens who told us that they voted in the 2020 general election and have a record for voting in that election in a commercial voter file. In an effort to accurately locate official voting records, up to three commercial voter files were searched for each panelist. The number of commercial files consulted varies by when a panelist was recruited to the ATP. Three files were used for panelists recruited in 2020 or before, while two were used for panelists recruited in 2021. Here are additional details about the voter validation process .  

Although Republicans and Democrats differ in some views of election rules and procedures , there are no partisan differences in the perceived importance of voting. Around seven-in-ten Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (73%) and a similar share of Republicans and GOP leaners (70%) say voting is very important to being a good member of society. Past Pew Research Center surveys have found a similar pattern .

Republicans and Democrats also don’t differ when it comes to the importance of following what is happening in U.S. politics. Around four-in-ten in each party (37% of Republicans and 40% of Democrats) say it’s very important to follow politics to be a good member of society.

When it comes to the importance of following current events in other countries, Democrats are somewhat more likely than Republicans (26% vs. 18%) to say it’s very important. Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say joining demonstrations is very important (17% vs. 8%), while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say attending religious services regularly is very important (30% vs. 15%).  

Partisan divides are widest when it comes to the perceived importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine and making choices to reduce the effects of climate change. In both cases, Democrats are more than 40 percentage points more likely than Republicans to see it as very important to being a good member of society. As Pew Research Center has previously found , the partisan gap in the perceived importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine is the largest in the United States out of 19 countries surveyed this year. Climate change is also a key dividing line, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to see it as a major threat .

Older and younger Americans diverge over what they see as very important for being a good member of society. Generally speaking, older people are more likely than younger people to find nearly all of the activities asked about to be very important. When it comes to voting, for example, 86% of those ages 65 and older say it’s very important, compared with around half (47%) of those under 30. On only two activities – making choices that help reduce the effects of climate change and joining demonstrations about issues people think are important – are older and younger people about equally likely to say it’s crucial for being a good member of society.

Americans with at least a college degree or more education are more likely than those without a college degree to see voting and getting a COVID-19 vaccine as very important. The opposite is true when it comes to attending religious services regularly, and there are no educational differences when it comes to the perceived importance of the other activities asked about in the survey.

2020 voter turnout was highest among those who see voting as very important

Do Americans who see voting as very important to being a good member of society actually follow through and vote? A separate analysis of 2020 turnout data suggests that the answer is yes.

Among those who say it’s very important to vote in order to be a good member of society, the vast majority (79%) cast a ballot in the 2020 election. Among those who say it’s somewhat important to vote to be a good member of society, far fewer (43%) cast a ballot in 2020. And around three-in-ten of those who see voting as either not too important (33%) or not important at all (30%) opted to vote in 2020.

Of course, there are many reasons why some Americans may not have cast a ballot in 2020, even if they generally see voting as an important civic duty.

• Political & Civic Engagement
• Political Ideals & Systems
• Voter Participation

Tuning Out: Americans on the Edge of Politics

Attitudes on an interconnected world, turnout in 2022 house midterms declined from 2018 high, final official returns show, what makes someone a good member of society, turnout in u.s. has soared in recent elections but by some measures still trails that of many other countries, most popular.

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The Importance of Better Work

• Open Access
• First Online: 13 November 2021

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• Monique Kremer 3 ,
• Robert Went 3 &
• Godfried Engbersen 3  

Part of the book series: Research for Policy ((RP))

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This chapter draws on the extant scientific literature on the importance of having a job, in particular the importance of having good work. Above all, it seeks to pinpoint what good work entails. We discuss the functions of paid work and the consequences of unemployment for individuals and societies. We then turn to what economists, sociologists and psychologists have written about good work. From this literature we distil three core characteristics of good work, which also align with survey findings about what people in the Netherlands expect from their jobs. We then discuss why good work is so important for individuals, companies, the economy and society.

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For most people, work is a source of economic independence, social contact and identity. Who we are is largely determined by what we do. Work is often where we connect with others; some of us spend more time with colleagues than with friends or loved ones. Unemployment has major consequences for individuals, for their social environments and for society, while the importance of paid work is most tangible for those who do not have it.

This chapter draws on the extant scientific literature on the importance of having a job, in particular the importance of having good work. Above all, it seeks to pinpoint what good work entails. We first discuss the functions of paid work and the consequences of unemployment for individuals and societies – a subject about which a great deal is already known (Sect. 2.1 ). We then turn to what economists, sociologists and psychologists have written about good work (Sect. 2.2 ). From this literature we distil three core characteristics of good work, which also align with survey findings about what people in the Netherlands expect from their jobs (Sect. 2.3 ). We then discuss why good work is so important for individuals, companies, the economy and society (Sect. 2.4 ) before concluding the chapter (Sect. 2.5 ).

2.1 The Meaning of Paid Work

The importance of paid work is most obvious to those who do not have it: the unemployed. Social psychologist Marie Jahoda and sociologist Paul Lazersfeld visited Marienthal, Austria, in the 1930s in the wake of a local factory closure which had made the majority of the village workforce redundant (see Box 2.1 ). From their field research and an extensive literature study, Jahoda and Lazersfeld identified six functions of work which are as applicable today as they were then. Footnote 1 First and foremost, work (1) furnishes an income. But apart from this, work also provides (2) daily structure, (3) personal development, (4) social contacts and experiences, (5) the opportunity to contribute to society and (6) status and identity. To a considerable extent, work determines a person’s position in society.

Jahoda emphasized the social functions of work. Because people find their place in society through employment, it has taken over some of the functions of communal and religious ritual. Alongside the family, work offers a social context that allows people to experience, on a daily basis, that they are not islands unto themselves. Without work, people feel they have no purpose in life and that they are unable to contribute to the collective; they feel excluded from society.

Box 2.1 from Marienthal to Janesville: Studies of the Unemployed

During the depression of the 1930s, Marie Jahoda and Paul Lazarsfeld accompanied a team of researchers to Marienthal, an Austrian village where the only factory had been forced to close. The result was the first large-scale study of the consequences of unemployment. Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal: Ein soziographischer Versuch über die Wirkungen langandauernder Arbeitslosigkeit ( The Unemployed of Marienthal: A Sociographic Experiment on the Effects of Long-term Unemployment ) Footnote 2 described both the practical aspects of joblessness such as managing household budgets and the slow tread with which the unemployed walked through the village and the shrinking of [their] life horizon. While the financial consequences of unemployment were great, what was even more striking was the suffering caused by loss of status, identity and self-esteem. The study found that people reacted differently to unemployment; some descended into a vicious cycle of inactivity and apathy, unable to take advantage of the limited opportunities available to them.

A half-century later, Een tijd zonder werk ( A Time Without Work ) Footnote 3 – based on ethnographic research in the cities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Enschede – studied long-term unemployment in the Netherlands in the 1980s. This study likewise found extended periods of joblessness leading to losses of status and identity, an altered sense of time and a contraction of the world. But it also identified an alternative culture of unemployment celebrating autonomy and individualism. Joblessness did not necessarily undermine status and identity; particularly young people made strategic use of welfare benefits as a de facto basic income to organize their lives in a way that suited them. Footnote 4

The slipstream of the 2008 financial crisis has produced relatively few academic studies of the experience of unemployment. Among the notable studies are Washington Post staff writer Amy Goldstein’s account Footnote 5 of the city of Janesville, Wisconsin, where a General Motors factory had closed its doors. Janesville: An American Story is as an account of the resilience of a local community. Retraining courses, Goldstein found, were no quick fix, as people who had undergone retraining found it harder to find new jobs.

Jahoda’s six functions of work still apply although the meritocratization of society – the conferral of status by talent – since the 1930s has added a seventh function: work affords self-respect. Footnote 6 In Respect in a World of Inequality , Richard Sennett Footnote 7 writes that people without paid work find it hard to respect themselves – a feeling reinforced when people are judged above all by their earnings. Footnote 8 If people are out of work, the general consensus is that they only have themselves to blame; they should have stayed longer in school or performed better at the last job interview. A Dutch study by Judith Elshout Footnote 9 found many unemployed people sharing such views: their situation was “their own fault” while people without work were “losers”.

American sociologist Michelle Lamont Footnote 10 reports that there are currently few sources of self-esteem outside of paid employment – the centrality of which has pushed aside other possible reasons to value oneself. Although many men and women in the Netherlands value leisure and family above paid work, Footnote 11 (Fig. 2.1 ) recent research shows that one’s job remains the most important source of respect. The unemployed, people with disabilities, pensioners and homemakers (both male and female) all struggle more than working people with issues of self-esteem. Working people feel more useful and valuable, and are more proud of themselves (Fig. 2.1 ). Footnote 12

The centrality of work across countries – total population aged 18-plus (indexed)

Source: Conen ( 2020 )

Can volunteer work take over the functions of paid work? Although volunteering is generally good for one’s health and well-being, this is less true for unemployed people, especially when they are young and have their lives ahead of them. Footnote 13 The Netherlands has a tradition of valuing voluntary work as a symbolic contribution to society; within the benefits system, experiments are currently underway to guide recipients towards the voluntary sector (see Box 2.2 ). But however valuable it may be and however much it may bolster self-esteem, Footnote 14 volunteering can never fully take over all the functions of a real job with a real payslip. Footnote 15

Box 2.2 Experiments with Volunteer Work

Experiments with volunteering have long sought to give those without paid work a daily routine and meaning in life. The first experiment we know of took place in the uk in 1935 when the Quaker movement set up the Subsistence Production Society, a voluntary co-operative for 400 former miners. Rather than a wage, participants received a small cash allowance. While the project emulated many of the functions of work, it attained better results among older men; younger men often failed to show up. For the former, it brought structure to the day; for the latter, voluntary work undermined their social status. The younger men did not feel they were contributing to a greater goal. Footnote 16

Since the 1980s, the Netherlands has seen numerous experiments with volunteer work for the unemployed, usually targeting long-term benefit claimants. Footnote 17 A study by the City of Rotterdam found that social assistance claimants were generally positive about the expectation to give back to the community, although a minority found it oppressive. Participants in an experimental programme generally felt more confident and valued, and expanded their social contacts; their employment prospects and health, however, did not improve. Footnote 18 In Amsterdam, the comparable programme Meedoen werkt (“Joining in works”) made participants feel “more self-reliant” but only rarely led to them finding paid work. Footnote 19

2.1.1 When People Are Out of Work: Consequences for the Individual and Society

Because work has so many functions, it is unsurprising that unemployment has such far-reaching consequences. Numerous studies have shown that being out of work leads to poorer health, particularly mental health; controlling for socio-economic status, employment history and education, we see that joblessness clearly contributes to mental illnesses such as depression. Footnote 20 Conversely, unemployed people who find jobs experience huge health gains, comparable to the effect of participating in programmes designed to promote healthy behaviour. Footnote 21 Understandably, scientific attention over the past decades has shifted away from the pathogenic nature of work – its role in causing illness and disease – towards its remedial effects. Nowadays, a job is more often considered medicine.

The unemployed, as Jahoda already observed, are less embedded in “society” – which after all is largely created at work. The wrr pointed to this phenomenon in its 1990 report Work in Perspective , Footnote 22 by which time the erosion of traditional integrative links had made social bonding through work an urgent issue: “Labour-force participation – allowing always for new definitions of what constitutes employment – has become an increasingly important precondition and manifestation of social participation, cohesion and individual citizenship.” People without jobs are less anchored in society, have smaller social networks and are more likely to be single. Sometimes they are excluded; sometimes they exclude themselves. Particularly for married men, losing their job increases the chances that they will lose their partner. Footnote 23

Work in Perspective also found that low labour-force participation rates were threatening the solvency of the Dutch welfare state. A healthy ratio between working and non-working people is needed to maintain solidarity and to finance the social-security system. Unemployment and occupational incapacity entail costs that go well beyond the sums paid out in benefits, such as those associated with healthcare and social services. For example, people on benefits account for a considerable proportion of the spending on mental healthcare. Footnote 24

The costs of health problems caused by unemployment are at least in part borne by society. It is therefore important to help as many people as possible into work, not only for their own good but for that of the general public. But it is crucial that this work be good work. We now turn to what this actually means.

2.2 Good Work: Insights from the Social Sciences

Much has been written about what constitutes good work. Although there is no single, unambiguous definition, specific elements keep recurring in the academic literature and in large-scale international studies by the European Union and the oecd . This section describes criteria for good work as proposed by economists, sociologists and psychologists, and boils them down to three crucial characteristics.

2.2.1 Good Work as Seen by Economists

In economics, the quality of work is generally equated with pay levels. Footnote 25 High wages mean good work; low wages mean bad work. Paul de Beer Footnote 26 argues that economics has narrowed its view of work to income: “Although most economists do underline the importance of work for the individual, the dominant approach in economics, the neoclassical theory, provides little reason to do so. In most economic views of the labour market, work is primarily a way of making money.” Nevertheless, meaningful jobs can be badly paid while well-paid work can also lead to burnout. As important as wages are for income and recognition, sociologists and psychologists have shown that there are more criteria to good work than pay alone.

Economics has indeed begun to pay more attention to well-being. In The Origins of Happiness , Footnote 27 Layard and colleagues explore how the quality of people’s work affects their contentment and distil from contemporary studies three conditions for good work: (1) good organization, with sufficient variety in tasks, autonomy, support, appreciation and so on; (2) good work-life balance (flexible and “civilized” hours); and (3) good pay, with income security and opportunities for promotion. In sum, work is good if it makes people happy with their lives.

Arne Kalleberg Footnote 28 , a sociologist inspired by economists, identifies five conditions for good work. First, the wage must be sufficient to cover basic needs, with the chance to earn more over time. It is not only the amount one earns, but the social mobility that the income allows. Second, good work provides social benefits such as health insurance and post-retirement pensions; Kalleberg emphasizes this as social benefits in the United States are generally linked to one’s employment contract and not, as in the Netherlands and Europe more broadly, arranged collectively or through industry-wide agreements. Third, good work offers “opportunities for autonomy and control over work activities”, including having a say over one’s tasks. Fourth, “flexibility and control over rosters and working conditions” is increasingly important in light of on-call work in the 24/7 economy. Finally, workers must have some control over when their jobs end, as the flexible labour market thrives on short-term appointments.

All five conditions do not necessarily have to be met for work to be good; if one is missing, this does not automatically make it bad. Here Kalleberg aligns himself with neoclassical economic theory, which posits that employers can trade off positive and negative aspects of work, for example the price in security self-employed in the creative industry pay for their independence. Kalleberg nevertheless notes that the exchange is often not all that it should be; while employers offering precarious positions should be paying higher wages, this often does not happen. The conditions for good work are also increasingly divorced from one another. We can no longer confidently say that individuals earning high incomes will likely score well on the other indicators of good work. For example, there is now less job security across the board.

2.2.2 Good Work as Seen by Sociologists

According to Duncan Gallie, Footnote 29 sociologists assess the quality of work through two dominant lenses. Building on sociology’s founding fathers (see Box 2.3 ), the first approach seeks to objectively determine the conditions under which workers’ interests are advanced. Marx, for example, argued that without ownership over their work, workers will remain alienated from themselves and from their labour. The second approach is based more on what people themselves experience as good work. Good jobs are jobs in which people are happy; it is better to let people judge for themselves what constitutes good work as their preferences differ.

Gallie further argues that people are remarkably consistent in how they evaluate their work, with similar patterns visible in almost all European countries, among both men and women. Workers with modest educations, less discretionary space, fewer training opportunities, limited job security and greater difficulties combining work and care are less satisfied with their jobs. Objectively as well as subjectively, the quality of work can be reduced to three central elements: (1) discretionary space at work; (2) job security; and (3) work-life balance. Footnote 30

Box 2.3 Alienation in the Iron Cage: The Quality of Work According to Classical Sociologists

Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim and Max Weber were engaged with the industrial relations of their day and the question of how to enforce good work. Footnote 31 Marx (1818–1883) was particularly affected by the kind of industrial labour he saw in English factories. The dangers of work lay primarily in various forms of alienation: alienation from the product being made, alienation from the work process, alienation from one’s fellow workers and alienation from the individual creative process. It was vital that people be allowed to be social and creative. The answer to alienation lay not in liberation from work but in liberation through work. This was only possible if workers controlled the means of production so that they were no longer “wage slaves”.

Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) is famous for his idea that specialization makes people more interdependent, creating an organic form of solidarity. But he also warned against the excessive division of labour, where workers become automatons and there is little contact between one function and the next. People should be able to choose their work freely as this will better match their individual abilities. Durkheim saw little point in seeking out conflict, preferring a higher level of moral consciousness through professional organizations modelled on the guilds of the Middle Ages.

Finally, Max Weber (1864–1920) described how bureaucracies – or other forms of far-reaching rationalization – restrict freedom of action, imprisoning people in an “iron cage” leading to “depersonalization” and loss of creativity. Weber sought a solution in charismatic leaders who could introduce new moral values.

Although the proposals advanced by these nineteenth-century sociologists to achieve better work ranged from moral appeals to the appropriation of capital, they were all concerned with scope for individuality and creativity, working according to one’s abilities, and social relationships at work. It all sounds surprisingly modern and to the point.

2.2.3 Good Work as Seen by Psychologists

While sociologists study the quality of work through the lenses of social equality, opportunities and workplace performance, psychologists tend to focus on workers’ health and well-being. Peter Warr’s “vitamin model”, for example, compares the psychological influence of working conditions to the effects of vitamins on physical health. Footnote 32 According to Warr, people have a natural need for nine “vitamins of work” without which good work is impossible. Some have health benefits but can be harmful when overdosed (see Table 2.1 ). For example, excessive performance requirements lead to stress, too much variety in one’s tasks reduces concentration, and not everyone thrives with autonomy. The other vitamins – financial rewards, physical security, position and status – do not lead to overdose but have no further benefits beyond a certain dose. Footnote 33

Another strand of psychological research on workplace well-being builds on motivation theory. Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs, advanced in A Theory of Human Motivation (1943), is often used to outline a hierarchy of needs, the fulfilment of which leads to good work. With physiological needs at its base, the pyramid progresses through the needs for safety, belonging, love and esteem before reaching its apex: self-actualization. Self-determination theory as advanced by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan has also found considerable resonance in workplace research. Footnote 34 According to this hypothesis, people are driven by three basic psychological needs: (1) autonomy, meaning the freedom to design an activity as one sees fit with a degree of independence; (2) competence, meaning confidence in one’s own ability and the experience of control; and (3) belonging, meaning social interaction and trust in others. Footnote 35 Safeguarding all three in the workplace should result in better performance (quality of work and productivity) and in better health and well-being. Footnote 36

2.2.4 Good Work as Seen by International Organizations

International organizations such as the oecd and Eurofound have built on the scientific findings outlined above to define and operationalize good work in their research on the quality of work. In recent reports such as Divided We Stand Footnote 37 and In It Together , Footnote 38 the oecd has increasingly focused on pay and income inequality as well as the insecurity of workers in flexible labour markets. In its understanding of the quality of work, the oecd privileges the socio-economic aspects of employment (see Table 2.2 ). Eurofound in studying the quality of work has identified seven key indicators, each with several sub-characteristics (see Table 2.2 ). Compared to the oecd , Eurofound places greater emphasis on physical working conditions, how work is organized and social innovation in the workplace.

2.3 Conditions for Good Work

Three core conditions for good work recur in the scientific literature. While their importance may fluctuate for individuals over the life course, research shows that there are minimum levels for work to be considered good. All three conditions do not need to be maximized. Good work can also be good-enough work.

2.3.1 Income Security

The first condition for good work is material. People need to be paid enough to live on: work that results in poverty cannot be called good. Wages should also be proportionate to the effort involved: is there a balance between what people do and how much they are paid? Warr calls this fairness. Footnote 39 To some extent, fairness is relational; people tend to compare what they earn with others. Comparative earnings are therefore a key indicator. If a person’s wages are much lower than those of close colleagues or people with the same level of education, it is hard to claim their work is good.

Security is part and parcel of the material dimension of the quality of work. Although people with steady jobs can experience insecurity – “in a reorganization you can be out of the door just like that” – temporary contracts are seen as indicators of bad work as they bring little financial stability and slim career prospects.

Security is enhanced when workers have opportunities to find other or better-paid work through retraining and on-the-job learning and when job loss is accompanied by financial compensation, for instance through an adequate redundancy package. Redress for loss of income due to termination of contract or incapacity to work, as well as guidance into other work where appropriate, are conditions for good work.

2.3.2 In the Workplace: Freedom and Belonging

The second condition for good work concerns the workplace itself. A job can be secure and well paid but can hardly be called good if one has no space to decide when and how tasks are performed, if the workplace atmosphere is toxic, if job requirements are so basic that boredom sets in, or if one lacks opportunities for development. Although workers don’t need to be in a constant state of bliss, they generally want to feel that they are making a contribution. Footnote 40 Whether one is well or poorly educated, highly gifted or cognitively impaired, being able to make the most of one’s abilities is a basic human need. Footnote 41 People like to use and develop their skills. Being under-challenged is not only a waste of human talent; it is often demeaning. Conversely, people can also be over-challenged: if there are not enough people for the task, if the task is too complex, or if it demands the constant managing of one’s own and other people’s emotions, the work can no longer be considered good.

While both Kalleberg and Eurofound emphasize the importance of social mobility through work, we prefer Warr’s vitamin model which recognizes there can be too much emphasis on advancement. Mobility in itself is not an end; people can be satisfied with the work they have. Good work strikes the right balance between stress and boredom. Footnote 42 It concerns appropriate job requirements, not just avoiding burnout but also preventing “bore-out”.

To keep alienation – occupational estrangement from oneself and/or others – from setting in, workers need a degree of control or ownership over their work. As Marx wrote, being able to use our creativity makes us human. Footnote 43 Good work means that people can perform their tasks without constant control from managers or technology – a common problem today, especially for workers in the gig economy who must ultimately answer to an algorithm. Footnote 44 While an appropriate amount of personal latitude can shield people from excessive workloads and stress, not all workers need the same amount of autonomy, or all of the time; the need for autonomy is stronger in some people than in others, and can evolve over the course of a career. Too much autonomy can also make workers exhausted and insecure Footnote 45 – especially when their authority does not match their responsibilities. But with the right amount of autonomy, psychology’s classic demand-control model Footnote 46 (see also Sect. 2.4 ) predicts that workers will be more productive. Their input in shopfloor meetings and participation in decision-making is crucial as it allows workers to shape how tasks are organized in a way that makes the most of their abilities. Footnote 47

People want to feel connected to those they work with; this is a basic human need. Footnote 48 Respect and appreciation, courtesy and social support are essential to good work. Footnote 49 People value workplace social relationships, which must be free of discrimination, aggression and bullying. If workers’ have bad relations with their bosses or colleagues, it is not good work.

2.3.3 Work-Life Balance

The third condition for good work is work-life balance. Good work entails working hours appropriate for one’s stage in life. Some people want to reduce their working hours when raising young children or if elderly parents require their care. Others want to work more, which can be facilitated by good public care provision for children and the elderly. Yet others wish to continue working after the normal retirement age. Not everyone can or wants to follow the standard life-course of “study, work, rest”. Good work means fluidity and flexibility so that family life and personal development can be combined with a career. Footnote 50 This includes flexibility in the place and timing of work.

The line between work and private life has been blurred in the flexible labour market, where working hours and locations are often no longer fixed. While flexibility is often demanded unilaterally by the employer, good work is about flexibility for the employee, not about having to be available for work at all hours. Footnote 51 It is also important that personal problems do not constantly interfere with work, that workers are not repeatedly called away to care for a confused parent or to pick up a sick child from school. Employees must be allowed enough rest and time to work well.

Table 2.3 summarizes the three key conditions for good work and links them to 12 indicators. We will return to them in our analysis of the Netherlands in subsequent chapters.

2.3.4 The Three Conditions for Good Work

Do the above conditions for good work, as distilled from the scientific literature and summarized in Table 2.3 , align with the wishes of Dutch society? Surveys find that people in the Netherlands, more than in any other European country, do not place paid work first on their list of priorities Footnote 52 (see Fig. 2.1 ). On average, they attach greater importance to family, friendships and free time – a privilege of prosperous countries where joblessness does not risk basic livelihood. Footnote 53 Both Dutch men and women wish to be able to combine paid work with free time and care responsibilities. Footnote 54

Table 2.4 shows that Dutch people want work that pays well. But it is even more important that their work is interesting and that it makes the most of their talents. A good salary is of great importance to more than three-quarters of the population, but people also want interesting work “in which you can use your abilities”. All things considered, Dutch workers attach more importance to the intrinsic aspects of work than do many other Europeans. Footnote 55 In other words, the value of work lies mainly in the work itself. Workers in the Netherlands, more than in the rest of Europe, want their work to be “social”; they want pleasant colleagues. A sense of belonging at work is an important condition for good work. Footnote 56

Although the expectations of employees today do not differ markedly from those of their 1970s predecessors, women’s growing participation in the labour force has generated new expectations regarding work-life balance. Footnote 57 People attach greater value than ever before to reasonable working hours and generous holiday arrangements so they can combine their personal and working lives (see Table 2.4 ). It is also striking how much having an interesting job and the ability to “achieve something” at work have grown in importance over the past three decades.

It is sometimes claimed that younger people see work very differently, that they attach less importance to job security. This is a “millennial myth” – this generation, too, wants good work that provides a secure livelihood. Footnote 58 Everyone, regardless of age, appreciates a steady job, a good employer and a reasonable salary. Footnote 59 Everyone, regardless of age, appreciates ​​the value of security. In sum, the quality of work, according to Dutch workers, concerns pay and security; autonomy and belonging in the workplace; and being able to combine work with private life.

2.4 Consequences of Good Work for the Individual, the Economy and Society

Good work is not only good for workers; employers and society gain as well. Figure 2.2 shows how.

Consequences of better work for the individual, the economy and society

2.4.1 Health and Well-Being

Good work is good for workers’ health and well-being, which means less absenteeism, higher productivity and lower costs for the welfare state. Numerous epidemiological studies show a causal relationship between the quality of work and the health and well-being of workers. Footnote 60 Although this applies to physical health as well, it is especially – and increasingly – the case for mental health. Footnote 61

Occupational health is associated primarily with conditions in the workplace and the extent to which workers have control over their working lives. There is a direct link between high – and above all continuous – work-related stress and medical complaints. Footnote 62 Mental-health issues can arise when employees are insufficiently challenged, when they do not feel that their tasks match their abilities, or when they lack opportunities for advancement. Footnote 63 Poor relationships with colleagues and bosses increase the risk of illness and can have major implications for a person’s mental health and subjective well-being. Footnote 64

Box 2.4 Burnout: A Product of Changes in Work and Society

The best-known negative effect attributed to bad work is burnout: mental and emotional exhaustion often accompanied by physical fatigue, cynicism towards work, insufficient sleep and flagging self-confidence. Burnout has many causes. Broader social developments play a role; in the performance society, work is an indicator of success and having a busy job is a status symbol. Footnote 65 Meanwhile, we devote our leisure time to even more activity, from sports to maintaining a social media presence, leaving us scant time to recover from work. Footnote 66

Other underlying causes of burnout can be traced to the changing nature of work, in particular its acceleration. The shift from an industrial to a service economy means that people are working less with their hands and more with their heads and hearts. Work nowadays is more likely to be mentally than physically taxing, Footnote 67 altering the pattern of occupational illness.

Workers today have fewer opportunities to tune out. More likely to be working with others, they are expected to keep their interactions civil, even under trying circumstances. Footnote 68 Many workers are increasingly engaged in emotional labour, tasks that require them to suppress their own feelings or to express emotions they are not experiencing. This can lead to all kinds of exhaustion from burnout to compassion fatigue, the diminished ability to feel empathy.

A great deal of research has been done on occupational factors that affect health. Of the frameworks seeking to predict which employees are at increased risk of illness, the demand-control model, Footnote 69 the effort-reward imbalance model Footnote 70 and the job demands-resources model are probably the best known. Footnote 71 All recognize that certain negative factors (job requirements) increase the incidence of medical complaints and that certain positive factors (resources) reduce it. Footnote 72

Excessive workload is undeniably a negative factor: employees under great pressure are more likely to suffer symptoms of burnout. Footnote 73 While such pressure is usually manageable for short periods, prolonged exposure to stress puts the body in a constant state of maximum preparedness, which renders relaxation difficult. Footnote 74 Working to tight deadlines is fine so long as workers are allowed enough rest between them. Interruptions such as phone alerts are also not a problem unless they occur continuously and undermine concentration, which increases the chances of burnout. Footnote 75

To deal with the causes of workplace stress, employees need resources and control options at their disposal. With support from managers and colleagues, they are less likely to suffer from health issues. Footnote 76 Being able to talk freely about difficulties helps, which can also make it easier to hand work over to colleagues. Footnote 77 But colleagues can also be part of the problem when relationships are strained or when there is bullying in the workplace. Footnote 78 Autonomy at work can provide protection against illness and burnout. Heavy workloads can be better managed when workers are able to decide when and how they perform their tasks; workers entrusted with responsibility also feel more appreciated. Footnote 79 This is probably why people who are their own boss are less likely to burn out. Footnote 80

Box 2.5 Emotional Labour in the Service Economy

“Emotional labour” is increasingly widespread in the service economy, where more and more workers are expected to manage their feelings to present a particular image to clients and customers. In The Managed Heart , sociologist Arlie Hochschild Footnote 81 shows how flight attendants are trained and controlled to be pleasant (smile!) at all times. Emotional labour, she warns, can lead to alienation, especially if one’s feelings do not match how one is expected to behave. This effect increases when a worker is being watched by a boss or colleagues. Since Hochschild coined the term, emotional labour has been studied in workplaces ranging from call centres to schools and hospitals. As the service economy expands, aspects of emotional labour are encroaching onto less obvious professions, for example movers and plumbers who must deal with customers of all kinds.

Although emotional labour can make work meaningful – it may add an extra or deeper dimension to the job – it can also lead to stress and burnout. This is especially the case when there is “emotional dissonance” – when workers, like actors, must feign emotions they are not actually feeling. People who work closely with others are more likely to take sick leave and suffer burnout. This is why emotional capital – the ability to feel and manage emotions – has become an increasingly important asset in the workplace. Footnote 82

The material aspects of work influence psychological well-being. Low earnings can lead to poverty while the poor are more likely to suffer poor health. Footnote 83 Job insecurity, especially flexible contracts, can negatively affect mental health. Footnote 84 International research consistently finds a link between long-term temporary working and the greater risk of health problems. Studies in the Netherlands are less clear-cut on this point, perhaps because people with chronic medical conditions are less likely to be working due to the country’s robust social-security system. Temporary agency work appears to have negative health effects while self-employed professionals report better health. Footnote 85

Work-life imbalance has psychological consequences. People who work long days are more likely to burn out, Footnote 86 while disrupting an existing equilibrium between care-giving and work often undermines health, well-being and workplace functioning. Footnote 87 Having to be continuously available for work can generate considerable stress for “task combiners”. While combining work with care-giving does not necessarily lead to stress or mental health problems, those who feel their work and care responsibilities are out of balance are more likely to experience symptoms of burnout. Footnote 88

Much also depends on the worker’s network of social support. Do they have people they can turn to at home for help with work-related stress, and people at work who can assist when they have domestic troubles? Tellingly, burnout is less common among task combiners, perhaps because their families offer more support. Footnote 89 But if there are problems at home – for example with the children or finances – the risk of burnout increases. Footnote 90 The incidence of sick leave is also higher among working care-givers; the longer they combine care duties and work, the longer they are off sick. Footnote 91 Conversely, good work can have a protective effect, for example by keeping working care-givers from being overburdened by their care responsibilities. In short, the right combination of personal and work activities can energize employees and improve their productivity, motivation and engagement.

What are the consequences for society if work is not good? The resulting health problems increase absenteeism. Alongside workplace conflict, health problems – especially psychological ones – are the main reason people take time off from work. Footnote 92 A significant proportion of absenteeism is due to problems with the work itself Footnote 93 : overwork and stress are increasingly cited as reasons for reporting sick. Footnote 94 The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment estimates that unfavourable working conditions cause 4.6% of the total burden of disease in the country, the same order of magnitude as environmental factors (5.7%), physical inactivity (3.5%) and obesity (5.2%). Footnote 95

Absenteeism is detrimental not only for workers but for employers and society. The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research calculates that an employee idle for a year due to burnout costs at least €60,000 Footnote 96 and that all work-related absenteeism costs an estimated €5 billion annually. Of this, €2.7 billion can be attributed to “psychosocial workload”. In addition, healthcare costs for people with occupational disorders amount to €1.6 billion, and for occupational disabilities, €2.1 billion. In total, work-related health conditions cost the Netherlands €8.7 billion in 2018. Footnote 97

Good work can contribute to keeping people at work and keeping them in work longer, as well as enabling those with health problems to return to the workforce. Footnote 98 In addition to absenteeism, work-related psychological complaints can lead to “presenteeism” – the employee turning up to work but doing little once there, for example due to chronic fatigue. Improving the quality of work, the oecd concludes, reduces absenteeism and losses in productivity Footnote 99 as workers become more physically and mentally present. In short, investing in good work benefits employees, employers and society alike. Good work is good for everyone.

2.4.2 Engagement

One consequence of good work is engagement, Footnote 100 deftly described in workplaces past and present by the sociologist Richard Sennett Footnote 101 in The Craftsman . Employee engagement affects how organizations function. Footnote 102 Engaged employees work harder and deliver better results. Footnote 103 Effectory – a firm that has surveyed employees across Dutch companies and institutions, including the entire central government – no longer only asks about job satisfaction, which it deems a too-passive concept. Nowadays, Effectory asks about enthusiasm at work and commitment to the organization. Footnote 104 Alongside the formal contract, every employment relationship contains a reciprocal “psychological contract”, “a perception of promises made between employer and employee, expressed or implied, about their exchange relationship.” Footnote 105

Employers able to engage their employees, typically through non-hierarchical relationships, consultation and worker participation, promote “organizational citizenship behaviour”. Staff are then more inclined to take on work left by absent colleagues, to not cause problems for others and to commit themselves to the company. Footnote 106 When people feel safe, secure, supported and appreciated at work, they often do more for the organization than is required by their formal contract. Footnote 107 Such engagement is good not only for the functioning of the company, but benefits its clients. Footnote 108

Good work contributes to innovation and economic growth by encouraging workers to think about how products, services and work processes can be improved. Footnote 109 Eurofound finds that “job quality contributes to developing organisational commitment and motivation among workers, as well as shaping a climate that is supportive of creativity and innovation”. Footnote 110 Social innovation – structuring work organizations in ways that bring out the best in people (see Box 2.6 ) – is crucial for our knowledge and service economy, which primarily depends on human capital. Footnote 111 Innovations often happen when employees have ideas about how work processes can be improved. But this only happens when workers enjoy real autonomy. Offices are cleaned better and faster when cleaners can suggest improvements. Footnote 112 Starbucks’ Frappuccino was the brainchild of an employee given room to experiment after returning from a holiday in Greece.

Insecurity at work inhibits innovative behaviour. Companies that depend on flexible workers tend to focus on bureaucracy and controlling their staff. Footnote 113 Temporary contracts also undermine innovative behaviour. Footnote 114 Staff who do not know whether they will be employed in a few months have few incentives to brainstorm improvements or to provide feedback on how things could be done better. Lack of autonomy interacts with job insecurity to adversely affect innovation and economic growth.

Box 2.6 Social Innovation in the Netherlands: Past, Present and Future

At the beginning of this century, Dutch employers’ organizations and trade unions agreed to promote “social innovation”. Footnote 115 They joined the Smarter Work Platform, and later, the Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation, in which academic institutions also participated. In a 2005 report, the Social Innovation Task Force described social innovation as “renewing the work organization and maximizing its use of skills with the aim of improving business performance and talent development.” Footnote 116 The Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation received government support; one of the national employers’ association ( awvn) played a major role in the initiative, focusing on co-creation.

As a concept, social innovation is meant to offset the general bias towards technological innovation. It is about “the participative and interrelated renewal of work, organizations and personnel policy in order to improve human functioning and so take organizational performance, the quality of work and labour relations to a higher level. Obviously, this will almost always be done in conjunction with technological innovation.” Footnote 117 “Organizational performance” here primarily refers to labour productivity and innovative ability; “quality of work” to enriching tasks, developing skills and mitigating stress-related risks. An evaluation of 10 years of social innovation in the Netherlands found that organizations committed to the concept had gone some way to achieve these goals. Footnote 118

The number of socially innovative companies nevertheless remains limited. In 2019, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment announced that he would turn to the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands – an advisory body of employers, employees and independent experts – for advice on the “broader and better application of social innovation”, meaning smarter working, flexible organization, co-creation and dynamic management. Footnote 119

2.4.3 Sense of Community

Finally, good work is good for the individual’s sense of belonging to the community and for social cohesion. Insufficient income and insecure work limit opportunities in the housing market and, especially for men, in the life-partner market. People with permanent positions are more likely to have children. Footnote 120 For young flexible workers, putting off starting a family is almost the norm; as a German Minister of Family Affairs once said, temporary contracts are “the best contraceptive”. Footnote 121 The same applies to possibilities for combining work and care; countries with paid parental leave have higher birth rates. Footnote 122 Workers with both uncertain and irregular hours can never be sure if and when they will be called into work and so experience particular difficulties combining work and care. Footnote 123 The consequences of good work thus extend to social and family life.

Lack of good work can fuel social discontent. More and more workers in jobs with low wages, little security, scant autonomy and few or no control options are turning their backs on society and growing pessimistic about the future. Footnote 124 Why is this happening? First of all, bad work is widely experienced as demeaning. People in such jobs feel little respect and appreciation, and often sense that they are interchangeable: “If you go, there are ten more waiting to take your place”. Footnote 125 Negative workplace experiences – tasks one is overqualified for, discrimination or “flexism” (the unequal treatment of people with temporary positions) – are easily projected onto society as a whole. Second, social unease grows when people do not experience control over their own lives, their futures and that of their children. Footnote 126 This leaves them unable to look ahead, consigned to be “prisoners of the present”. Footnote 127 As work is central to everyone’s existence, job insecurity easily engenders insecurity in all aspects of life. Footnote 128 Finally, bad work can induce feelings of marginalization, especially when others are perceived to have better work. If their work seems peripheral, people have no incentive to engage. Better work can draw people towards the heart of society.

Sharp distinctions between good and bad jobs can put social cohesion under particular pressure. Indeed, qualitative job polarization may trigger all kinds of new social problems from the increased mistrust of institutions and incidence of mental ill-health Footnote 129 to the creation or deepening of social divisions along education, gender and ethnic lines. Good work for all is crucial for society.

2.5 Conclusion: Good Work Means Control

People in the Netherlands do not want work to dominate their lives, crowding out family and leisure time. But paid work continues to have important social functions. Work provides status and gives people the feeling that they are contributing to something larger than themselves. Work is a major source of self-esteem, satisfaction and a sense of belonging – but only if it fulfils certain requirements.

The scientific literature reveals three key conditions for good work, all of which align with the expressed wishes of Dutch workers and the needs of the country’s economy.

Control over income . Good work provides financial security, also in the long term, and a fair wage.

Control over work . Good work allows for appropriate workplace autonomy and supportive social relationships.

Control in life . Good work allows sufficient time and space to combine work with care responsibilities and a private life.

For work to qualify as good, all three conditions must be met; they cannot be traded off against one another. While one condition might (temporarily) trump another in individual cases, proportionality is crucial. While autonomy is a hallmark of good work, workers can also suffer from too much latitude. Although good work allows workers to have private lives away from the workplace, it also allows reasonable demands to be placed upon workers.

People without (good) work suffer psychological and social consequences. Good work increases workers’ well-being and makes them feel visible, recognized and part of society. Work that is not good is problematic not only for the individual worker but for society. The economy benefits from productive workers, not from those who are made ill or exhausted (which ultimately undermines the finances of the welfare state). Engaged workers benefit the economy by contributing to well-functioning companies and workplace innovation. Good work benefits social cohesion by enabling workers to build social relationships, feel recognized and look ahead rather than living on society’s margins. To maximize social cohesion, everyone must have good work.

The following three chapters focus on the quality of work in the Netherlands. Where does the country have the most to improve? How are new technologies, flexible contracts and new workplace pressures affecting Dutch workers? We focus in turn on control over income (Chap. 3 ), control over work (Chap. 4 ) and control in life (Chap. 5 ).

Jahoda ( 1982 ).

Jahoda et al. ( 1975 ).

Kroft et al. ( 1989 ).

See also Engbersen et al. ( 1993 ).

Goldstein ( 2017 ).

See also the “homo honoris” in Engbersen et al. ( 1993 ). Honneth ( 2001 , 2007 ) emphasizes the importance of recognition, consisting of love, respect and appreciation. For the application of Honneth to practices at work, see Sebrechts ( 2018 ).

Sennett ( 2003 ).

Swierstra & Tonkens ( 2008 ).

Elshout ( 2016 ).

Lamont ( 2000 ).

Conen ( 2018 , 2020 ).

Wielers et al. ( 2018 ).

Jahoda ( 1982 ), van Willigen ( 2000 ), van der Aa et al. ( 2014 ), Casiday ( 2015 ), Detollenaere et al. ( 2017 ), Wielers et al. ( 2018 ).

Kampen ( 2014 ), Elshout( 2016 ).

Kampen ( 2014 ).

Bus et al. ( 2017 ).

ggd Amsterdam & ois ( 2017 ). See also the dossier www.socialevraagstukken.nl/meedoenindebijstand

Harbers & Hoeymans ( 2013 ), oecd ( 2014 , 2015a ).

Schuring et al. ( 2011 ), Kenniscentrum uwv ( 2011 ).

wrr ( 1990 ): 43.

Goñalons-Pons & Gangl ( 2018 ); see also de Hek et al. ( 2018 ).

Einerhand & Ravesteijn ( 2017 ).

Kalleberg ( 2011 ).

de Beer ( 2001 ): 119.

Clark et al. ( 2018b ).

Kalleberg ( 2011 ): 9.

See, for example, Gallie ( 2007a , 2013 ).

Gallie ( 2007a ).

See Hodson ( 2001 ), de Beer ( 2001 ).

Warr ( 1987 , 2007 ).

de Jonge et al. ( 2013 ).

Deci & Ryan ( 1985 , 2008 ), Deci et al. ( 2017 ).

These characteristics apply to everyone – including for example people with disabilities (Frielink 2017 ).

Deci et al. ( 2017 ). See also www.selfdetermination.org

oecd ( 2011 ).

oecd ( 2015d ).

Warr ( 2007 ).

Deci & Ryan ( 1985 ).

Warr & Clapperton ( 2010 ).

Hodson ( 2001 ).

Bloodworth ( 2018 ), O’Connor ( 2016 , September 8).

Kubicek et al. ( 2017 ).

Karasek ( 1979 ).

Felstead et al. ( 2016 ), Gallie & Zhou ( 2013 ), etui ( 2019 ). Workplace participation or democracy is emphasized by the ILO: the right to “decent” work is one thing, but it is even better if workers can help shape this right.

Epstein & Kalleberg ( 2004 ), Schmid ( 2017 ).

A recruiter for flexible jobs in the uk has set up an innovation unit to create greater flexibility in the design of shifts, rosters and jobs for people currently lacking this opportunity: “Shift workers in retail and manufacturing, for example, and frontline staff such as nurses are often left out of the debate” ( Financial Times, 11 October 2018).

Conen ( 2020 ): figure 1.

Wielers & Koster ( 2011 ).

Portegijs & van den Brakel ( 2016 ).

Conen ( 2020 ).

There are differences between social groups. Men on average attach greater importance to extrinsic values than women, who more often privilege intrinsic and social values. Highly educated people also score higher on intrinsic values than those with less schooling, for whom extrinsic values are more important. See Conen ( 2020 ).

Freese ( 2008 ), Freese et al. ( 2008 ).

Conen ( 2020 ), see also van der Klein ( 2017 ).

Eurofound ( 2017 ): 36.

van Echtelt ( 2020 ).

Bierings ( 2017 ), Gallie & Zhou ( 2013 ), Smulders & van den Bossche ( 2006 ), Béjean & Sultan-Taïeb ( 2005 ), Shvartsman & Beckmann ( 2015 ).

Hupkens ( 2005 ), Smulders et al. ( 2013 ).

Schaufeli et al. ( 2009 ).

Pfauth et al. ( 2016 , April 12).

van Echtelt ( 2014 ).

Houtman et al. ( 2008 ).

van Bergen ( 2016 ).

Siegrist ( 1996 ).

Demerouti et al. ( 2001 ), Schaufeli & Taris ( 2013 ).

Bierings & Mol ( 2012 ), Schaufeli & Bakker ( 2013b ), Smulders et al. ( 2013 ).

van den Broeck et al. ( 2010 ).

Newport ( 2016 ), tno ( 2017 ), van Bergen ( 2016 ).

Bierings & Mol ( 2012 ), Crawford et al. ( 2010 ), Demerouti et al. ( 2001 ).

Halbesleben ( 2006 ).

Muller et al. ( 2015 ), Bierings & Mol ( 2012 ), Smulders & van den Bossche ( 2017 ).

tno ( 2016 ).

Hochschild ( 1983 ).

For more on this, see Heuven ( 2013 ), Cottingham ( 2016 ).

de Hek et al. ( 2018 ), Broeders et al. ( 2018 ).

Gallie ( 2013 ), Kalleberg ( 2018 ), see also Kremer et al. ( 2017a ).

Chkalova & van Gaalen ( 2019 ).

Eurofound ( 2018 ).

Henkens & van Sollinge ( 2017 ).

Pot & Smulders ( 2019 ); see Chap. 3.

Bierings & Mol( 2012 ).

Chandola ( 2010 ), Meijman & Zijlstra ( 2006 ).

de Klerk et al. ( 2015 ).

Gallie ( 2007a ), Eurofound ( 2017 ).

Johnson et al. ( 2018 ); see also Chap. 6.

Pressure or stress at work was cited as the cause of absenteeism in 42.5% of cases in 2017; in 2015 it was 37% ( tno 2019 ).

rivm ( 2019 ).

See Wester ( 2017 , June 19).

tno ( 2019 ).

oecd ( 2018a ).

See also eu - osha ( 2014 ).

Bakker & Schaufeli ( 2015 ); see also www.arnoldbakker.com

Sennett ( 2008 ).

Bakker & Schaufeli ( 2015 ).

Kalleberg ( 2018 ).

www.effectory.nl.

Rousseau ( 1990 ).

See also Felstead et al. ( 2016 ).

Dekker & Freese ( 2018 ); see also research by economists such as Stiglitz on the “efficiency wage”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency_wage

See also Schaufeli & Bakker ( 2013a ) and www.arnoldbakker.com

Pot et al. ( 2009 ).

van Hoorn ( 2015 ), wrr ( 2013a ).

Gallie & Zhou (in press).

Kleinknecht ( 2014 ).

de Spiegelaere ( 2017 ).

With thanks to Frank Pot.

“Exercising control over labour and technology occurs under a variety of headings: different organization, smarter organization, working differently, smarter working, social innovation, innovative work organization, empowering people, high-involvement organization, and so on” (Pot 2019b ).

Taskforce Sociale Innovatie ( 2005 ).

Pot ( 2012 ).

Xavier & Pot ( 2012 ).

See www.ser.nl/-/media/ser/downloads/werkprogramma/ser-adviesaanvragen-2019.pdf?la=nl&hash=6B5619DD5614B3E30413DAE37B8E746B

Verweij & Stulp ( 2019 , August 29); ser ( 2016b ).

van der Klein ( 2017 ).

Rovny ( 2011 ), Olivetti & Petrongolo ( 2017 ).

Kremer ( 2017 ), Ballafkih et al. ( 2017 ).

See Engbersen et al. ( 2017 ).

See also Vrooman ( 2016 ).

Silva ( 2013 ).

van Dijk et al. ( 2018 ).

Wilkinson & Pickett ( 2009 ), Pickett & Wilkinson ( 2018 ), Therborn ( 2013 ), see also Kremer et al. ( 2014 ).

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A Day at Work: The Primary-School Teacher

Marijke, a self-proclaimed teacher in heart and soul, has been in the classroom for more than 25 years. She is at school by 7.30 am each day, where she teaches a third-grade class. Today she has the help of a trainee teaching assistant who comes in once a week. Marijke prepares the lessons while the teaching assistant sets up the classroom. The 29 miniature desks are arranged in six groups, crammed into the available space.

The children start trickling in at 8.20 with their parents. Within minutes the place is bustling. Some parents read or play with their children; others need to see “Miss” about something or ask her “a quick question”. Then Marijke claps her hands and shouts, “Let’s start!”

The first lesson today is reading. The assistant takes a handful of pupils who are behind in their reading out of the classroom to teach them separately. Those left behind read independently in groups. Marijke calls those children whom she suspects have dyslexia up to her desk, one by one. Half an hour later the class is reunited. The reading books are put away and language textbooks come out. After some commotion and instruction, the children again work on their own. This gives Marijke and the assistant space to help those who get stuck one-to-one. Hands are going up all the time. The maths lesson after the break is similar: a short introduction followed by independent work. Marijke walks around the classroom, at times giving pupils individual attention, but “always less than you would like”. The children are allowed to ask each other for help “but kids just tend to give the right answer rather than explaining how it works”.

Children differ not only in achievement, but in learning skills, working pace and behaviour. Identifying and responding effectively to such differences is the big challenge facing teachers, says Marijke. The magic words are differentiation and customization. With 29 faces looking at her, that is a task and a half. “On the days without an assistant, I can’t give the kids all the guidance they need.”

The children are tested regularly to monitor their development. While their scores reveal deviations from average performance, Marijke says they do not take into account the child’s individual circumstances. While she takes the results with a pinch of salt, Marijke realizes her attitude is a luxury she can afford due to her experience; things are harder for her younger colleagues. The tests take up a lot of teaching time – three to four times a year for 29 children in Dutch language, reading and maths – and generate a lot of administrative work. Each pupil’s results and how they affect the way he or she is taught must be recorded in a digital tracking system. Marijke does some of this work at home.

“Appropriate education” – recently added to Marijke’s job description – aims to keep children with learning difficulties, from Down’s syndrome to autism, in mainstream education as much as possible. It requires additional expertise. The teaching profession is changing, says Marijke. Co-ordination is essential for pupils across the spectrum of abilities to flourish throughout their school careers. Teaching is increasingly becoming a team effort, at the expense of the individual teacher’s autonomy.

The relationship with parents is also more intensive than when Marijke entered the profession, with both under-involved and over-involved parents creating further stress. But Marijke is no shrinking violet and knows how to manage both. “Parents demand attention – and rightly so, as long as it’s about their child, not themselves – but they also need to realize that there are 20 to 30 other children who also deserve attention.”

This afternoon, one parent arrives too late to pick up his child. Marijke must thus play babysitter. She then has a meeting with another parent about examining her child for suspected autism. While Marijke knows how to keep the meeting to the agreed 20 minutes, not all of her colleagues are so adept at time management. She then sits down with the trainee teaching assistant to discuss her progress. They then tidy the classroom together and prepare for the next day. As they are doing so, another teacher enters, in need of a shoulder to cry on. After she has left, Marijke expresses her own concerns: “Teachers want the best for the kids, so it can be hard to draw boundaries. Especially for the younger ones. They experience real emotional distress.”

At 5.15 pm Marijke shuts down her computer and checks her to-do list for the day. Only half of the items can be crossed off. Later tonight, at home, she will go through her e-mails, including some from parents. It is 5.30 pm when she finally leaves the school, 10 h after arriving.

The Netherlands has 155,000 primary-school teachers, more than 80 per cent of them women. Most have vocational degrees; two-thirds work part-time. Teaching leads all professions in work-related stress. The rate of sick leave is 50 per cent higher than the average for all occupations. A full-time primary teacher earns between €2600 and €4200 gross per month. The average (modal) income in the Netherlands in 2020 will be just over €2800 euros per month, excluding holiday pay. Since 2017, primary-school teachers have been campaigning to reduce their workload and for pay rises to bring their salaries in line with those of secondary-school teachers, who also typically have vocational degrees.

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Kremer, M., Went, R., Engbersen, G. (2021). The Importance of Better Work. In: Better Work. Research for Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78682-3_2

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Welcome aboard! Facilitating a sense of belonging and well-being in young people when they face crisis or disruption Prof. Dr. Stefan Köngeter strengthens the Faculty of Education.

11 April 2024, by Köngeter/Gießelmann

Photo: Private

Every year, Universität Hamburg welcomes numerous new researchers. This series introduces them and their areas of research. This time: social educator Prof. Dr. Stefan Köngeter.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Köngeter joined the University from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Northwestern Switzerland to take up a professorship with a focus on social education.

My research area in brief:

My applied research revolves around support for children and adolescents, especially in the field of juvenile shelters and foster families. I am concerned with decentralizing the professional view of these kinds of help and focusing on the perspectives the children and adolescents have of their own personal lives in juvenile shelters and foster families. How do they experience their housing or homes? How do they integrate these experiences into their personal lives? How do they develop a sense of belonging to others and to social spaces?

Another area of my research focuses on how to shape organizations in the area of social education and social work. I focus on diversity in organizations and its significance for the organizations’ services.

Finally, I am interested in the history of social education and social work from a transnational perspective and I am looking, above all, at translating knowledge and ideas across national borders. 

This is how I explain my research to my family:

Because my wife is a professor of social work, I often ask her for advice and we talk a lot about the topics that we share professionally. I also talk to my children and friends about other topics.

But if it must be, then the answer is: “I have 3 central questions. How do we as a society give young people a sense of belonging and well-being in times of crisis or disruption? How do we create organizations that help rather than harm people? And how can we learn to acknowledge and appreciate diversity in society?"

My research is important to society because:

Especially in an increasingly polarized society, it seems to me that it is especially important for education science, and especially for social education, to contribute our expertise to initiate translation processes between conflicting interests and in societal conflicts. This happens at a small scale when we inspire families, communities, or organizations to organize help and shape dialogue and educational processes. It also happens at a large scale when we guide policy in communities, states, at the national level, and internationally with regard to social and charitable processes.

This is why students should attend my courses:

I like to work on a project basis in my courses, meaning bridging the gap between theoretical foundations and conceivable practical cases in which interventions are planned or executed. This is challenging for both sides because we all have to grasp that this kind of joint process cannot be entirely planned from the outset. But hey! That’s exciting and we all learn something!

These are my plans at Universität Hamburg:

“Yes, make yourself a plan! Just to light the way! Then make another plan that you can throw away.” Brecht’s warning seems to me, especially in light of increasing collaboration in academia, very timely. Still, international research on shaping organizations, a network to conduct diversity research in social work organizations, and the implementation of project-based courses provide, at the least, some orientation for the time ahead at Universität Hamburg, which I have yet to explore.

Reaching out to the world: I work with the following international and federal institutions and universities:

A focus country for me is Canada and in particular Toronto, where my family and I go again and again for longer periods. I have cultivated very good working relations with York University and the Toronto Metropolitan University.

Another focus is Israel. Together with colleagues doing research on childhood and adolescence as well as in political science, I have already conducted several research projects. Professor John Gal and Prof. Idit Weiss-Gal were also visiting professors at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences.

Naturally, I have excellent and close contacts to colleagues at Switzerland’s universities of applied sciences and I am looking forward to initiating joint bi-national projects here. Finally, I am active in the European Social Work Research Association and the international research network Leaving Care (INTRAC).

In Hamburg, the city and the University, I am looking forward to:

As an Allgäu native and ethnographically interested social educator, I am very much looking forward to being surprised and inspired by strange routines and rituals and by my new colleagues and  to breathe the cosmopolitan air of Hamburg.

There is a longer version of this interview on the Faculty of Education’s pages.

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Work Motivation: The Roles of Individual Needs and Social Conditions

Thuy thi diem vo.

1 Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Section 4, Keelung Road, Da’an District, Taipei City 106335, Taiwan; wt.ude.tsutn.liam@31880701d (T.T.D.V.); wt.ude.tsutn.liam@nehcwc (C.-W.C.)

Kristine Velasquez Tuliao

2 Graduate Institute of Human Resource Management, National Central University, No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City 320317, Taiwan

Chung-Wen Chen

Associated data.

The data that support this study are publicly available.

Work motivation plays a vital role in the development of organizations, as it increases employee productivity and effectiveness. To expand insights into individuals’ work motivation, the authors investigated the influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation. Additionally, the country-level moderating factors of those individual-level associations were examined. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze data from 32,614 individuals from 25 countries, obtained from the World Values Survey (WVS). Findings showed that autonomy and social relatedness positively impacted work motivation, while competence negatively influenced work motivation. Moreover, the individual-level associations were moderated by the country-level religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism. Contributions, practical implications, and directions for further research were then discussed.

1. Introduction

Work motivation is considered an essential catalyst for the success of organizations, as it promotes employees’ effective performance. To achieve an organization’s objectives, the employer depends on the performance of their employees [ 1 ]. However, insufficiently motivated employees perform poorly despite being skillful [ 1 , 2 ]. Employers, therefore, need their employees to work with complete motivation rather than just showing up at their workplaces [ 3 ]. Work motivation remains a vital factor in organizational psychology, as it helps explain the causes of individual conduct in organizations [ 4 ]. Consequently, studies on the factors that encourage work motivation can contribute to the theoretical underpinnings on the roots of individual and practical social conditions that optimize individuals’ performance and wellness [ 5 ].

Several decades of research have endeavored to explain the dynamics that initiate work-related behavior. The primary factor examining this aspect is motivation, as it explains why individuals do what they do [ 6 ]. The basic psychological needs have represented a vital rationalization of individual differences in work motivation. Psychological needs are considered natural psychological nutrients and humans’ inner resources. They have a close relationship with individual conduct and have a strong explicit meaning for work performance [ 7 , 8 ]. Different needs are essential drivers of individual functioning due to the satisfaction derived from dealing with them [ 9 ]. In addition to individual-level antecedents, the social context has also been regarded to have implications for work motivation. Social exchange and interaction among individuals accentuate the importance of work motivation as something to be studied with consideration of contextual factors [ 10 ].

Significant contributions have been made to the socio-psychological perspective of work motivation ( Table 1 ). However, current literature shows three deficiencies. First, over 150 papers utilize the key approaches of psychological needs to justify motivational processes in the workplace [ 11 ], which justifies the vital role of psychological needs in interpreting individual work motivation. The association between psychological needs and work motivation has often been implicitly assumed; however, the influence of psychological needs on work motivation has been inadequately tested [ 8 ]. The verification of the extent and the direction of influence will provide a better understanding of, and offer distinct implications for, the facilitation of work motivation. In examining the influence of psychological needs on work motivation, this paper mainly focuses on the intrinsic aspect of motivation. The study of Alzahrani et al. (2018) [ 12 ] argued that although intrinsic motivation is more efficient than extrinsic motivation, researchers have mostly neglected it.

Several investigated predictors of work motivation in general and intrinsic motivation in particular.

Second, there is no study examining the country-level moderating effects of social conditions and national cultures on individual relationships between psychological needs and work motivation. Pinder (2014) [ 20 ] argued that contextual practices could influence variables at the individual level. Culture is a crucial factor influencing motivation [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Researchers (e.g., [ 19 ]) have further suggested that both the proximal social situations (e.g., workgroup) and the distal social situations (e.g., cultural values) in which humans operate influence their need for satisfaction and their motivation type. Intrinsic motivation interacts with prosocial motivation in judging work performance [ 21 ]. By including the social conditions in the framework, prosocial motivation is considered. Prosocial motivation refers to the desire to help and promote the welfare of others [ 22 , 23 ]. The study of Shao et al. (2019) [ 24 ] proposed that prosocial motivation promotes employee engagement in particular organizational tasks. Researchers often consider prosocial motivation as a pattern of intrinsic motivation [ 23 ]. This implies that when intrinsic motivation is investigated, prosocial motivation should be examined together to obtain a comprehensive understanding.

Third, there are few studies using a considerable number of cross-national samples to investigate factors influencing work motivation. A cross-cultural analysis makes the findings more objective by minimizing individual bias towards any particular culture. Therefore, the examination of the study is crucial to expanding insights on the influence of social situations on the individual associations between psychological needs and work motivation.

2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

2.1. work motivation: a conceptual background.

Work motivation is considered “a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior, and to determine its form direction intensity and duration” [ 20 ]. Nicolescu and Verboncu (2008) [ 25 ] argued that work motivation contributes directly and indirectly to employees’ performance. Additionally, research (e.g., [ 26 ]) has postulated that work motivation could be seen as a source of positive energy that leads to employees’ self-recognition and self-fulfillment. Therefore, work motivation is an antecedent of the self-actualization of individuals and the achievement of organizations.

Literature has identified several models of work motivation. One of the primary models is Maslow’s (1954) [ 27 ] need hierarchy theory, which proposes that humans fulfill a set of needs, including physiological, safety and security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. Additionally, Herzberg’s (1966) [ 28 ] motivation-hygiene theory proposed that work motivation is mainly influenced by the job’s intrinsic challenge and provision of opportunities for recognition and reinforcement. More contemporary models also emerged. For instance, the study of Nicolescu and Verboncu (2008) [ 25 ] has categorized the types of motivation into four pairs, including positive-negative, intrinsic-extrinsic, cognitive-affective, and economic-moral spiritual. Additionally, Ryan and Deci [ 29 ] focused on intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

With the existence of numerous factors that relate to work motivation, this paper mainly focuses on intrinsic motivation. Previous research found that emotional intelligence and interpersonal relationship quality predict individuals’ intrinsic motivation [ 14 ]. Additionally, the study of Lin (2020) [ 13 ] argued that personal factors, including age, gender, educational level, living setting, health status, and family support, impact people’s intrinsic motivation. To understand more about intrinsic motivation, the authors examined individuals’ psychological needs. Fulfillment of the basic needs is related to wellness and effective performance [ 7 ]. Since intrinsic motivation results in high-quality creativity, recognizing the factors influencing intrinsic motivation is important [ 5 ].

Although a significant number of important contributions have been made regarding intrinsic motivation, self-determination theory is of particular significance for this study. Self-determination theory (SDT) postulates that all humans possess a variety of basic psychological needs. One of the primary crucial needs is the need for competence [ 30 , 31 ], which makes individuals feel confident and effective in their actions. Additionally, the need for autonomy [ 32 ] is one of the important psychological needs, which makes people satisfied with optimal wellness and good performance obtained as a result of their own decisions. Moreover, SDT proposed the crucial importance of interpersonal relationships and how social forces can influence thoughts, emotions, and behaviors [ 33 ]. This means that the psychological need for social relatedness [ 34 ] also plays a significant role in human’s psychological traits. Individuals need to be cared for by others and care for others to perceive belongingness. The need for relatedness can motivate people to behave more socially [ 35 ].

Prior research (e.g., [ 36 ]) has explored self-determination theory and related theories as approaches to work motivation and organizational behavior. The study of Van den Broeck et al. (2010) [ 37 ] emphasized grasping autonomy, competence, and relatedness at workplaces. This paper contributes to the exhaustive understanding of intrinsic work motivation influenced by further examining the impact of these three factors on work motivation as well as the moderating effects of social contexts.

2.2. Main Effect

2.2.1. individuals’ competence and work motivation.

Competence is “the collective learning in the organization, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies” [ 38 ]. The study of Hernández-March et al. (2009) [ 39 ] argued that a stronger competence was commonly found in university graduates rather than those without higher education. Competence has been considered a significant factor of work motivation that enhances productivity and profits. Harter’s (1983) [ 40 ] model of motivation proposed that competence enhances motivation because competence promotes flexibility for individuals [ 41 ]. Likewise, Patall et al. (2014) [ 42 ] indirectly argued that competence positively affects work motivation. Individuals become more engaged in activities that demonstrate their competence [ 6 ]. When people perceive that they are competent enough to attain goals, they generally feel confident and concentrate their efforts on achieving their objectives as soon as possible for their self-fulfillment.

Individuals’ competence positively relates to their work motivation.

2.2.2. Individuals’ Autonomy and Work Motivation

Autonomy is viewed as “self-determination, self-rule, liberty of rights, freedom of will and being one’s own person” [ 43 ]. Reeve (2006) [ 44 ] argued that autonomy is a primary theoretical approach in the study of human motivation and emotion. Autonomy denotes that certain conduct is performed with a sense of willingness [ 30 ]. Several researchers (e.g., [ 45 ]) investigated the positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and work motivation. When humans are involved in actions because of their interest, they fully perform those activities volitionally [ 36 ]. Dickinson (1995) [ 46 ] also proposed that autonomous individuals are more highly motivated, and autonomy breeds more effective outcomes. Moreover, when individuals have a right to make their own decisions, they tend to be more considerate and responsible for those decisions, as they need to take accountability for their actions. Bandura (1991) [ 47 ] has argued that humans’ ability to reflect, react, and direct their actions motivates them for future purposes. Therefore, autonomy motivates individuals to work harder and overcome difficulties to achieve their objectives.

Individuals’ autonomy positively relates to their work motivation.

2.2.3. Individuals’ Social Relatedness and Work Motivation

The psychological need for social relatedness occurs when an individual has a sense of being secure, related to, or understood by others in the social environment [ 48 ]. The relatedness need is fulfilled when humans experience the feeling of close relationships with others [ 49 ]. Researchers (e.g., [ 34 ]) have postulated that the need for relatedness reflects humans’ natural tendency to feel associated with others, such as being a member of any social groups, or to love and care as well as be loved and cared for. Prior studies have shown that social relatedness strongly impacts motivation [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Social relatedness offers people many opportunities to communicate with others, making them more motivated at the workplace, aligning them with the group’s shared objectives. Marks (1974) [ 53 ] suggested that social relatedness encourages individuals to focus on community welfare as a reference for their behavior, resulting in enhanced work motivation. Moreover, when individuals feel that they relate to and are cared for by others, their motivation can be maximized since their relatedness need is fulfilled [ 54 ]. Therefore, establishing close relationships with others plays a vital role in promoting human motivation [ 55 ]. When people perceive that they are cared for and loved by others, they tend to create positive outcomes for common benefits to deserve the kindness received, thereby motivating them to work harder.

Individuals’ social relatedness positively relates to their work motivation.

Aside from exploring the influence of psychological needs on work motivation, this paper also considers country-level factors. Previous research (e.g., [ 56 ]) has examined the influence of social institutions and national cultures on work motivation. However, the moderating effects of country-level factors have to be investigated, given the contextual impacts on individual needs, attitudes, and behavior. Although social conditions provide the most common interpretation for nation-level variance in individual work behaviors [ 57 ], few cross-national studies examine social conditions and individual work behaviors [ 56 ]. Hence, this paper investigates the moderating effects, including religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism, on the psychological needs-work motivation association.

A notable theory to explain the importance of contextual factors in work motivation that is customarily linked with SDT is the concept of prosocial motivation. Prosocial motivation suggests that individuals have the desire to expend efforts in safeguarding and promoting others’ well-being [ 58 , 59 ]. It is proposed that prosocial motivation strengthens endurance, performance, and productivity, as well as generates creativity that encourages individuals to develop valuable and novel ideas [ 21 , 60 ]. Prosocial motivation is found to interact with intrinsic motivation in influencing positive work outcomes [ 21 , 61 ]. However, there are few studies examining the effects of prosocial motivation on work motivation [ 62 ].

Utilizing the concept of prosocial motivation and examining it on a country-level, this paper suggests that prosocial factors promote basic psychological needs satisfaction that reinforces motivational processes at work. Therefore, prosocial behaviors and values may enhance the positive impact of individuals’ basic psychological needs, including competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, on work motivation.

2.3. Moderating Effects

2.3.1. religious affiliation.

Religions manifest values that are usually employed as grounds to investigate what is right and wrong [ 63 ]. Religious affiliation is considered prosocial because it satisfies the need for belongingness and upholds collective well-being through gatherings to worship, seek assistance, and offer comfort within religious communities. Hence, religious affiliation promotes the satisfaction of individuals’ psychological needs, which directs motivation at work and life in general. Research (e.g., [ 64 ]) has argued that religious affiliation is an essential motivational component given its impact on psychological processes. The study of Simon and Primavera (1972) [ 65 ] investigated the relationship between religious affiliation and work motivation. To humans characterized by competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, attachment to religious principles increases their motivation to accomplish organizational goals. Religious membership will increase the influence of psychological needs on work motivation. The tendency of individuals affiliated with any religion to be demotivated is lower compared to those who are not. Individuals with religious affiliations also tend to work harder as the virtue of hard work is aligned with religious principles. Accordingly, religious affiliation may enhance the positive association between individuals’ psychological needs and work motivation.

2.3.2. Political Participation

Political participation, indicated by people’s voting habits, plays a crucial role in ensuring citizens’ well-being and security [ 66 ]. Political participation encourages shared beliefs and collective goals among individuals [ 67 ]. The communication and interaction among people help them grasp the government’s developmental strategies, motivating them to work harder. Political participation is a collective pursuit that makes societal members feel more confident, socially related, and motivated at work to achieve communal targets. Increased political participation reinforces effective public policy to enhance its members’ welfare, congruent with the perspectives of prosocial motivation. The prosocial values and behaviors derived from political participation satisfy human needs and interact positively with intrinsic motivation. Therefore, political participation may strengthen the positive influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on work motivation. Conversely, poor political participation is perceived as a separation from the society that may lead to demotivation. In a society with poor political participation, an individualistic mentality is encouraged, thereby decreasing the desire to pursue cooperative endeavors.

2.3.3. Humane Orientation

GLOBE characterizes humane orientation as “the degree to which an organization or society encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others” [ 68 ]. Research (e.g., [ 69 , 70 ]) has argued that a high humane orientation encourages members to develop a strong sense of belonging, commit to fair treatment, and manifest benevolence. The desire to help others or enhance others’ well-being indicates prosocial values and behaviors [ 71 , 72 ]. Since humane orientation is correlated with philanthropy and promotes good relations, this cultural value may enhance work motivation. Fairness, which is derived from a humane-oriented society, is one of the most vital influences on work motivation [ 1 ]. Moreover, altruism, promoted by humane-oriented societies, encourages individuals to sacrifice individual interests for shared benefits. Altruism then encourages attachment to others’ welfare and increases resources needed for prosocial behaviors such as work [ 73 , 74 ]. Members of humane-oriented countries view work in a positive light—it is an opportunity for them to perform altruistic behaviors and engage in collective actions. Therefore, people are more likely to work harder for common interests in humane-oriented societies. In such conditions, individuals with competence, autonomy, and social relatedness will be more motivated to work. By contrast, a less humane-oriented society gives prominence to material wealth and personal enjoyment [ 75 ]. Although this may be perceived as a positive influence on the association between psychological needs and work motivation, such an individualistic mindset works against the prosocial factors that further motivate individuals.

2.3.4. In-Group Collectivism

House et al. (2004) [ 68 ] defined in-group collectivism as “the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families”. Collectivistic cultures indicate the need for individuals to rely on group membership for identification [ 76 ]. High collectivism enhances equity, solidarity, loyalty, and encouragement [ 77 , 78 ]. Humans living in a collectivist culture are interdependent and recognize their responsibilities towards each other [ 79 ]. In-group collectivism transfers the concepts of social engagement, interdependence with others, and care for the group over the self (e.g., [ 79 , 80 , 81 ], thereby motivating individuals to work harder for the common interests. Oyserman et al. (2002) [ 82 ] have further argued that individualistic values encourage an independent personality, whereas collectivistic values form an interdependent one. Therefore, in-group collectivism is a prosocial value that emphasizes the importance of reciprocal relationships and encourages people to work harder to benefit the group. By contrast, low collectivism promotes individual interests and personal well-being while neglecting the value of having strong relations with others [ 70 ]. Considering that in-group collectivism promotes individuals’ prosocial behaviors of individuals, people who are competent, autonomous, and socially related to collective societies are less likely to be demotivated at the workplace. Consequently, in-group collectivism may intensify the positive influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ competence and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ social relatedness and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

3.1. Sample

The data came from the seventh wave (2017–2021) of the World Values Survey (WVS) [ 83 ], which examines humans’ beliefs and values. This survey is performed every five years to explore changes in people’s values and perceptions. Face-to-face interviews, or phone interviews for remote areas, were conducted by local organizations. Almost 90 percent of the world’s population is represented in the WVS. At least 1000 individuals were selected as respondents to exhibit each nation’s population. Further information regarding the WVS can be reached at the WVS website ( http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org , accessed on 14 October 2021).

The samples of this study were based on the availability of national-level data for the moderators and individual-level data for the measures of independent and dependent variables. Respondents without answers on the individual measures and corresponding country-level data were excluded from the analysis. The final data included 32,614 respondents in 25 countries aged 18 and above. The 25 countries included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA.

3.2. Dependent Variable

Consistent with previous researchers (e.g., [ 84 ]), the authors used four items to gauge individual work motivation, namely “Indicate how important work is in your life”, “People who do not work turn lazy”, “Work is a duty towards society”, and “Work should always come first, even if it means less spare”. The first item was measured on a scale from 1 to 4, in which lower scores indicate a higher level of work importance. The other three items were gauged on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 indicating strongly agree and 5 indicating strongly disagree). The scores for each item were reverse coded, and the mean scores were computed so that higher scores indicate greater work motivation.

3.3. Independent Variables

The independent variables of this study include individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness. First, people’s competence was measured by the item “What is the highest educational level that you attained” on a scale from 0 to 8, in which higher scores indicate a higher level of educational attainment. The authors used the item to gauge individual competence, as a capacity for learning is highlighted in the examination of competence [ 39 ]. Second, a scale from 1 to 10 was utilized to measure the item “How much freedom of choice and control”, which represented individual autonomy (1 indicating no choice at all and 10 indicating a great deal of choice). The authors used the item to gauge people’s autonomy as this item indicates the degree to which individual can make their own decisions. Finally, the individual’s social relatedness was gauged by twelve items, representing twelve types of organizations where individuals are active/inactive members or do not belong. The twelve items were measured on a scale from 0 to 2 (0 indicating do not belong, 1 indicating inactive member, and 2 indicating active member). The mean score of the twelve items represents the individual’s social relatedness. The membership in organizations represents social relatedness, as this indicates the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the organization through their mutual rights, responsibilities, and obligations towards each other [ 85 ].

3.4. Moderators

The four country-level moderators in this study were religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism. Similar to prior research (e.g., [ 86 ]), the authors used the percentage of the country’s population with religious affiliation obtained from Pew Research Center 2015 [ 87 ]. Secondly, the index of voter turnout collected from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [ 88 ] was utilized to gauge political participation. Voting habits are an indicator of an individual’s presence in their country’s life, and a nation with a high index of voter turnout illustrates its substantial degree of political participation [ 89 ]. Finally, two cultural values, including humane orientation and in-group collectivism, were obtained from the GLOBE study [ 68 ]. The authors used scores on cultural practices as the moderators for this study because they indicate the actual behaviors as “the way things are done in this culture” [ 68 ].

3.5. Control Variables

Several individual-level and country-level elements related to the dependent variable were considered control variables. The effects of gender, marital status, age, and income level were accounted for, as these four variables are basic personal factors that may impact individual’s motivation [ 90 ]. Gender (1 indicating male and 0 indicating female) and marital status (1 indicating married and 0 indicating other status) were dummy coded. Moreover, age was measured in years, while income level was gauged using a scale from 1 representing the lowest group to 10 representing the highest group. Along with the above individual-level controls, education and family strength were treated as country-level control variables. Education and family are primary institutions that shape individuals’ motivation [ 91 , 92 ]. Similar to prior researchers (e.g., [ 93 ]), education was computed as two-thirds of the adult literacy rate attained from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2020 [ 94 ] and one-third of the mean years of schooling obtained from the Human Development Report 2020 [ 95 ]. This score is commonly approved as representing access to education in a country [ 42 ]. Regarding family strength, the score was quantified by the ratio of divorces to marriages per 1000 members of the population consistent with previous researchers (e.g., [ 93 ]). The data was obtained from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook [ 96 ].

3.6. Measurement and Analysis

To perform the descriptive statistics, cross-level correlations, scale reliability, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, the authors utilized SPSS software.

The framework of this study considers independent variables, dependent variables, and moderators at different levels. Thus, the authors used a hierarchical linear model (HLM) [ 97 ] to test the hypotheses. HLM was defined as a “complex form of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression that is used to analyze variance in the outcome variables when the predictor variables are at varying hierarchical levels” [ 98 ]. This technique evaluates the impacts of higher-level outcomes on lower-level ones while preserving an appropriate degree of analysis [ 99 ]. HLM has been employed in several cross-level studies (e.g., [ 100 , 101 ]).

Table 2 presents a matrix of correlations and sample statistics from the individual-level to country-level variables. Table 3 and Table 4 report convergent and discriminant validity test results, respectively. Finally, Table 5 illustrates results for hypotheses testing using HLM. Three models are presented in the table: those of individual-level main effects and control variables (Model 1), those of country-level main effects (Model 2), and country-level moderating effects (Model 3).

Descriptive statistics, cross-level correlations and scale reliability a,b,c .

a   n = 32,614 level 1; n = 25, level 2. b * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. c The reliability found in the parentheses is expressed as Cronbach’s alpha for scales with ≥four items.

Convergent validity.

Discriminant validity—Fornell and Larcker’s criterion.

* p < 0.05.

HLM results: (The DV is work motivation) a,b .

a , n = 32,614 level 1; n = 25, level 2. b , †, p < 0.10, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

For the confirmatory factor analysis, previous research (e.g., [ 102 , 103 , 104 ]) suggested that analysis of each variable requires at least three items. Factor analysis using statistical software will provide imprecise results if there are fewer than three items per variable [ 105 ]. Therefore, the authors only performed Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for social relatedness and work motivation.

To assess the measurement, convergent and discriminant validity were tested. Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were performed to illustrate convergent validity. The study of Hair et al. (2019) [ 106 ] suggested that CR is required to be above a threshold of 0.7. On the other hand, the AVE value should be higher than a threshold of 0.5 [ 107 ]. As shown in Table 3 , CR is acceptable while AVE is slightly lower than a threshold of 0.5. Despite the limitation of AVE, the acceptable result of the discriminant validity is achieved. The discriminant validity was tested using Fornell and Larcker (1981)’s criterion [ 107 ]. This proposes that the square root of the AVE of any latent variable should be higher than its correlation with any other construct. The result of the discriminant validity test indicates that all the two latent constructs have a square root of AVE higher than its correlation with the other construct, as presented in Table 4 .

The authors argued that individuals’ competence (H1), autonomy (H2), and social relatedness (H3) positively relate to their work motivation. However, the findings only supported H2 (β2 = 0.036, p < 0.001) and H3 (β3 = 0.042, p < 0.001). In contrast, the findings presented that H1 was also significant, but in the opposite direction compared with our original prediction. The result suggests that individuals’ competence negatively relates to their work motivation.

In Hypotheses 4a–d, we proposed that higher levels of religious affiliation (4a), political participation (4b), humane orientation (4c), and in-group collectivism (4d) strengthen the relationship described in H1. However, the results only demonstrated support for the two hypotheses, H4c (γ13 = 0.032, p < 0.001) and H4d (γ14 = 0.042, p < 0.001). In contrast, the findings presented that H4a was also significant, but opposite our initial prediction. This different result proposes that a higher level of religious affiliation weakens the association between individuals’ competence and work motivation.

In Hypotheses 5a–d, the authors argued that the higher levels of religious affiliation (5a), political participation (5b), humane orientation (5c), and in-group collectivism (5d) enhance the positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and their work motivation. However, the results only supported the two hypotheses H5b (γ22 = 0.012, p < 0.05) and H5c (γ23 = 0.012, p < 0.1), while H5a and H5d were not significant.

In Hypotheses 6a–d, the authors argued that the higher levels of religious affiliation (6a), political participation (6b), humane orientation (6c), and in-group collectivism (6d) enhance the positive relationship between individuals’ social relatedness and their work motivation. However, the results only supported H6c (γ33 = 0.019, p < 0.01). In contrast, the findings indicated that H6d was also significant, but in the opposite direction compared to our initial hypothesis. The different result suggests that higher in-group collectivism weakens the positive association between individuals’ social relatedness and work motivation. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 represent the significant moderators of the associations examined.

The association between competence and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

The association between competence and work motivation at different levels of in-group collectivism.

The association between autonomy and work motivation at different levels of political participation.

The association between autonomy and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

The association between social relatedness and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

Regarding the statistical results of the control variables, gender, marital status, and age consistently indicated significant positive relationships with work motivation across three models. On the other hand, family strength indicated a significant negative association to work motivation only in Model 1.

5. Discussion

The study’s objective was to examine the influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation, as well as the impact of country-level moderators, including religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism on their relationships. Seven primary findings are crucial in this research. First, people’s autonomy and social relatedness positively relate to their work motivation. This result is in line with the findings of prior researchers (e.g., [ 45 , 52 ]), postulating that humans’ autonomy and social relatedness breeds work motivation. The study of Theurer et al. (2018) [ 108 ] argued that, among motivational elements, autonomy had been found to greatly predict positive work motivation. When people feel they have enough control over their activities, they are more confident and motivated to work. Along with autonomy, humans’ social relatedness promotes communal benefits, thereby motivating people to work harder for their organization. Second, the association between individual competence and work motivation is moderated by cultural values, including humane orientation and in-group collectivism. The findings are consistent with the viewpoints of prior researchers (e.g., [ 69 , 70 , 77 , 78 ]), namely that a society with higher levels of humane orientation and in-group collectivism strengthens altruism, solidarity, loyalty, and the encouragement of individuals, which results in work motivation. Consequently, there will be an increase in the differences in individuals’ competence and work motivation if they live in a society with greater humane orientation and in-group collectivism. Third, political participation and humane orientation moderate the relationship between individual autonomy and work motivation. These results are in line with the investigations of prior researchers (e.g., [18,45), which found that social circumstances and cultural practices promote people’s motivation. Accordingly, the differences in individuals’ autonomy based on their work motivation will be enhanced if they belong to nations with higher political participation and humane orientation. Fourth, the association between social relatedness and work motivation is moderated by humane orientation. Accordingly, in a humane-oriented society, the differences in individuals’ social relatedness based on their work motivation will be strengthened.

The remaining findings were contrary to the original propositions. Pinder (2014) [ 20 ] argued that it is possible to find that contextual practices can influence variables at the individual level in the opposite prediction in motivation research. Fifth, individuals’ competence negatively influences their work motivation. This finding proposes that more competent individuals are less motivated at work. One possible interpretation of this opposite result is that, when the majority of the organization members recognize individuals’ competence, these individuals may perceive that it is not necessary to devote most of their time and energy to work anymore. These individuals may believe that no matter how unwillingly they perform, they are still competent enough because of their prior achievements. Additionally, competent individuals recognize that they have already sacrificed their enjoyment of life for their previous successes; therefore, they tend to offset this by investing their valuable time in other aspects. This is consistent with other researchers’ investigations (e.g., [ 109 ]), which found that low-skilled individuals are more often compelled to engage in regular work activities and are more easily motivated than others. By contrast, highly competent individuals tend to be motivated by challenging tasks and improving themselves through further education. Sixth, the relationship between competence and work motivation is negatively moderated by religious affiliation. This finding suggests that religious affiliation weakens the association between individuals’ competence and work motivation. One possible explanation for this finding is that strong religious beliefs are the foundation for virtuous living [ 110 ]. Individuals with religious affiliation usually employ religious principles to guide their behavior, regardless of their competence. In other words, both competent and incompetent individuals tend to be more motivated at the workplace if they are affiliated with any religion, thereby diminishing the influence of competence in work motivation. Seventh, the relationship between social relatedness and work motivation is negatively moderated by in-group collectivism. This result proposes that a higher degree of in-group collectivism weakens the association between individuals’ social relatedness and work motivation. One possible explanation for this is that, under an in-group collective society, people put more weight on mutual relationships and encourage acts that may build up the solidarity of groups. Since in-group collectivism is viewed as a social attachment in which people emphasize the group over the self (e.g., [ 79 , 80 , 81 ]), individuals are fairly conscious of their responsibility to the group regardless of their social relatedness. Both socially related and unrelated individuals belonging to in-group collective cultures tend to work harder for common goals. Accordingly, the influence of individuals’ social relatedness on their work motivation is reduced.

6. Limitations and Future Research

Despite its significant contributions, this study has its limitations. The use of secondary data represents the fact that the data collection process was beyond the authors’ control. However, the collection of cross-national data is time-consuming and costly. The authors used the available data but strove for the efficient use of multilevel data. The secondary data also limited the measurement of individual-level factors based on the available data. Moreover, it is quite complex to gauge an individual’s work motivation appropriately, since personal work motivation may not be one-dimensional. Nevertheless, the authors made efforts to employ the measurements utilized by prior research. Moreover, it is complicated to measure social factors such as political participation. There are challenges in investigating social contexts due to the absence of direct measurements [ 111 ]. This compels the authors to identify substitute measurements for this study. Finally, this study covered 25 samples from 25 countries with different characteristics. Despite the attempt of this study to include the most relevant social conditions in the framework, the influence of other national differences and cultural sensitivities were not considered.

This paper directs further research considering that several frameworks and approaches should be employed to better examine motivation [ 112 ]. First, as some of the results were opposite to the original propositions based on the theoretical foundations employed, combining different concepts and approaches is necessary to enhance perspectives of psychological needs and social issues. For instance, the relationship between competence and work motivation can be further investigated by employing other theories to understand their association better. Similarly, the moderating effects of social contexts such as religious affiliation and in-group collectivism should be further examined to obtain a more in-depth comprehension of the roles of contextual circumstances and cultural values in individual-level relationships. Additionally, self-determination theory and the concept of prosocial motivation may be used to explore motivation towards specific behavior in organizations, such as organizational citizenship and proactive behaviors. Organizational context, such as rewards, training, and culture, can be considered as part of the framework to enhance the conception of work motivation.

7. Conclusions

This study has utilized a multilevel framework to examine the influence of psychological needs and social context on work motivation. Through this research, a deeper understanding of the roles of competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, as well as social situations and cultural values on work motivation, is achieved. The contrary findings call for integrating other concepts and approaches towards a more comprehensive knowledge of work motivation.

Along with the theoretical contribution, the study’s findings offer practical implications. The satisfaction of psychological needs promotes self-motivation, which creates positive outcomes. Hence, organizations can provide programs and activities to promote employees’ autonomy and social relatedness as this will enhance their work motivation. Employee empowerment can be advocated by encouraging them to make their own decisions at the workplace, providing constructive criticisms rather than instilling the fear of failure. Additionally, managers should encourage solidarity, support, and mutual care among employees. Putting more weight on employees’ fulfillment of needs will further increase employees’ motivation, thereby diminishing costs related to stress or turnover [ 50 ]. To establish a novel mechanism towards promoting work motivation in the entire nation, the government should pay attention to the political structure and conditions that encourage citizens’ participation. Additionally, a culture of humane orientation should be promoted in the workplace and society so that solidarity, kind assistance, and altruism among communities as well as among individuals can be strengthened. For instance, teamwork should be encouraged for employees to help each other overcome difficulties at the workplace or share responsibilities with their colleagues. This will motivate people to work harder for collective goals, contributing to the development of organizations.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; data collection, T.T.D.V.; methodology, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; formal analysis, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; resources, K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; writing-original draft, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; writing-review, editing & proofreading, T.T.D.V., K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; visualization, K.V.T.; supervision, K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; project administration, K.V.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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