Does Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Mediate the Relation between Job Demands and Resources and Work Happiness among Home Workers?

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2020-07-03

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en

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This study extends the research on work happiness by examining the differences in job demands and resources and basic psychological need satisfaction between home workers and workers at the office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Next to that, the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction between job demands and resources and work happiness in a home work setting during the COVID-19 pandemic is studied. Workload, social support, positive feedback, role ambiguity, autonomy satisfaction, competence satisfaction, relatedness satisfaction and work happiness were measured among a sample from a company in the Netherlands (N=61) with validated questionnaires. Results indicated that merely relatedness satisfaction was significantly different between home workers and workers at the office. Contrary to our expectations, job demands or job resources, as well as competence satisfaction and autonomy satisfaction, did not differ between home workers and workers at the office. Work happiness also did not differ between home workers and workers at the office. Next to that, basic psychological need satisfaction did not mediate the relation between job demand and resources and work happiness among home workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A possible explanation could be that basic psychological need satisfaction does not predict work happiness under unusual circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest working from home to have little impact on work happiness. Implications are elaborated in the discussion section.

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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen

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