HROB*4100 – Professor S. Lyons

Investigating how motivation affects generation Y’s relatedness in the workplace December 9th, 2011

Tara-Lynn Dent, Lesley James, Cam Beck, Colin Vince, Pricilla Mena, Roxanne Johnson, Jennifer Grant, Paige Caletti

1

Introduction

In today’s workforce, organizations face the challenge of having to meet the needs of

four different generational cohorts that have grown up in different times and have various

perspectives based on life experiences and fluctuations in the economy (Twenge et al., 2010).

The newest generation in the workforce, generation Y, has been said to have different values

and needs than previous generations. In recent years, organizations have been faced with the

new issue of integrating this generation. Generation Y has been found to be more external and to

have lower relatedness than previous generations, which may cause problems when integrating

them into the workforce. It is important for organizations to recognize the specific values and

needs of generation Y, in order to foster an efficient workforce.

We will investigate how extrinsic motivation affects generation Y’s relatedness in the

workplace using elements of the self determination theory as expressed by Deci and Ryan. This

will help managers decide which approach is best to implement into their organization, to

motivate generation Y to work more effectively. Self-determination theory makes the distinction

between autonomous and controlled motivation. For generation Y to work most effectively it is

important that the managerial approaches enforce the self-determination theory. Specifically

when looking at the self-determination theory, we are looking at whether different types of

motivation affect generation Y’s relatedness in the workplace. The outcome of this study will

allow us to determine the most effective way of motivating generation Y.

Literature Review Generations

Generation Y are individuals born between the years of 1982 and 1999. This generation

has grown up within the technology era, using a variety of social networking sites as a main

2

source of communication, which is different than previous generation’s face-to-face way of

socializing. To generation Y, work is a means to an end; essentially they work to live as

opposed to live to work (Twenge et al., 2010). Generation Y has grown up with constant praise

and recognition, which is said to have caused them to be fickle and high maintenance with a

high sense of entitlement (Clement, 2008). Members of this generation are also known to have

lower levels of organizational commitment and need for social approval (DeMeuse & Mlodzik,

2010). Due to generation Y growing up in a technological era, this affects their social

interactions with others and contributes to their low organizational commitment. This may have

implications for their relatedness in the workplace.

Conflict in the workplace can be due to intergenerational misconceptions and

miscommunication; this can have a negative impact on the organization (DeMeuse & Mlodzik,

2010). Managers should know the different values of each generation, as they will be able to

facilitate better work environments and therefore, come up with better ways for employees to

work together increasing their relatedness. Managers who possess stereotypes of generational

cohorts whether accurate or not, may unknowing create factions within an organization. As with

other stereotypes, manages may adopt attitude behaviors and expectations based on

generalizations rather then reality (DeMeuse & Mlodzik, 2010).

The needs of these different generations pose a challenge for managers. Specifically,

motivating these individuals in order to meet the needs and values of different generations.

Management needs to be aware that generation Y is more concerned with high monetary returns

(Campbell & Twenge, 2008). This suggests that generation Y may be more extrinsically

motivated.

3

Motivation Theory

According to Latham & Pinder (2005), work motivation is 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. Psychologically, motivation is a

process that results from the interaction between the environment and the individual. It is

believed that workers have two fundamentally different orientations towards work. Some

perceive work as a means to an end, and are therefore said to be extrinsically motivated. While

others are said to be intrinsically motivated and satisfy their need for achievement and self-

actualization through their work (Thomas, Buboltz & Winkelspetch, 2004). This suggests that

management should take different approaches to motivate employees and satisfy their different

needs.

Self-Determination Theory

A theory of motivation that has garnered a lot of attention in recent years is self-

determination theory (SDT). This theory makes the distinction between autonomous motivation

and controlled motivation, which involves acting with a sense of volition and having the

experience of choice (Deci & Gagne, 2005). An important aspect of this theory is that extrinsic

motivation can vary in the degree to which it is autonomous versus controlled (Deci & Gagne,

2005). Self-determination theory has three components within it, which are presented below.

1) The autonomy orientation assesses the extent to which a person is oriented toward aspects of

the environment that stimulate intrinsic motivation, are optimally challenging, and provide

informational feedback. A person high in autonomy orientation tends to display greater self-

initiation, seek activities that are interesting and challenging, and take greater responsibility for

his or her own behavior (Deci & Ryan, 2011). High autonomy orientations in past research have

4

been associated with higher levels of self-esteem, ego development, and self-actualisation as

well as greater integration in personality (Deci & Ryan, 2011).

2) The controlled orientation assesses the extent to which a person is oriented toward being

controlled by rewards, deadlines, structures, ego-involvements, and the directives of others. A

person high on the controlled orientation is likely to be dependent on rewards or other controls,

and may be more attuned to what others demand than to what they want for themselves. In the

U.S., at least, a person high in the controlled orientation is likely to place extreme importance on

wealth, fame, and other extrinsic factors (Deci & Ryan, 2011). The controlled orientation has

been related to public self-consciousness (Deci & Ryan, 2011). This shows that controlled

motivation (a form of extrinsic motivation) has been proven to have an affect on generation Y in

the workplace by decreasing their public self-consciousness.

3) The impersonal orientation assesses the extent to which a person believes that attaining

desired outcomes is beyond his or her control and that achievement is largely a matter of luck or

fate. People high on this orientation are likely to be anxious and to feel very ineffective. They

have no sense of being able to affect outcomes or cope with demands or changes. They tend to

be a motivated and to want things to be as they always were (Deci & Ryan, 2011). Impersonal

orientation has been found to predict higher levels of social anxiety, depression, and self-

derogation (Deci & Ryan, 2011).

Extrinsic Motivation

Society’s perception on generation Y is that they are intrinsically motivated but the

findings have shown that they may be just as extrinsically motivated as other generations

(Twenge et al., 2010). Extrinsic elements in the workplace include things such as pay, benefits

and job security. If there are major problems within the workplace, especially problems that

5

threaten pay and security, manager support for self-determination is not very relevant to

employees (Ryan & Connell, 1989). However, when these major problems are eliminated, for

instance unfreezing wages, immediate employer and employee relationships become more

relevant and there is a stronger correlation to job satisfaction. Therefore, it seems that employees

would rather have concrete evidence to prove that employers are concerned with employees

(Ryan & Connell, 1989).

Extrinsic work value orientation concerns the traditional pursuit of success by advancing

up the organizational hierarchy to achieve prestige, status, and high income (Watts, 1992).

Within SDT, the pursuits of financial success, power and status reflect an extrinsic orientation

because the importance of these values mostly lies within the anticipated personal admiration

and self-worth that can be obtained by realizing them (Vansteenkiste et., al, 2007).

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is an important construct, which reflects the natural human

propensity to learn and assimilate (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsically motivated behaviors are

performed out of interest and satisfy the innate psychological needs for competence and

autonomy. These intrinsically motivated behaviors are the prototype of self-determined behavior

(Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic work value orientation reflects the employee’s need for self-

development. This includes the natural desire to actualize, develop and grow at the work place.

This self-development includes affiliation, meaning the desire to build meaningful relationships

with fellow colleagues, and the desire to help people in need (Vansteenkiste et al., 2007).

According to the self-determination theory, putting an emphasis on intrinsic work values will

lead to an increased well-being within the individual by satisfying the basic psychological need

for autonomy, competence and relatedness (Vansteenkiste et al., 2007).

6

Relatedness

Relatedness refers to the tendency to be oriented towards forming strong and stable

interpersonal bonds. Stable interpersonal bonds were related to greater autonomy in

relationships while avoidant and preoccupied attachment styles were negatively related to

autonomy (Guardia & Patrick, 2008). Relatedness is important in the workplace because it

facilitates relationships and creates a positive work environment. Relatedness will be observed

in our study to see if those in generation Y who are extrinsically motivated display lower levels

of relatedness in the workplace.

Previous Research Findings

Two studies found that holding an extrinsic relative to an intrinsic work value orientation

was associated with less positive outcomes (i.e. less satisfaction and dedication to ones job and

vitality on the job) and more negative outcomes (i.e. higher emotional exhaustion, short lived

satisfaction after successful goal attainment and turnover intention), (Vansteenkiste et al., 2007).

Another study found that holding an extrinsic relative to an intrinsic work-value orientation was

detrimental to employee’s job outcomes due to the fact that orientations thwarted the

satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness at work

(Vansteenkiste et al., 2007). The last finding investigated showed that social networking has

changed the way generation Y values relationships (Twenge et al., 2010). This is due to the fact

that generation Y lacks face-to-face interactions weakening their social skills below those of

previous generations, which in turn lowers their relatedness.

To embody all of the constructs listed above we have come up with the following hypotheses:

H1 – Generation Y will be more extrinsically motivated than intrinsically motivated.

7

H2 – Due to generation Y being extrinsically motivated, this will have a negative affect on

relatedness in the workplace.

Methodology Sample

The sample of this study was individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, commonly

known as generation Y. Participants were recruited through social media, email and word of

mouth. These individuals had an education level of high school or higher and have worked

within the past year full-time, part-time or seasonal. There were a total of 143 respondents who

completed our survey. Of the 143, 106 fit our criteria, which were then used in our analysis.

Measures

Intrinsic/extrinsic motivation was measured using the COGS-12 vignette scale

developed by Deci and Ryan. This scale is used to measure a person’s level of intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation based on their autonomy, impersonal and controlled tendencies. To analyze

all of the data, we referred back to the COGS-12 vignette scale answer key which rated

participants based on their responses to the question. This determined if each participant was

autonomous, impersonal or controlled. Based on this information, a Pearson correlation was

used to identify relationships between variables.

Relatedness was measured using questions we developed that we believed were relevant

to measure the participant’s relationships with coworkers inside and outside of the workplace.

Questions were also asked to determine their preferences of accomplishing tasks in the

workplace.

8

Results

We tested hypothesis 1, regarding generation Y’s extrinsic motivation, by conducting a

correlation analysis. The results of the Pearson correlation are displayed in Appendices 6-11 and

the following are of significance.

1) The more close friends a person has in the work place the less extrinsically motivated they

were which in turn affects relatedness (r= -.225 at the 0.05 level). This is also true with

respondents who spend more time with co-workers outside of work, their extrinsic motivation

decreases and they become more intrinsically motivated and related to both their work and co-

workers (r= -.206 at the 0.05 level).

2) People who said that most of their friends are people that they work with were much more

likely to feel comfortable discussing personal issues with their co-workers which demonstrates

higher relatedness in the workplace (r= .312 at the 0.01 level).

3) Those who said most or all of their friends are from outside of work were more likely to not

see developing work relationships as important (r= -.252 at the 0.01 level), spend less time with

co-workers outside of work, keep work life and friends separate (r= -.282 at the 0.01 level), and

not feel comfortable discussing personal issues with co-workers (r= -.254 at the 0.01 level).

Based on the questions that were designed to measure relatedness, we obtained the

following results. There is a significant difference between where individuals met their closest

friends; the majority of participant’s closest friends were from outside the workplace. As seen in

Appendix 1, it is shown that 118 participants met their closest friends from school compared to

10 people who said their closest friends are from work. The participant’s results also revealed

that they spend less time with coworkers outside of the workplace, which is not far off from

individuals who spend more than 4 times a month with coworkers outside of the workplace,

9

which is demonstrated in Appendix 2. Appendix 3 looks at the importance of developing

relationships/friendships with co-workers. The results showed that individuals do find it

important to create relationships with their co-workers. There was a significant difference

between individuals who did find it important and individuals who did not find it important. If

given the choice generation Y preferred to complete work related tasks alone versus working in

a group, these results can be seen in Appendix 4. It was apparent from the results of the study

that individuals in this generation were both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.

Discussion

Based on these findings we can conclude that generation Y yields a mix of both intrinsic

and extrinsically motivated individuals. While the findings were close, the sample proved to be

slightly more intrinsically motivated, which refutes our first hypothesis. Due to our recruitment

methods and time resources available the majority of respondents were between the ages of 21

and 22. This could have affected the findings due to the fact that this age group in general has a

lack of professional work experience, which could have skewed the results of the study.

Findings also confirm that there is a negative correlation between extrinsic motivation and

relatedness in the workplace, which supports our second hypothesis, as it proves that extrinsic

motivation has a negative effect on relatedness in the workplace.

These findings are important for managers because a lack of relatedness can have a large

effect on the overall productivity and efficiency of an organization. Relatedness in the

workplace facilitates productive relationships among employees and embodies teamwork, which

is an important goal of any management team. Within an effective and productive organization

all employees work together to achieve a common goal. When relatedness is low people become

distant from one another, and thus organizational objectives and the overall bottom line of a

10

company suffer. With this information, managers become aware that with extrinsically

motivated individuals present in the workplace a lack of relatedness may also be present.

Managers need to be aware of the different motivational tendencies of generation Y and

promote the importance of high relatedness among a work team. Managers may be successful at

this by identifying motivational tendencies of individuals and helping to build productive work

groups accordingly. By knowing employees and discovering individuals that work well together

organizational efficiency and relatedness can benefit. In addition, managers may want to

implement new team building activities for employees to assist in the development of both

communication and positive relationships between employees.

Researchers can take these findings and attempt to explore new initiatives and

management techniques that will help increase relatedness among employees. More specifically,

ways to help generation Y connect more effectively with other generation Y employees that

display different motivational techniques as well as other generations who are present in the

workplace.

Limitations/Conclusions

A lack of time and resources limited our sample group and available respondents to

mostly being 21-22 year old university students. With increased time and resources we could

have drawn a greater sample size, which may have been more representative of the real

population. Although these respondents fit into generation Y, this sample does not include all

members of generation Y of different ages and work experience. With a more diverse sample of

generation Y and greater number of respondents, results may have varied slightly or even

significantly. Perhaps recruiting respondents from organizations with work experience would

have helped to add substance to the sample results and provided for accurate conclusions as to

11

the motivational tendencies of generation Y and their affects on relatedness in the work place.

The recruiting process could have been aided by more resources and enabled our researchers to

provide incentives to respondents and yield greater participation numbers.

We noticed that a large percentage of survey respondents did not complete the entire

survey and therefore did not provide sufficient data to be used in our study. Perhaps if we had

made the survey more user friendly, and established better ways to keep respondents interested

throughout the survey process we could have had more full responses to the survey. The length

of the survey and scenario questions may have also deterred participation.

During our review of past literature pertaining to generation Y, relatedness and

motivational tendencies, we found that research was lacking in these area. Specifically, we were

unable to find research on relatedness and its implications for workplace behaviour and

motivation. With further research in this area, future studies could benefit from our research and

can attempt to develop a more reliable questionnaire to pinpoint and gage workplace relatedness

among respondents from generation Y.

Relatedness in the workplace and among members of an organization is an important

measure to study as it demonstrates a cohesive work atmosphere, fosters teamwork and

demonstrates an overall efficient workforce. Managers should attempt to measure and interrupt

levels of relatedness within their organization and implement plans to help build and promote

the importance of relatedness. Team building exercises and other relationship building

techniques adopted can help to promote and grow relatedness between co-workers.

In finding that generation Y yields almost equal numbers of intrinsic and extrinsically

motivated people, we can confidently conclude that generation Y should not be stereotyped as

being mostly one or the other. Accepting that this generation of workers encompasses a plethora

12

of behavioural characteristics and can be motivated by different means, managers should be able

to affectively create a work environment that allows for individuals of different motivational

tendencies to work together and successfully accomplish work tasks.

13

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

81.4%

6.9%6.2% 5.5%Where participants met the majority of

their friends

SchoolWorkRecreational ActivitiesOther

34.1%

20.6%15.9%9.5%4% 15.9%

Spending time with co-workers outside of the workplace

Less than once a monthOnce a monthTwice a monthThree times a monthFour times a monthMore than four times a month

14

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

76%24%

Importance of developing relationships/friendships with co-

workers

YesNo

22%41%

37%

Preference of completing work related tasks

GroupAloneNo Preference

15

Appendix 5

33%

25%42%

Controlled vs. Autonomous

ControlledImpersonalAutonomous

16

Appendix 6

17

Appendix 7

18

Appendix 8

19

Appendix 9

20

Appendix 10

21

Appendix 11

22

References Campbell, S., & Twenge, J. (2008). Generational differences in psychological traits and their

impact on the workplace. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 8(23), 862-887. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://search.proquest.com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/docview/215870847

Clement, D. (2008). Diana Clement: Why businesses need Generation Y - Business - NZ Herald

News. NZ Herald. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10490263

DeMeuse, K., & Mlodzik, K. (2010). A second look at generational difference in the workforce:

implications for HR and talent management. Human Resource Planning Society, 1. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6768/is_2_33/ai_n55099424/

Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (n.d.). Self-Determination Theory: An approach to human motivation and

personality. Self-Determination Theory. Retrieved October 3, 2011, from http://www.selfdeterminationtheory.org

Deci, E., & Gagne, M. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of

Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331-362. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://journals1.scholarsportal.info/detailssfx.xqy?uri=/08943796/v26i0004/331_stawm.xml

Guardia, J. L., & Patrick, H. (2008). Self-determination theory as a fundamental theory of close

relationships. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 201-209. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from http://search.proquest.com/psycarticles/docview/614483710/fulltextPDF/1332ECAE3AE7E784254/1?accountid=11233

Latham, G., & Pinder, C. (2005). Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the

twenty-first century. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 485-516. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142105?journalCode=psych

Macky, K., Gardner, D., & Forsyth, S. (2008). Generational differences at work: introduction

and overview. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), 857-861. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1752332&show=abstract

Ryan, R., & Connell, J. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining

reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(5), 749-761. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1990-07258-001

23

Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classical definitions and new

directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://mmrg.pbworks.com/f/Ryan,+Deci+00.pdf

Thomas, A., Buboltz, W., & Winkelspecht, C. (2004). Job characteristics and personality as

predictors of satisfaction. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 12(2), 205-219. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1664977

Twenge, J., Campbell, S., Hoffman, B., & Lance, C. (2010). Generational differences in work

values: leisure and extrinsic values increasing, social and intrinsic values decreasing. Journal of Management, 36(5), 1117-1142. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from http://jom.sagepub.com/content/36/5/1117.short

Vansteenkiste, M., Neyrinck, B., Niemiec, C., Soenens, B., Witte, H. D., & den Broeck, A. V.

(2007). On the relations among work value orientations, psychological need satisfaction and job outcomes. A self-determination theory approach. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80(2), 251-277.

Watts, G. (1992). Work values, attitudes and motivations of women employed in administrative

support occupations. Journal of Career Development, 19(1), 49-64. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://www.springerlink.com/content/r123t0x6g7460108/