Determinants and evolution of worker motivation in a context of economic crisis: The case of Spain

Abstract

Job motivation is a key factor from both a personal and an organizational perspective. The main objective of this study is to analyze the determinants of workers motivation during the past years in Spain, therefore in a context of crisis. This work also contributes to the knowledge of the motivational situation of the Spanish workforce. Based on data drawn from the 2008-2010 waves of the Quality of Life at Work Survey, ordered logit models are used to estimate the marginal effects of sociodemographic, occupational and organizational variables.

The results obtained show that the overall level of motivation has not changed in recent years, contrary to what is found for specific groups of workers, such as those who have a working week less than twenty hours long or foreigners. Regarding the determinants of motivation, not only there are differences along time, but changes can also be observed in terms of education, job category or between waged workers and individuals who are self-employed. Nevertheless, monthly net income yields as the most significant effect. In conclusion, the value of this research is threefold: it is the first of its kind to be conducted for Spain, it provides new evidence on motivation in a context of economic crisis, and its results support the thesis that economic incentives are one of the most powerful motivators.