Motivation and life satisfaction of temporary workers: measurement validity using Self-determination Theory

Abstract

The theme of the motivations is widely studied in the field of psychology, and despite recognition of its importance, the researches specifically related to temporary work are limited. In this perspective, this study was conducted with 812 temporary workers in Portugal, aiming to find evidence of the validity of a measure to access their motivations according to the Self-determination Theory (SDT). Some statistical procedures were performed, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes. The results showing that the proposed structure of two factors has good quality fit indexes, as well as adequate values of convergent and discriminant validity and is valid and allowing their practical application and in future investigations. Although instruments like this are innovative and promising to assess the temporary employment context, further research is suggested to seek more validity evidences favoring the expansion of knowledge about its psychometric properties, including other variables