Motivating Remote Working Employees

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how remote employees who have previously worked in-person describe their lived and perceived experience with motivation in remote working environments. Participants completed the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS), which measures degrees of work-related motivation among employees focusing on traits that signify each worker’s intrinsically or extrinsically motivated nature. Through in-depth interviews with 30 participants, this research examined how remote workers are motivated in remote work settings, which factors increase or decrease motivation, and how leaders can influence the motivation levels of their employees. The interviews were conducted online, recorded (audio and video), and transcribed within the Zoom video conferencing application. Data was analyzed, codes were established, and themes were identified. The in-depth analysis of interview data revealed five major themes of remote working employees: autonomy, connection, productivity, well-being, and structure. Further analysis uncovered that intrinsically motivated individuals thrive on self-discipline, flexibility, and agency as they set clear goals, while extrinsically motivated employees rely on structured oversight, external recognition, and performance-based incentives. Implications reveal that organizations must adapt their management practices to effectively support both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated remote workers, if they want to induce higher levels of engagement productivity by their remote workforce. While there may not exist a silver bullet or a one-size-fits-all option, leaders can adapt to identify their remote worker characteristics to establish the specific working ecosystems to maximize business success. Future research should address current limitations while exploring emerging questions about remote work motivation, especially during a period in which remote work has fully normalized and spread throughout relevant industries, sectors, and geographies.