FACTORS INFLUENCING WORK MOTIVATION OF GRASSROOTS-LEVEL OFFICIALS OF THE VIETNAM WOMEN'S UNION

Abstract This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the work motivation of grassroots-level officials of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. The research is grounded in several foundational theories, including Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943), Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959), Vroom’s Expectancy Theory (1964), Adams’ Equity Theory (1965), and the Public Service Motivation (PSM) theory developed by Perry et al. (1990). The factors considered in the study include: compensation, working environment, job characteristics, performance evaluation and recognition, training and promotion opportunities, and contribution to the community and society. These six factors are hypothesized to influence work motivation both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of job satisfaction. The study employed “a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Primary data were collected from a survey of 899 grassroots-level VWU officials in the Red River Delta region and analyzed using AMOS software “and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The empirical results indicate that all six factors included in the model exert both direct and indirect effects—via job satisfaction—on work motivation, although with varying levels of influence. Among them, the desire to contribute to the community and society emerged as the most influential factor (both directly and indirectly), followed by training and promotion opportunities, and performance evaluation and recognition. Based on the findings, the research team proposes several feasible recommendations and solutions to enhance the work motivation of grassroots-level officials of the Vietnam Women’s Union in the Red River Delta region.