The authentic self in work and family roles and well-being: A test of self-determination theory

Abstract

The current study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of work and family authenticity, or the extent to which one's time, energy, and attention in work and family roles are consistent with life values, by examining the antecedents and processes by which they occur within a self-determination theory framework. By testing the tenets of self-determination theory, we examine a conceptual model in which we posit that work and family need satisfaction relates positively to life satisfaction through domain-specific autonomous motivation, work and family authenticity, and domain satisfaction. We test our conceptual model with data collected at two time points from 220 working adults. Our results largely support our hypotheses in the work domain but, interestingly, not in the family domain, suggesting that human motivation processes differ by domain. We conclude by discussing implications and offering suggestions for future research.