Longitudinal dynamics of psychological need satisfaction, meaning in work, and burnout

Drawing on an integrated perspective of self-determination theory (SDT) and conservation of resources theory (COR theory), this study investigated normal and reverse causation within-person effects among basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS), meaning in work, and burnout over time. Using random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM), we examined data from German-speaking employees (complete cases = 781, imputed cases = 2131) at three time points over 12 months. At the within-person level, increased burnout was related to subsequent decreased BPNS (i.e., autonomy and competence need satisfaction). In line with COR theory, reciprocal within-person effects between burnout and meaning in work suggest a loss-cycle over time. Explorative analyses suggest that increased autonomy need satisfaction is related to subsequent increased competence and relatedness need satisfaction. At the between-person level, all variables were significantly correlated. Overall, this study found limited support for within-person assumptions of SDT, while supporting assumptions of COR theory. We discuss how the previous neglect of reverse causation, within-person effects, and the effect of time in SDT and COR theory may have led to a misrepresentation of the associations among BPNS, meaning in work, and burnout.