PROXIMAL JOB CHARACTERISTICS, FEELINGS OF EMPOWERMENT, AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION - A MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL

We examined relations between job characteristics, empowerment, and in trinsic motivation among technical and telemarketing workers. Empowerm ent was conceptualized as a gestalt of 4 psychological dimensions: aut onomy, competence, meaningfulness, and impact. It was hypothesized tha t the various dimensions of empowerment would mediate the relationship between job characteristics, such as feedback and autonomy support, a nd intrinsic motivation at work. A path analysis supported the hypothe sis, revealing that different job characteristics were predictive of d ifferent aspects of empowerment, and that aspects of empowerment diffe rentially affected intrinsic motivation. The results point to the valu e of considering empowerment as a multidimensional construct.