Introduction: Telework has become a central aspect of modern work life, raising questions about how employees' motivations shape their experiences and outcomes. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides a valuable framework for examining the quality of motivation in this context.
Purpose: This study aimed to create and validate a way to measure teleworkers' motivations, including autonomous and controlled regulatory processes, thereby broadening the use of SDT in flexible work setups.
Method: Data were collected from 454 employees in Portugal engaged in full or partial telework. The development of the Telework Motivations Scale involved exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify underlying structures. The resulting instrument measured five forms of motivation: autonomous (integrated, intrinsic) and controlled (external social, external material, introjected). Reliability and validity analyses were conducted to assess psychometric adequacy.
Results: The scale demonstrated strong reliability and validity indicators, confirming its robustness. Autonomous motivations were positively associated with life satisfaction, work-family balance, and job performance. In contrast, controlled motivations correlated with less favorable personal and professional outcomes.
Conclusions: The validated Telework Motivations Scale offers a reliable tool for understanding motivational profiles in telework settings. The findings underscore the importance of fostering autonomous motivation to enhance employee well-being and performance. The scale provides organizations practical insights to design evidence-based telework policies and interventions. Further research should examine the measure across cultural and occupational contexts to strengthen its generalizability.