Unpacking the effect of autonomous motivation on workplace performance: Engagement and distributive justice matter!

Abstract Self‐determination theory explains the effects of autonomous motivation on work engagement and job performance. We use a self‐determination theory framework to examine the interaction between distributive justice and autonomous motivation in the context of the allocation of pay to employees. We performed an empirical study in France that took place over three time periods to examine this relationship. Our findings show that when autonomous motivation is high employee perceptions of distributive justice are viewed as a source of control and results in decreased levels of autonomous motivation, work engagement and performance. As such, practical implications for human resource management are proposed to manage the prominence of attention given to employee perceptions of distributive justice of their rewards so that it should not be too high. In a context of high autonomous motivation in the workplace, managers could use ex post rewards.