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Remote Working during the Covid-19 Global Pandemic and its Implications for Employee Motivation: Some Evidence from Nigeria through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world took several safety measures, including enforced confinement to check the spread of the disease. These measures had economic, health, and psychosocial implications. On the other hand, the pandemic accelerated remote working and the deployment of technology to support this new way of working as businesses needed to continue functioning. Empirical research on the implication of these measures on the mental health, engagement, and motivation of employees abound in other jurisdictions, whereas it is limited in Nigeria. From a self-determination perspective, this study examines the mediating roles of organizational factors (OF) and employee’s individual situation (ES) on employee motivation during the pandemic. The study employed a survey research design while descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were used to analyze the data. Remote working intensity (RW) during the pandemic had a significant positive impact on organizational factors. Employee’s Individual Situation had a significant positive impact on Employee Motivation (EM). The study concludes that as good as remote working may seem, the enforced confinement led to increased stress levels, more mental health challenges, and lower motivation. The moderation role of basic psychological needs (PN) satisfaction was confirmed. The findings showed that employees who could influence their work schedule were more motivated. Higher levels of support from employers that enabled individuals to achieve desired results amidst the uncertainties created by the pandemic were also associated with better levels of motivation. Employees in organizations that found innovative ways for social connection and had regular check-ins by managers were more engaged and motivated because employers’ support was found to be empowering, produced better psychological health, and helped employees feel self-determined. Even though the study shows the association between remote working, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and employee motivation, how motivation level changes after some point or the degree to which it would change in the post-pandemic era remains unclear and should be an area for further study since motivation is not a unitary phenomenon.


Introduction
The COVID-19 global pandemic brought fear, panic, anxiety, and alteration in people's ways of life. Several measures were taken to cope with its ravaging effect (Mahmoud-Saleh & Karia, 2020). Some of the measures taken to curtail the spread of the pandemic included quarantine and social distancing created other problems such as loneliness and social isolation (Grigoropoulos and Daoultzis, 2022). The pandemic had health, social and economic implications. Efforts to address one of these had implications for the others.
According to Ryan and Deci (2000), most research on the effects of environmental events on intrinsic motivation has focused largely on the issue of autonomy versus control rather than that of competence. Motivation is a psychological construct used to describe the mechanism by which individuals and groups decide on behaviour and persist with it (Boddy, 2012). It is about investigating the energization and direction of behaviour (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Energy is at the core of human needs and consists of the needs to be met for humans to remain healthy and those obtained from interacting with one's environment. On the other hand, behaviours are the methods by which humans respond to internal and external stimuli (Cantarero, van Tilburg & Smoktunowicz, 2020). Motivation is about the why of behaviour. The concept of human behaviour and motivation is well explained by the self-determination theory. The core of the theory is the conditions that support or hinder human success in general and in specific areas of human endeavours, including education, parenting, work, psychotherapy, and wellbeing. These conditions could be social, cultural, or biological. Šakan, Žuljevic, and Rokvic (2020) believe that basic psychological needs are essential nutrients of well-being and that a person's basic psychological needs (need for autonomy, need for competence, and the need for relatedness) must be satisfied for the person to be fully functional. Ryan and Deci (2017) believe that even though the human inclination to be motivated intrinsically is innate, this natural tendency could be readily diminished in many contexts such that persons who otherwise might be active become passive. This is important in the context of the new normal where people work remotely. In order to explain this disparity, research on Self-Determination Theory has extensively investigated the effect of social context on intrinsic motivation against the backdrop of the hypothesis that some social conditions support active engagement whereas others thwart it. Legault (2017) posits that Self-Determination theory is premised on the belief that the individual is involved in a dynamic interaction with the environment continuously. This interplay between the person and the environment makes people become either engaged, curious, and connected or demotivated, ineffective and detached. Ryan and Cornell (1989) believe that one central issue for motivation theories relates to the perceived locus of the variables that cause behaviour relative to the person. The concept known as perceived locus of causality (PLOC) was introduced by Heider (1958) in reference to the phenomenal analysis of how a person infers the motives and intentions of others. He concluded that there were two causations -personal causation (due to a person's intention) and impersonal causation (when the environment produces a given effect independent of a person's intentions).

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In relation to Figure 1 above, enforced confinement or lockdown measures, as seen during the pandemic, is an example of external regulation requiring compliance. Violation invoked punishment. This controlled, non-self-determined behaviour with an external perceived locus of causality could lead to demotivation.

Employee Motivation in Nigeria
Scholars have argued that organizations in developing societies (including Nigeria) may not be perceived as places where decent salaries are paid or where strong motivation toward work exists, even though these organizations are institutions with a high need for achievements that are socially relevant ( Tauringana, 2020 (2015) on selfdetermination and employee innovative behaviour, they found that there exists a significant positive relationship between selfdetermination and each of the following: idea generation, idea development, and idea implementation. They concluded that employees need authority and autonomy to undertake their tasks and that where employees have autonomy, competence and skills are brought to bear in the promotion of new ideas, innovation, and work process reengineering.

COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria and Remote Working
When, where, and how employees' work has been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis (Guido, Pichierri, Rizzo, Chieffi & Moschis, 2020; Hamdan-Mansour, Al Shibi, Khalifeh, & Hamdan-Mansour, 2020). Ajayi (2020) believes that many corporate organizations operating in Nigeria were averse to remote working prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Nagel (2020), many executives have thought of flexible work arrangements before the COVID-19 pandemic without much action. However, following the outbreak of the pandemic, the choice was between whether to stop operations completely or establish remote working practices. Businesses in Nigeria have since gotten on board with remote working.
Researchers posit that remote working has created new challenges for organizations. One of such challenges is how to maintain a culture when most or all employees are distributed virtually and may not be employed in the traditional settings that existed prior to COVID-19 (Malhotra, 2021). Another concern is around employee benefits and allowances that would enable them to work optimally from home against the backdrop of poor infrastructure in some countries, the handling of data protection and data security, and re-negotiating the terms of employment contracts (Gethin-Jones, 2014; Offord, 2020). In a 2020/2021 Survey of Top 10 Business Risks conducted by KPMG Nigeria, one new risk that made it to the list was Business Continuity Risk. This is the risk of a business being able to recover or continue to deliver products or services at an acceptable level following a crisis or disruptive event. COVID-19 has been identified as one disruptive event that could jeopardize the continuity of businesses in Nigeria. Deci and Ryan (1985) suggest that motivation is about energizing and directing behaviour. Motivation practices are wrapped up in the societal and organizational culture. With uncertainties, fear, and stress arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing government-imposed lockdowns, understanding what motivates employees who work remotely is critical. This is what this study is about, especially since this is the biggest pandemic in the past one hundred years. The understanding from this study will be critical when implementing remote working strategies even in the post-pandemic era.

Purpose
The applicability of the self-determination theory has not been examined during a period of enforced confinement. Based on this knowledge, this study examines (1) the relationship between remote working and organizational factors; (2) how organizational factors affect employee motivation considering the moderating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction; (3) the association between remote working and employee individual situation and (4) how employees' individual situation affects their motivation.
The main hypothesis for this study is in accordance with a previous study by Patanjali & Bhatta (2022) that suggests that autonomy, empowerment, and other organizational factors, including independence to employees and a supportive environment, are important enablers even in a remote working context.

Research Design and Data Collection Method
This study adopted a survey research design because it affords the researcher the opportunity to gather quantitative data conveniently and economically from a large number of respondents (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). Data collection was also aided using a questionnaire.

Population and Sample Selection
The population of the study refers to all items or subjects that possess the characteristics or have knowledge of the phenomenon being investigated (Neuman, 2014). A population can thus be defined as the group of individuals/firms/companies from which the study seeks to generalize its findings (Kumar, 2011). The target population for this study is professionals, white-collar workers based in Nigeria. However, a sample of one hundred and two (102) respondents was randomly selected from amongst members of the Alliance Manchester Business School Alumni Association and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (all in Nigeria). The study employed purposive sampling, which is about getting all possible cases that fit the set criteria using various approaches. The reason for this approach is that the sample frame for the study is unknown, and the sample size is ambiguous (

Research Instrument and Measurement of Variables
The research instrument used for this study is structured questionnaires. The use of structured questionnaires is consistent with the research design discussed above, which entails a survey as a way of gathering data from respondents. Considering the sample size and the inherent advantages, self-administered, fully structured questionnaires were selected. Hyman et al. (2019) agree that self-administered questionnaires are a relatively quick and cost-efficient way to collect large data from diverse and representative samples.
The questionnaire was divided into six sections. Four parts were developed using a Likert five-point scale with the aim of obtaining information relating to the independent, mediating, and moderating variables being considered. Specifically, these cover questions about remote working, organizational factors, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and individual employee circumstances that affect their motivational outcomes. The fifth session is to gather general information about employees' disposition to remote working. The last part is to gather personal and demographic data about the respondents. All the questions were based on factors and observed variables from previous studies. Measurement of variables is presented in Appendix 1.

Validity and Reliability
Validity was ensured by adapting measurements in literature to measured variables. An additional check on validity was established by conducting an exploratory factor analysis to check the loading of items of variables (Tavakol & Wetzel, 2020). The results of the test are reported in Tables 4.1 to 4.6.

Remote working during COVID-19 pandemic (RW)
The results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) test are reported in Tables 4.1a to 4.1d.     (Table 4.1b) shows that the items measuring RW have a high degree of extraction, as the item with the least extraction is .578 (or 57.8%). The total number of variances explained stood at 69.225% (Table 4.1c). Since component 1 has the highest degree of variance explained, we assess the factor loading in component 1. In Table 4.1d, 3 items loaded above a 0.50 threshold for exploratory factor analysis (Items 1,2, and 5). These 3 items were therefore retained for further analysis of measures of Remote Working during the COVID-19 pandemic (RW). The other items loading below the threshold were disregarded as they do not strongly measure the variable, RW.    (Table 4.2c). Since component 1 has the highest degree of variance explained, we assess the factor loading in component 1. In Table 4.2d, 5 items loaded above a 0.50 threshold for exploratory factor analysis (Items 8,11.12,14, and 15). These 5 items were therefore retained for further analysis. The other items loading below the threshold were disregarded as they do not strongly measure the variable.   . These 6 items were therefore retained for further analysis. The other items loading below the threshold were disregarded as they do not strongly measure the variable.    (Table 4.4c). Since component 1 has the highest degree of variance explained, we assess the factor loading in component 1. In Table 4.4d, 5 items loaded above a 0.50 threshold for exploratory factor analysis (Items 32, 33, 35,36, and 37). These 5 items were therefore retained for further analysis. The other items loading below the threshold were disregarded as they do not strongly measure the variable.    (Table 4.5c). Since component 1 has the highest degree of variance explained, we assess the factor loading in component 1. In Table 4.5d, 3 items loaded above a 0.50 threshold for exploratory factor analysis (Items 34, 43, and 44). These 3 items were therefore retained for further analysis. The other items loading below the threshold were disregarded as they do not strongly measure the variable.

Reliability
Further analysis was conducted to assess reliability. Therefore, Cronbach alpha was used to assess reliability/ internal consistency. The result of the test is reported in Table 4.6.

Method of Data analysis
Descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency count, Mean, and standard deviation were used for analysis. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the interrelationship among variables.

Response Rate and Respondents' Profile
From the questionnaire distributed, 109 responses were received. However, seven (7) copies were unsuitable for use because of incomplete responses. The one hundred and two (102) valid responses were processed for analysis., This is considered adequate to perform statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics on variables are presented in Appendix 2.

Respondents' Profile
Analysis of respondents' profiles is presented in Table 4.7a to Table 4.7f.  The result in Table 4.7a shows that the majority, 60 (58.8%), of the respondents directly supervise 3 persons in their organization. The result in Table 4.7b shows respondents cut across various sectors of the Nigerian economy. However, a sizeable number (34) is from the financial services sector (33.3%). More than half of the respondents, 56 (54.9%), are in the management cadre, while a further 16 (15.7%) belong to Board-level management (see Table 4.7c). In Table 4.7d, we see that a sizeable number (80) of the respondents are based in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria (78.4%). Both Male (56 representing 54.9%) and Female (46, which is 45.1%) respondents were well represented in the study, as the responses obtained are not gender-biased (Table  4.7e). The number of people in respondents' households during the pandemic generally varied. However, most of the households had 3 members during the period (33.3%), going by the result in Table 4.7f. Taken together, the results in Tables 4.7a to 4.7f show that respondents were from diverse backgrounds in terms of gender, sector, level of responsibility at work and at home, work location, and cadre in the organization. These diversities provide a rich context to explore how remote working affects employee motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Result from Model 1
The result from Model 1 on the complexity of the relationship between the variables is presented in Figure 1 and Table 8  To confirm the fitness of the model and the reliability of the result for Model 1, Model diagnostics were performed, and the result is presented in Table 9.  Table 4.9 satisfies all the recommended thresholds, confirming model fitness (Chi-square p value = 0.000; CFI = 0.980; TLI = 0.933; RMSEA p < 0.05; SRMR = 0.082). This leads to the conclusion that the result is reliable.

Robustness check: Alternative Model 2
To assess the robustness of the result, an alternative Model (Model 2) is proposed, as presented in Figure 4.2 and Table 4.10 The Model fitness statistics for the alternative model are presented in Table 4.11.

Discussion and Conclusion
This study is based on empirical evidence from the Nigerian context and employed a survey research design. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were used to analyze data. It presents remote working and its implications for employee motivation by looking at the mediating roles of organizational factors (such as employee mental health support and the provision of remote working resources) and the employees' individual situation (such as family situation, selfdiscipline, and feeling of loneliness). The study points to the differences between behaviours that are externally motivated and those that are intrinsic. Notwithstanding this distinction, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are additive and synergistically positive (Porter and Lawler, 1968). We confirmed that when people find activities inherently satisfying, it has a moderating effect on how motivated they become. However, even though one may expect that working remotely would automatically translate to higher motivation, this was not the case in the pandemic setting. This can be explained by the fact that remote working during the pandemic was externally regulated and the enforced confinement added to the stress created by the pandemic. Also, for many, working from home during the pandemic had negative implications for the management of the boundary between home and work.
The The study found that remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the development of certain organizational practices, including measures for mental health support for employees. It concluded that the pandemic increased remote work intensity, and even though the infection rate of COVID-19 has abated, organizations are still open to remote working.
The result that basic psychological needs satisfaction (PN) has a significant positive impact on employee motivation corroborates the self-determination theory of motivation by Ryan & Deci (2000), which suggests that individuals have a natural tendency to grow and to self-organize. The satisfaction of psychological needs enhances the productivity of employees (Mullins & Christy, 2013). Adequate communication and information sharing with employees during the pandemic increased social connection and made them strive for superior performance.
Furthermore, providing assurance of job security, work flexibility, income stability, and conferring more responsibilities and confidence in employees during the pandemic were associated with increased motivation. Providing adequate training and allowing employees to use their initiative, among other considerations, will naturally keep employees focused and committed to their job (Chartered Management Institute, UK, 2020).
The significant positive association between organizational factors and the satisfaction of psychological needs ( Table 4.10; Model 2) implies that organizations have a responsibility to ensure the satisfaction of the psychological needs of employees. This is especially important during periods characterized by fear and externally induced stress.

Strengths and Limitations
One limitation of this study is that it was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study shows the association between remote working, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and employee motivation during a crisis. How this motivation level varied amongst different working classes and demographic groups or the degree to which the outcome would change in the postpandemic era remains unclear and should be an area for further study since motivation is not a unitary phenomenon.
Ethical Approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement:
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author (Charles Nwoko; charles.nwoko@phd.must.edu.my) on reasonable request.

Conflict of interest statement:
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding:
The authors have not received any financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.