“At least I’m useful to the refugees…” - An analysis of workplace motivation among national humanitarian aid workers in northern Burkina Faso

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to add to the understanding of how national humanitarian workers in northern Burkina Faso experience workplace motivation. The study followed an abductive logic in which the national workers’ perceptions served as the empirical grounding of a reflection on workplace motivation and its impacts through Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. The methods used were interviews with national workers, international workers and external actors. An analysis of the factors causing satisfaction revealed that the motivators were related to the job itself, in accordance with the theory. Inversely, the factors causing dissatisfaction related mainly to external aspects of the job, as proposed by the theory. The exact factors differed from the theory, indicating its context-sensitivity. The findings support Herzberg’s concept of the dual dynamic of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Once critically assessed, the factors revealed that the national workers were generally poorly satisfied and highly dissatisfied, thus poorly motivated. Inversely, international personnel were highly satisfied and poorly dissatisfied, thus highly motivated. High workplace motivation was found to have a positive relationship with performance and well-being, whereas low motivation only led to poorer well-being due to the workers’ context. Gender appeared to have an impact on the national staff’s work experience.