Promoting career preparedness and intrinsic work-goal motivation: RCT intervention

We examined the role of an in-company training program aimed at enhancing employees' intrinsic work-goal motivation by increasing their career preparedness in a randomized field experimental study. The program activities were implemented using an organization-level two-trainer model with trainers from the human resources management and occupational health services. Within-organizations randomly assigned field experimental study (RCT) investigated the impact of the intervention on immediate career preparedness and both immediate and follow-up intrinsic work-goal motivation. A total of 718 eligible individuals filled in and returned the questionnaire in 17 organizations and became voluntary participants. The respondents were randomly assigned to either intervention (N = 369) or control groups (N = 349). Those in the intervention group were invited to group intervention workshops, whereas the control group received printed material covering the information content of the intervention. The participants filled in the work-goal questionnaires before intervention, after the week-long intervention and seven months later. In addition they filled in a career preparedness scale before and after the intervention. The results showed that intervention increased career preparedness which in turn was related to intrinsic work-goal motivation and increased intrinsic work-goal motivation at the follow-up. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.