Are employee self-management and organizational self-management related to work engagement or burnout? Evidence from two studies

Abstract

Self-managing organizations, characterized by flat hierarchies and decentralized power, are expected to empower and engage employees. In contrast, critics argue that a lack of structure could cause confusion and increased stress and burnout. However, neither assumption has been quantitatively tested. Furthermore, the concept of self-management remains ambiguous, and validated scales have been lacking. Addressing this, we conducted two quantitative studies, one with employees from several organizations ( N = 425) and another with a nationally representative sample ( N = 2,000). First, we distinguish between organizational and employee self-management and develop validated scales for both. Next, we examine their relations to work engagement and burnout, finding that both types of self-management are positively related to work engagement and negatively to burnout. Both types of self-management were also indirectly related to work engagement and burnout via job challenges and job hindrances. Our study clarifies and quantifies what self-management is and suggests it can benefit employee well-being. JEL CLASSIFICATION: M12 Personnel Management