Employee Autonomy Research Articles

The impact of COVID-19 on first responders in the United States of America

PurposeThis project specifically aims to examine (1) the individual impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on first responders, (2) the organizational impact of COVID-19 on first response agencies and (3) policy and organizational response and support efforts to mitigate potentially harmful effects of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' conducted a mixed-methods analysis, including a review of secondary sources (e.g. government documents, organizational policies and news pieces), state-level policies, encompassing surveys, in-depth semi-structured interviews and PhotoVoice focus groups.FindingsCOVID-19 compounded many of the inherent risks facing first responders and added new stressors. First responders assumed added responsibilities during the pandemic which increased workloads, job-related stress, burnout, distance from the community and first responders' feelings of frustration. Even with personal protective equipment (PPE), first responders faced greater exposure to individuals with COVID-19 and were primarily concerned with transmitting the virus to family members, or other members of the first responders' support networks. State-level COVID-19 policies that were geared toward first responders aimed to improve the first responders' personal lives outside of work and mitigate burnout within the profession. First response agencies adapted to the pandemic by implementing a wide range of measures.Practical implicationsFirst responders also identified several weaknesses in the first responders' agencies' approach to the pandemic. To prepare for the next public health emergency, first response agencies should proactively train employees, build up the first responders' supplies of equipment and PPE, implement policies to strengthen their workforce (e.g. increase hiring for understaffed positions, reduce turnover and mitigate role abandonment), allow for greater employee autonomy, improve communication between leaders and employees and prioritize employees' mental health, as well as other factors relating to departments' informal culture.Originality/valueThis is one of the largest studies conducted on three types of first responders (police officers, fire firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics) across the United States of America during a public health crisis.

Influence of autonomy on performance of employees in Machakos county government, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the influence of autonomy on performance of employees in Machakos County Government. This study was guided by Equity theory developed by John Stacey Adams and states that employees weigh their input into a job against the output. A descriptive research design was used because it allowed a systematic and well-ordered description which was reliable, accurate as well as valid. The target population of 520 was constituting of top level, middle level and lower level employees of Machakos County government. To achieve the objective a sample of 156 respondents was drawn from the population. Questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection. The data was analyzed using the STATA version 17, by use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used. Regression model was used to estimate coefficient of the variable in the objective. The study concluded that there was a strong relationship between employee autonomy and performance. This implies that a higher percentage of employees require independence to perform better in line with organizational expectations. The results showed that autonomy as a non-monetary incentive influences employee performance. Based on the findings, the study recommends that employers to capitalize on non monetary benefits by giving their employees room for autonomy and also Kenya's government to institute labor rules prioritizing on workers' autonomy inside their firms over monetary compensation.

Transformed or Transferred? How Workers Perceive Managerial Control over Home Telework. Some Insights from an Italian Case

We examined how home-based teleworkers perceived managerial control in an Italian context in order to gain insight into some of the organizational changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on studies of changes to managerial control over the past few decades, we show how workers have experienced the reconfiguration and hybridization of control practices and methods in home telework. Our results cast doubt on the widely held belief that telework is revolutionizing managerial control and work procedures. Organizational and power dynamics at work are key to determining how telework affects employee experiences. Summary We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on labour relations, specifically by examining how teleworkers perceived control within various occupations in an Italian context. Telework has long been touted as having the power to displace traditional managerial control structures in favour of less hierarchical forms of supervision. However, scholars are still divided over whether it promotes greater employee autonomy or, on the contrary, results in greater managerial control. Research has frequently been influenced by specific circumstances. In earlier decades, the low prevalence of telework encouraged neither thorough research nor the ability to compare various organizational structures. Additionally, there has been a long-standing tendency to treat teleworkers as a homogeneous group, with little regard for within-group differences. Disparities among workers and among organizations can lead to inconsistent results. Our study was conducted mainly during the first waves of the pandemic in Italy, with a view to understanding if, how, to what extent and on what basis telework modifies managerial control processes and systems. We looked at how workers experienced managerial control in various occupations that differ in organizational form and managerial culture. In line with Storey’s (1985) concept of “layers of control” and, more generally, with studies on transformations of managerial control in labour processes, we argue that the emergency restructuring due to home telework caused a transfer of organizational conditions, these being a combination of existing methods, standards and forms of control. Our findings show how employees dealt with the hybridization, overlapping and differentiation of various forms of control during a time of widespread telework. In this way, we cast doubt on the simplistic association between telework and reduction of control, as well as on the potential of telework to bring fundamental change to organizational processes.

Change Management Practices for Frontline Supervisors: A Modified Delphi Study

Frontline supervisors impact organizational change. Supervisors who anticipate and address the root causes behind change resistance can increase employee change adoption. This modified Delphi project asked 15 change management expert panelists to respond to a 4-round survey process. The project aimed to learn how frontline supervisors can best motivate and encourage their employees to embrace change. The experts analyzed 31 original change management practices from previous literature and distilled those into 10 new practices they agreed would assist their frontline employees in adapting to and accepting change. The practices included: Understanding the change before communicating it to employees, providing a simple reason for the change, using real stories and examples to present the change, describing the change in a favorable light, providing clear and simple tasks and goals for the change, listening to employee feedback about the change, allowing employees autonomy respecting the change, openly praising employees for adopting the change, communicating legitimate employee concerns to upper management about the change, and discussing change challenges with other frontline colleagues. The study culminated with a new framework for frontline change management.

Responsible autonomy: The interplay of autonomy, control and trust for knowledge professionals working remotely during COVID-19

This article revisits the concept of responsible autonomy, analysing the interplay of employee autonomy, management control and trust experienced by knowledge professionals in the UK compelled to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. The authors theorise about the tensions and paradoxes of responsible autonomy in the contemporary context of the COVID-19 crisis, drawing on empirical findings gathered in May 2020 and May 2021. Many participants experienced increased autonomy and discretion, but also work intensification and blurred work–life boundaries. Interestingly, many accepted this paradox as a palatable trade-off for the autonomy of being able to work from home, particularly where there was reciprocal trust between employee and manager. Trust is the glue in responsible autonomy, yet exists in tension with intrusive managerial control.

“In the office nine to five, five days a week… those days are gone”: qualitative exploration of diplomatic personnel’s experiences of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundMany employees had to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature suggests there are both challenges and benefits to remote working and that remote working can have detrimental effects on mental health. This study aimed to explore diplomatic personnel’s perceptions and experiences of working from home during the pandemic.MethodsTwenty-five employees of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office took part in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out to extract recurring themes from the data.ResultsSeven main themes emerged from the data: impact of the pandemic on work; relationships with colleagues; benefits of working from home; challenges of working from home; family; moving posts during the pandemic; and perceptions and predictions of post-pandemic work. Participants provided mixed views on how remote working had affected productivity and relationships with colleagues. Benefits of working from home included greater freedom and flexibility; new opportunities; and inclusivity of remote meetings. Challenges included being in different time zones to the countries they were working for; unsuitable home ergonomics; technological issues; and difficulties finding appropriate work-life balance. Those with young children reported difficulties juggling work and childcare. Adjusting to new posts at a time when staff were working remotely appeared particularly challenging. However, most did not want or expect to return to entirely office-based work. They predicted a hybrid model of working in the future, involving both office work and remote work; they stressed the importance of flexibility and suggested there would not be a one-size-fits-all approach to returning to face-to-face work.ConclusionsRemote working during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways in which employees work, showing them that they do not have to be in the office to successfully achieve their work goals and leaving many wanting flexibility to make their own decisions about working from home (or not). There are both benefits and challenges to remote working; managers can take steps to reduce some of the challenges by being available to support their employees, organising regular remote meetings and allowing employees autonomy in terms of when and where they work.

GRADO DE COMPROMISO LABORAL PARA LA MEJORA DE UNA EMPRESA CONSTRUCTORA EN MEXICO

The construction sector is becoming more important every day in Mexico, due to population growth and its multiple needs for urban infrastructure, requiring for this purpose to have committed workers who allow the achievement of business objectives of development and growth. The objective of this research is to measure the degree of labor commitment of a construction company located in Mexico, with the purpose of influencing the improvement of the behavior of its personnel. First, a quantitative measurement was made and then the information was supplemented by qualitative interviews. A total of 30 workers that make up the company participate. The results indicate that the workers are moderately committed, because their participation and loyalty are not well defined. In addition, they have medium identification and belonging. Therefore, it is suggested to implement a strategic program for a culture of participation (empowerment), which includes greater initiative and autonomy for employees when sharing information and giving them greater control over their work performance, increasing trust, responsibility, and commitment to the company.

The Impact of Innovative Human Resources Management Practices on Employee Behavior

This paper aims to define the aspects (practices) of innovative human resources management and identify the impact on such behavioral outcomes as employee engagement and organizational commitment at the workplace. Proposed practices for innovative human resources management are: idiosyncratic work arrangements, high performance work systems (HPWS), sustainable workplace, employee autonomy. Review of primary and secondary sources has shown that these variables are related to such positive organizational outcomes as workplace productivity, flexibility, level of innovativeness, resistance to internal and external threats. In addition, it was indicated that intensity of HPWS can lead to a workplace burnout in the long run and it is crucial to understand how HRM practices work and what we should expect. This paper gives an overview of abovementioned HRM practices and what impact they can make on employee behavioral outcomes.

연결성과 직무자율성이 구성원의 번영감과 직장생활만족에 미치는 영향: 번영감의 하위 구성차원별 분석

Thriving at work is a joint psychological sense of vitality and learning at work, which communicates a feeling of progress or forward movement in one’s self development. Since the construct and conceptual model of thriving were first raised many years ago, considerable researches have been made to investigate the antecedents and consequences of thriving at work. The primary goal of this study is also to examine the antecedent and consequential factors of thriving at work, but which were rarely inquired up to now. We considered connectivity and job autonomy as the antecedents of thriving at work, and examined it’s consequential effect on employees’ working-life satisfaction. And we explored these relationships not only in the level of the construct of thriving, but also in the level of two components of the construct, that is vitality and learning. For this research, we conducted a survey on employees working in Korean National Park Service(KNPS) on two separate points in time, with a lag of three weeks. The results of analysis indicated that connectivity and job autonomy of employees were positively related to their thriving at work. And thriving at work had positive impact on their working-life satisfaction. Moreover, as expected in the hypothesis, the mediating role of thriving at work was observed in the relationships between the antecedent and outcome variables. Somewhat different mediating paths, however, were observed depending on the two components of thriving, vitality and learning. The managerial implications of these findings and future research directions were then discussed.

The Impact of Career Planning, Employee Autonomy and Managerial Recognition on Job Satisfaction in Chinese Vocational Colleges

The Impact of Career Planning, Employee Autonomy and Managerial Recognition on Job Satisfaction in Chinese Vocational Colleges

Thriving on Job Demands? Exploring Associations between Goal Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Job Autonomy for Employees with Metabolic Syndrome

Anxiety disorders are among the most common distressing diseases worldwide and have been the focus of increasing attention by companies, as they are associated with impaired work performance, higher absenteeism, and greater health-related costs. The risk of disease is particularly pronounced in individuals with metabolic syndrome and unfavorable working conditions. Nevertheless, empirical knowledge on interactions of metabolic syndrome, job characteristics, and psychiatric morbidity is still sparse. This cross-sectional study included survey data from 176 company employees with diagnosed metabolic syndrome to examine associations between anxiety and job-related factors, namely goal uncertainty and job autonomy. Descriptive data analysis along with Spearman’s rank correlation analysis were performed. Study hypotheses were tested using moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Results extend worksite health promotion literature by demonstrating a slightly U-shaped relation between goal uncertainty and anxiety (β=.16, p≤.05). While moderate levels of goal uncertainty contributed to well-being in terms of low anxiety severity, low and high goal uncertainty were associated with more severe anxiety. This highlights the need to consider differentiated stressor conceptualizations in research on antecedents of employees’ well-being. However, job autonomy showed neither a direct nor a moderating effect on anxiety.

Grace, place and space: fostering employee technological innovation in the new normal

PurposeThe ongoing shift to telework has brought about tremendous opportunities for employees to reimagine their use of technology. Opportunities abound for both discovering new technologies and new uses of existing technologies. However, opportunity alone is not enough to turn ideas into action. This opinion paper aims to identify grace, place and space as key concepts that can help managers navigate challenges and opportunities for technological innovation posed by telework.Design/methodology/approachThe authors provide a concise review of related research and events that inform the selection of conditions necessary to foster employee technological innovation.FindingsThe authors identify three primary conditions necessary to foster employee technological innovation – grace, place and space. “Grace” refers to employee autonomy, “place” refers to networking and “space” refers to a reduction of overload. While telework may create opportunities for innovation, it also presents difficulties. Therefore, for each condition, the authors discuss inherent tensions and advise managers regarding how they can resolve those tensions and bring about innovation with a decentralized workforce.Originality/valueThe authors situate the discussion on facilitating conditions that foster employee technological innovation in today's current environment, one in which a rapid expansion of telework among employees is creating difficulties for managers. This paper addresses the “new normal” that managers will face for the foreseeable future.

Strengthening supervisor support for employees with common mental health problems: developing a workplace intervention using intervention mapping.

BackgroundThis study presents the development of a workplace intervention to strengthen supervisor’s support for employees with common mental health problems (CMHP). CMHP have been increasing over the last years, resulting into negative work outcomes, such as absenteeism or reduced work performance. To date, organisational interventions have been promising in preventing these negative work outcomes, however it is yet unknown in what way the role of workplace stakeholders, in particular supervisors, can be strengthened. This study contributes to the literature of interventions on an organizational level which uses a preventative approach by promoting stay at work among employees with CMHP through supervisor support.Methodswe applied the intervention mapping (IM) approach, by actively involving workplace stakeholders (employees with CMHP, supervisors and occupational health professionals) through the development process and the use of Integrated model of behaviour prediction for employers. All six steps of IM are followed and thematic analysis was used to analyse interviews and focus groups.ResultsBased on a comprehensive needs assessment, the intervention resulted in an online guideline, with five step-wise themes on how to support employees with CMHP to stay at work (SAW). The guideline addressed the most important and changeable actions using the Integrated model of behaviour prediction. The guideline presents how to signal and address problems in the workplace and find solutions by stimulating autonomy of employees, explore job accommodations and ask for occupational support. In addition, basic conditions on how to create mentally healthy workplaces were presented. Coaching sessions by occupational health professionals, that include practical strategies using the best available evidence, were identified by the stakeholders.ConclusionsThis SAW-Supervisor Guideline-intervention responds to the need of supervisors to be supported in their role, responsibility and ways to support employees with mental health issues, through a behaviour-oriented, preventative approach. Intervention mapping provided a systematic process to identify, structure and prioritize factors of supervisor support, resulting in a novel workplace intervention. The active involvement of workplace stakeholders throughout the process resulted into a well-received intervention. The theoretical framework provided practical ways to induce supportive behaviour of supervisors, bridging theory with practice.

RESILIENT EMPLOYEES IN RESILIENT ORGANIZATIONS: THE INFLUENCE ON COMPETENCY OF AN ORGANIZATION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

This research investigates the aspect that impacts the autonomy of employees and sustainable HRM involved in corporate recognition against competitors and propensity to leave. This stud supports the idea that resilient employees have the autonomy to change the status of an organization. This study focused solely on employee resilience on the two effects of perceived insider status and perceived external prestige in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the linkages that exist between the study factors. This study further analyzed that job autonomy may also enhance the employee’s capability and potential to try and do their job in the best possible way. Moreover, In this study, questions (items) were taken from previous research studies that were cited in reputable SCI or ESCI publications. Additionally, sophisticated PLS software was employed to carry out the structural equation modeling. This mechanism is based primarily on the subject's comfort to exact process the participants for having to respond to the studies tool or amassing data. Further findings discuss in the study.

How posting in social networks affects employee-based brand equity

PurposeThough employees are important stakeholders of a brand, their role in building brand equity has long been neglected. This study aims to deepen the understanding of employees’ brand co-creation efforts and their contribution to employee-based brand equity (EBBE).Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses implicit and explicit communication activities by employees on the social media network LinkedIn and quantifies the contribution of their posts to EBBE. Data has been gathered from more than 1,300 posts and 130 private accounts, representing different employee groups of five corporate brands.FindingsThe investigation illustrates the high importance of brand co-creation in social networks by employees and helps practitioners to better understand the underlying processes.Research limitations/implicationsCase-study research has limitations of generalisability. However, the authors unveil important limits to exploiting the autonomy of employees’ word-of-mouth communication.Practical implicationsUnder a co-creative perspective, every social media activity of an employee can be a positive contribution to a brand’s equity. Therefore, companies should closely monitor EBBE.Originality/valueThe authors draw on basic conceptual insights and empirical work by other researchers but extend and interpret them in a new context. The study provides initial indications of key antecedents of and barriers to successful management of employees’ brand co-creation activities.

How do work engagement and work autonomy affect job crafting and performance? An analysis in an Indian manufacturer

PurposeThe authors examine the interactive effects of work engagement and work autonomy in enhancing job crafting behaviour and performance.Design/methodology/approachDyadic data from a sample of 320 white-collar employees in an Indian manufacturer are analysed through structural equation modelling.FindingsThe level of job crafting is highest when both work engagement and work autonomy are high. Job crafting fully mediates the interactive effect of work engagement and autonomy on task performance and partially on contextual performance.Practical implicationsThere is value in reviewing organisational constraints on employee autonomy to foster the ways in which highly motivated workers can craft their jobs and, thus, maximise their performance.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the interactive effects of work engagement and autonomy in enhancing job crafting and, through this mechanism, employee performance.

Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity: A Case Study on Stress Management Policies of TCS and Infosys

Purpose: Stress is the body’s physical or mental reaction to adversity. It has become more prevalent because of dynamic social factors and changing lifestyle demands. Physical, mental, and behavioural changes occur as physiological responses to an external condition. Stress is a part of everyone’s life, and IT professionals are no exception. Individuals working in the information technology field are under more stress because they are target-driven and expected to deliver results. As technology and new-age facilities become more widely available, this pressure will increase. As a result, the industry has confronted the issue rather than avoided it. It is a positive sign because it could add significant value to the industry. This paper has attempted to study the stress management strategies adopted by TCS and Infosys. Methodology: To meet the objective of the paper, secondary sources of data which included books, journals, articles, Google Scholar, newspapers and websites are used. Findings: According to the findings, Infosys and TCS have well-designed coping strategies at the organisational level. Strong management strategies are also likely to reduce unhealthy stress in both TCS and Infosys by increasing employee autonomy, training, working environment, time frames, career development, and support networks. Originality/Value: This paper attempts to study the best practices adopted by TCS and Infosys' in stress management using secondary data. This research will enable the management of both TCS and Infosys to redesign their policies and strategies to reduce the existing high employee attrition and encourage productivity improvement in the organization. Also, the study will enable the readers, researchers and practitioners (HR Managers) to have a professional approach in addressing the critical issue of employee attrition focusing on stress management. Paper Type: Case Study.

Transformational Leadership Contributions for Employee Autonomy

The performance of a company is affected by several variables and understanding them and knowing how they work is decisive for management. Therefore, this research aims to address and measure how transformational leadership impacts the employees' work. To test the conceptual model, we used survey data from 174 active workers. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Our results reveal that leaders who adopt a Transformational approach allow workers to be more autonomous in their work, the autonomy leverage the existence of efficiency in tasks and processes. Efficiency is also reached through cost savings, which translates into a reduction of unproductive work time. Furthermore, results indicate the mediating effect of efficiency and employee autonomy on the relationship between transformational leadership and cost savings and between transformational leadership and unproductive work time.

The Relationship between School Leadership and Teacher Motivation in Kuwait

The main aim of this paper was to examine how school leadership influences teacher motivation in Kuwait. This purpose has been fulfilled using both graphical and statistical analysis methods applied to primary quantitative data. The data was gathered from 108 Kuwaiti teachers from 15 Kuwaiti schools, including the author’s school. It can be concluded that school leadership has a strong positive effect on the degree to which Kuwaiti teachers are motivated in the workplace. The carried out analysis has demonstrated that monetary rewards and working conditions quality statistically predict the participants’ motivation level. Considering the limitation of this paper, it can be recommended that the future researchers in the field should examine the impact of motivation and hygiene factors such as employee autonomy, personal development opportunities, emotional support and non-monetary rewards on the motivation of Kuwaiti teachers. Furthermore, it is recommended that the future researchers in the field should contact a greater number of Kuwaiti teachers in order to add to internal validity and reliability. Finally, it is recommended that the future researchers should gather data from Kuwaiti school leaders to arrive at more comprehensive conclusions concerning the link between school leadership and teacher motivation in Kuwait.

The impact of behavioral aspects on the social capital of the tax service of Ukraine

The strategic direction defined by the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU is the urgent formation, development and increase of social capital, which is the basis for improving the standard of living of people, increasing its potential and realizing the needs of the modern economic space. One of the key directions of the state economic process is the tax service of Ukraine, which makes a significant contribution to the development of the country's prosperity and the lives of citizens. The article is aimed at analyzing the combination of the concept of social capital and methods of behavioral aspects of the tax service of Ukraine for the formation of positive conclusions and the further implementation of the interdisciplinary paradigm. Social capital appears where the interaction and interrelationships of human capital and society are formed. The social capital of the tax service originates from vertically integrating relations, combining the macroeconomic level of socio-economic, state, political regulation, adhering to legal norms and social values of society. Establishing office work and returning employees to their jobs after a long time of remote process related to the pandemic, and at the moment with military action, should be a chance for a new progressive transition of work methods, providing opportunities and encouraging flexibility, creativity and autonomy of employees, claiming to soften the schedule and trust of management. People are tired, the desire to rethink and reorganize the workflow, the topic is relevant and needs rethinking and further analysis.