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A workforce that is able to complete their tasks efficiently and to a high standard is important for encouraging your business to grow. While some believe that the way to achieve this is with hands-on management and supervision, encouraging autonomy at work is an extremely effective method of getting great results from your employees in the long term.
In this article, we’ll be exploring job autonomy, why it’s important, and how to encourage autonomy in the workplace.
What is autonomy in business?
So, what is autonomy in business?
Job autonomy refers to the freedom given to employees to manage themselves and how they work. This includes the ability to set their own deadlines, design their own processes for completing projects. Employees with high levels of autonomy should be able to perform their roles without the need for continuous supervision.
Autonomy at work allows individuals to take ownership of their roles, helping to boost motivation and enthusiasm while also offering the freedom to work in ways that suit them best. As well as supporting employees, the ability to self manage effectively reduces the burden on team leaders and senior employees.
Examples of autonomy in business
Autonomy at work comes in many different forms, allowing employees to choose ways of working that suit their needs and preferences. While some may be an intrinsic part of the job role, such as the ability to manage their own deadlines, others act more like supportive perks.
Autonomy in business may include giving employees the freedom to:
- Set their own working hours
- Adopt remote or flexible working arrangements
- Choose which tasks they work on
- Manage their own projects and deadlines
- Set their own goals and objectives
- Design their own processes for completing tasks
- Use their preferred tools and software
- Take on additional tasks and responsibilities
What are the benefits of giving your employees autonomy in the workplace?
Autonomy at work helps to provide a more positive employee experience while also increasing efficiency and productivity. Let’s dive into the benefits of giving your employees greater levels of autonomy in the workplace.
Increases employee engagement
Giving employees more control is a great way of boosting employee engagement. Encouraging individuals to take ownership of their day-to-day activities allows them to feel more actively involved in their work. Autonomy in the workplace also fosters a culture of trust and helps employees to connect better with company-wide goals.
Improves work-life balance
Employees with more autonomy at work tend to be able to build flexibility into their schedules. This can help them to meet their deadlines while also having time for their personal life and family responsibilities. A healthy work-life balance is beneficial for employees as it reduces stress and supports their mental and physical wellbeing.
Supports employee retention
By helping to increase engagement and improving work-life balance, job autonomy encourages employees to connect with the organisation on an emotional level. This can have a positive impact on staff turnover rates, providing a more enjoyable and fulfilling employee experience that encourages them to stay in their roles for longer.
Boosts productivity
Providing more autonomy in the workplace is a great way to increase productivity as it can help to motivate disengaged employees. Individuals who have displayed a drop in productivity or a decline in the quality of their work can benefit from being given greater ownership over their roles and responsibilities.
Inspires creative thinking
Employees who are constantly supervised by micromanagers or restricted by inflexible schedules and processes lack the freedom to think creatively. Job autonomy gives individuals more opportunities to explore new ideas and ways of working, which could also benefit their colleagues and support the business.
How can you encourage autonomy in the workplace?
To be successful, HR strategies revolving around autonomy in business should be carefully considered to ensure that employees have the tools and support they need to thrive in their roles. Let’s look at some examples of how you can encourage autonomy in the workplace.
Build a culture of trust
Establishing trust in the workplace is important to ensure that managers and senior team members feel confident allowing employees to work autonomously. Make sure to set expectations for employees, monitor performance, and gradually offer more autonomy as they prove their capabilities. Introducing self-managed teams can help your organisation to increase independence while still offering a collaborative approach.
Focus on effective communication
As you increase autonomy at work, effective communication is essential to make sure that everyone remains on track with tasks and deadlines. Informal communication in the workplace offers great opportunities to catch up with employees. It allows them to ask questions and receive feedback in a more casual setting, encouraging a sense of independence while still giving them the chance to discuss important issues.
Support flexible working
Offering hybrid working models makes it easier for employees to self manage, giving them more freedom over their working hours. By their very nature, these environments require job autonomy as remote employees tend not to be formally supervised. They may also be working non-standard hours, meaning that their direct manager might not be available to delegate tasks or check in on progress.
Optimise the hiring process
When hiring for a role, focus on recruitment techniques that help to identify candidates with the soft skills necessary to effective self management. Set expectations by making sure that the expected level of autonomy is made clear in the initial job listings, and explain the ways in which your organisation is supporting autonomy in the workplace as part of the interview process.
Reward good work
Rewarding good work can encourage individuals to take job autonomy seriously. This recognition helps to ensure that employees aren’t simply coasting through their roles and responsibilities, but working hard to meet their own goals, and the goals of the wider organisation. Effective performance management is essential to make sure employees are on track, as well as to reward them or intervene as necessary.
Leverage HR software
Managing individual employees can be complex even in the most straightforward of businesses. HR software offers a wide range of functionality that can support autonomy in the workplace, including tools for managing employee performance, absence and benefits. Employee self-service portals also encourage autonomy by giving individuals ownership over tasks such as requesting leave or downloading payslips.
Manage your employees while encouraging job autonomy with PeopleHR
Autonomy at work offers many benefits for both employers and their teams. While it can be daunting to give employees more responsibilities, having more freedom to structure their own working days can encourage them to be more productive while supporting a healthy work-life balance.
HR software is an extremely useful tool for supporting autonomy in business, giving HR professionals, managers and employees access to the important information they need to perform their roles. To find out how PeopleHR can help you to encourage job autonomy, explore our free demo, or contact us to discuss your business needs in more detail.
