Happiness at work is Autonomy

The key to happiness at work isn’t money–it’s autonomy

May 04, 2016

When I was around 10 years old, my stay-at-home dad went back to work. For the next few years, he switched jobs a lot. For a while he took portraits in a photography studio; another time, he managed a bookstore. He told me more than once that he was looking for a job with plenty of autonomy. He was an independent spirit and liked to see his own ideas implemented–traits that I inherited from him. To this day, I know personal autonomy is an important factor when he’s choosing a new role.

My dad isn’t the only one who believes some measure of independence is essential in the workplace. Studies have shown that autonomy makes workers more satisfied with their jobs and increases productivity.

“Autonomy is the antithesis of micromanagement,” writes Joan F. Cheverie, manager of professional development programs at the higher education and IT nonprofit EDUCAUSE. And it may be the best way to ensure your employees are happy at work.

In control of your destiny

In the workplace, autonomy essentially means having a job where you can make at least some of the decisions on your own. The degree of autonomy you have can vary dramatically, from having a say in your own goals or the projects you work on, to deciding when and where to do your work. For most people, it’s important to “perceive that they have choices, that what they are doing is of their own volition, and that they are the source of their own actions,” according to Cheverie.

This theory applies to groups as well as individuals. If a work team has the power to make decisions as a group—independent of higher management—that team is autonomous to some degree.

The science of autonomy

So what’s the big deal about autonomy? There are plenty of reasons why it’s worth caring about. One study in Taiwan surveyed 1,380 staff members from 230 community health centers. The more autonomy employees had at work, the more satisfied they were with their jobs and the less likely they were to transfer or leave their positions. Other studies have shown personal autonomy at work correlates to lower turnover among nursing-home workers, higher engagement at work for nurses, and increased job satisfaction among general practitioners in Australia.

Autonomy has also been shown to alleviate negative emotions felt by customer-service employees doing stressful work. According to Steve Maier, a psychology and neuroscience professor at the University of Boulder, stressors we can’t control are far more damaging than stressors we feel we have some control over. It’s even possible that autonomy at work helps determine our longevity: One study of British civil servants found a lack of job control contributed more to incidence of coronary heart disease than standard risks like smoking.

The importance of autonomy becomes even more clear when compared to the deleterious effects of micromanagement. According to one research paper, the costs of long-term micromanagement can include “low employee morale, high staff turnover, [and] reduction of productivity.” In fact, the paper’s authors note, “The negative impacts are so intense that it is labeled among the top three reasons employees resign.”

Clearly, giving workers more control over their tasks is one of the best ways employers can recruit and keep top talent. One study of more than 2,000 people across three continents found that “people were nearly two and a half times more likely to take a job that gave them more autonomy than they were to want a job that gave them more influence,” as New York Magazine’s Melissa Dahl reports.

Team autonomy also tends to decrease the levels of emotional exhaustion felt by individual team members. But in order for autonomy to work its magic, teams need to work as a cohesive unit. If everyone isn’t on the same page about what to do with their independence, the group finds itself uncertain about how to move forward, which actually reduces productivity and effectiveness. To ensure success, managers need to make sure there’s enough structure and leadership in place to keep everyone unified around the team’s goals.

How to hand the reins to employees

All this suggests that managers and bosses would be wise to start loosening the reins on employees and express confidence in others’ abilities to make good decisions. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

First, start small. According to the economic theory of loss aversion, we’re much unhappier when we lose something than when we are pleased when we gain something new. This is the case for autonomy as well. Taking autonomy away from a team negatively impacts the team members and their collective output. So start by increasing your team’s autonomy slowly, rather than risking giving them too much control and having to backtrack later.

It’s also important to find a balance between autonomy and structure. Cheverie suggests in her post at EDUCAUSE that managers “stop telling your staff how to do their job and, instead, set the strategic direction, deadlines, and benchmarks and then allow them to determine how to accomplish the job.” This leaves managers free to focus on high-level, strategic thinking, she says, and gives employees the freedom to design their own approach to the work itself.

Cheverie further suggests encouraging employees to set their own goals. “Self-chosen goals,” she says, “create a specific kind of motivation called intrinsic motivation—the desire to do something for its own sake.”

Finally, remember that the most important aspect of autonomy at work is a perceived feeling of choice. Whether employees are truly able to make their own decisions is less important than whether or not they feel that they are.

David Rock, executive director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, suggests giving employees a framework within which they can make their own choices: “Try defining the end result really clearly,” he writes, “and outlining the boundaries of what behaviors are okay, then let people create within this frame.”

Employees who feel oppressed by their lack of autonomy may want to talk to managers about potential leadership opportunities on certain projects. If that doesn’t work, it could be time to search for a new gig. Thanks to my dad’s advice and the research I’ve covered here, I won’t take a role that lacks autonomy. It may seem like a small aspect of my work life, but if it can impact my happiness, my job satisfaction, and even my health, it’s not something I’m willing to compromise on.

We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

r

6 hours ago

Mornings are pivotal. The feeling when we wake is often so powerful—energetic, miserable, or somewhere in between—that we define not just our days but ourselves by it: “I’m not a morning person,” we say, a shorthand that connects us in spirit to about half the human race, and separates us from the other half.
If mornings are dominated by the commute and school-run and email—all the rough-and-tumble of modern life, especially in cities—they’re something to get through, rather than to celebrate.
But mornings are also special. They come before everything else in the day, so what you do with them matters.
And while we’re often focused on being productive at work, there are plenty of other, more personal ways to capitalize on morning productivity—explorations and adventures that don’t necessarily have to be saved up as indulgences for evenings and weekends.
Carving out some early time to do something out of the ordinary can be mind-altering. You might need to set your alarm for an hour earlier than normal—but it’ll be worth it.
I set out this morning to find some inspiration for how to use the first hours of the day:

Bake

Luke Duffy scores sourdough at E5 Bakehouse.(Quartz/Cassie Werber)

Luke Duffy has been at work since 3.15am. Is he a morning person? “I think I have to be,” Duffy told me, as he turned out mounds of risen sourdough onto a tray.
Even for those of us who don’t bake for a living, baking in the morning makes sense. It’s cyclical: a slow, soothing round of mixing, rising, kneading, rising again. Duffy, who works at London’s E5 Bakehouse, has found that it suits his own rhythms: “Most of my optimism, my productive thinking, happens in the morning.”
At home, making dough the night before, ready for baking in the morning, is a way to avoid the truly early starts of professional bakers. Even taking the time to bake ready-made rolls and eat them with butter and coffee is a wholly different experience to grabbing a quick bowl of cereal on the go.

Dance

Morning raves. Sound like the silliest, most hipster-filled fads in town? They are; but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Morning Gloryville is a group that started staging 6.30 am dance parties in London in 2013 and have since become so popular they’ve since spread to more than 20 cities worldwide, from Toronto to Bangalore. The mission of Daybreaker, another transnational group, is “coming together to wake up our senses,” the site says.
It’s not easy to drag yourself out of bed to put on dance clothes and gyrate around in a pre-work, alcohol-free environment. But the benefits include a really great workout and a subtle sense of subversion for the rest of the work day.
If raving really isn’t your thing, turn off the news radio and put on your favorite music first thing in the morning. Even a kitchen dance party can make a big difference to your mood.

Learn

Depending on your own internal circadian rhythm—some people are indeed “larks” while others are “owls,” and age can affect when we are most productive and receptive—mornings can be a great time to learn a new thing, or enjoy something you already love, before the mind gets distracted by work and social lives.
Before starting my first job in financial journalism, I woke up an hour earlier every day and read about finance in bed. Not getting up allowed it to feel more like luxury than learning, even though it’s not the kind of reading I’d normally do there.
Learning languages, reading philosophy, studying works of art—can all be done without having to leave your cocoon.

Swim

Exercising in the morning is one thing, and we’ll come to that shortly. But swimming gets its own category; especially swimming outdoors.
Outside London Fields Lido in east London this morning, early morning swimmers cited different reasons for swimming early: a cure for insomnia; clearing the head; beating the crowds. But what many share is a feeling that to dunk yourself in a cool pool at the start of the day is a brilliant mood-changer.
“It’s the immersing yourself in water,” Laurie Nouchka, an artist and swimwear designer, told me as she stood at the side of the pool. “It brings you back to life.”

The great outdoors.(Quartz/Cassie Werber)

With this one, there are no shortcuts (showers don’t count, though you could try a cold one). To give yourself the best shot at getting to the pool, plan ahead. Work out your route to the pool the night before; wear your swimming costume, and pack your work bag. Just don’t forget underwear.

Talk

Even in homes packed with families or roommates, mornings can be insular—dominated by functional conversation or silence. Giving yourself more time one morning a week for actual conversation, when your brain is fresh instead of exhausted from the day, can be a revelation. It’s why mornings can be a good time to schedule therapy sessions.
A morning chat can help you work stuff out with a partner, get a deeper sense of what’s on your kids’ minds, or catch up with friends over a pre-work cup of tea.
The bravest will challenge themselves to talk to a stranger. It’s unusual to break the traditional commuter silence, but it can lead to rewarding interactions. (This morning, for example, I learned that Bernadette, the lido receptionist, has never been in the pool. It’s too cold. She only swims in the sea on holidays to Jamaica.)

Make love

Couples who work will know that the end of a weeknight isn’t the sexiest time. However much we might want to sink into our partners’ arms, it’s often to sleep, rather than anything else. Waking up earlier than normal can allow space for lovemaking when we’re fresh out of sleep, instead of while fighting to stay awake.

Work out

Ok, so exercising in the morning isn’t a new idea. But plenty of us lie in bed, feeling we should get up and go for that jog but equally desperate not to.
Quartz has already written about how to optimize exercise before work, so here’s the juice: Schedule workouts carefully, rather than trying to motivate yourself when you first wake. Start gently and stretch. Find a buddy, so you can spur each other on. Master the transition from gym to desk. And reward yourself so you’ll want to do it again.

Jogging by Regents Canal, London.(Quartz/Cassie Werber)

Journey

What’s the difference between a commute and more exciting forms of travel? Commutes are routine. They’re boring, taking you on the same old route every day. They also tend to happen while everyone else is traveling, and so involve cramped train carriages, clogged roads, and irate fellow commuters.
Experiment with turning your commute into a journey. Not every day, perhaps, but some days, take extra time and go a nicer route. If it’s possible, cycle or walk. Car journeys are a great time to listen to podcasts, and trains to read poetry—which can be short enough to be satisfying even if you only have a few stops.
One great way of seeing a commute differently is to take a camera, waking up the visual sense to what’s actually around you, and finding the beauty in the mundane.

And if you only have five minutes to spare…

Just stop somewhere quiet and listen (ideally with a beautiful cup of coffee, like the one from E5 above). Ok, mindfulness is trendy right now, but it works. Here’s a moment I recorded, from London this morning:
All the photos in this post were taken before 9 am, on my way to work.

Get the Quartz Daily Brief in your inbox:

For early morning delivery

Feel free to periodically send me announcements and special offers from Quartz.