Can Employees Be Given Too Much Autonomy?

Short Article #44

Q. DEAR MARK: I understand the need and benefit of work-independence, but can an employee have too much independence? What are some of the signs? –Eric

A. DEAR ERIC: While it’s a very effective tool for motivating and retaining good employees, granting work independence (autonomy) can be too-much of a good thing. Besides, the best approach for further empowering employees may have little to do with more autonomy.

There are three signs to look for before concluding that more job independence is definitely needed in your workplace:

No. 1, is your employee overwhelmed? Are they missing deadlines frequently? Has their morale or attitude grown more negative recently? Do they appear more stressed, tense or short on patience than normal? If so, then visit with your employee and find out what’s going on. Even the most dedicated employee can only take being ‘overwhelmed’ for so long.

Granting more autonomy can help in this situation, but only if you do two things: allow your employee to delegate appropriate amounts of their workload to others, and secondly, if you make expressly clear the overall goals and priorities which will impact the employee’s work going forward.

No. 2, is your employee under-whelmed? An under-challenged work load is more common than you might think. If you assign more work autonomy to an under-challenged employee, it could worsen the frustration they feel towards their job. Your employee might be thinking, “Great, I don’t have enough challenging work and now you want me to have more say-so in the work I do and when it’s supposed to be done?”

I read one study a few years ago which indicated that a majority of employees admit they can get their work done in about 60 percent the time, but choose not to. When employee’s are under-whelmed they usually show subtle signs like routinely working outside the boundaries given, or procrastinating on the work until just before it’s due.

Before you routinely assign more autonomy, first assess whether or not your employee is under-whelmed. If so, try expanding the job or assigning new, special projects. Later on, assess whether more independence could bring further benefit.

No. 3, is your employee disengaged? If the work-independence you granted is not welcomed then your employee’s job satisfaction may decline. For example, a large manufacturing company brought me in to get to the bottom of an employee morale issue. I discovered that the main source of the problem was that the workers did not want the increased autonomy they had been given. Why? To them, a management move like this could only mean one thing—they were going to be held more accountable for results! (Amazing attitude isn’t it?) Realize that some of your employees may have no desire for increased autonomy. Discuss it openly before you act.

Mark Holmes helps companies increase sales, service and employee performance. He utilizes twenty-four years of experience advising, training, and coaching some of America’s most successful small and large companies. His ideas on employee retention, employee motivation, customer service and leadership have been widely featured in major national media like FOX, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, BNET and The Wall Street Journal.