20297: Independence and Volition: Understanding the Negative Consequences of Autonomy at Work

Autonomy is assumed to have beneficial implications for individuals, groups, and organizations. However, there is substantial empirical evidence showing that high autonomy can also predict negative outcomes. We review this body of work highlighting five narratives for the negative consequences of autonomy: it can be a burden for individuals, it can enable unethical or immoral behavior, it requires trade-offs across levels (e.g., group and organizational goals), autonomy and control can be paradoxical, and autonomy is not universally experienced in the same way. We suggest that alternative lenses of autonomy – either as independence or volition – change the mechanisms that explain these narratives. Together, this has implications for how we understand and explain the outcomes related to autonomy. Integrating theory on autonomy as independence or volition, the model we develop highlights that different strategies should be employed to manage autonomy for different ends. Overall, this review highlights that there is not a shared understanding of what we mean when we say autonomy, and future research should make assumptions about what autonomy is and how it functions explicit.

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