Restoring Employee Autonomy During COVID-19

The pandemic has impacted many employees’ experiences at work. For example, the risk of infection, job instability, stay at home orders, and social distancing can be extremely stressful for employees and harmful to their well-being.

One key aspect of well-being that has been impacted by COVID-19 is employee autonomy. Autonomy refers to feeling in control of one’s actions and being in tune with personal values and goals. When autonomy is threatened, employees can feel powerless and inauthentic.

Recent research in the Journal of Applied Psychology explored how people recover their well-being while a stressor is still ongoing. Data was collected from employees via survey shortly after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic and a national emergency in the U.S. Each participant completed three surveys over the course of two weeks. They were asked about their feelings of powerlessness, authenticity, and stress about COVID-19.

The results revealed that employees initially experienced feelings of powerlessness and lowered autonomy resulting from COVID-19 initially. However, over the course of the two weeks, feelings of powerlessness decreased, and feelings of authenticity increased. This is indicative of autonomy being restored. This process was even more pervasive for those with higher neuroticism—those who are anxious, depressed, self-conscious, and vulnerable.

Anicich, E. M., Foulk, T. A., Osborne, M. R., Gale, J., & Schaerer, M. (2020). Getting back to the “new normal”: Autonomy restoration during a global pandemic. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(9), 931-943.