Being Your Own Boss and Bossing Others: The Moderating Effect of Managing Others on Work Meaning and Autonomy for the Self-Employed and Employees

Human Values and Selection into Supervisory Positions: Evidence from Nine European Countries

“…Our paper strictly follows this distinction because the conditions for becoming an entrepreneur differ substantially from those for becoming a wageemployed supervisor. See Nikolova et al (2021) for a comparison of some outcomes related to managing employees and supervising co-workers.…”

“…Berson et al, 2008), with attitudes and outcomes of subordinates (e.g., Abedi et al, 2017;Detlaff, 2005;Smith & Canger, 2004;Sverdlik et al, 2023), as well as with abusive supervision (Camps et al, 2016;Peltokorpi, 2017). Other studies suggest that supervisory responsibilities are associated with higher job meaning (Nikolova et al, 2021) and with higher job satisfaction (Jaakson and Ashyrov, 2022). Bloom et al (2012), using a survey among a large number of organisations across 20 countries, documented a substantial variation in management practices and the quality of management across the countries and sectors.…”

“…Regarding the focus of our study, it is important to stress that supervision is distinguished from managing employees by their employer, and the conditions for becoming an entrepreneur are substantially different from the conditions for becoming a wage-employed supervisor. SeeNikolova et al (2021) for a comparison of some outcomes related to managing employees and supervising of co-workers. 2 See, e.g.,Tett et al (1991) on job performance;Heineck & Anger (2010),Nandi & Nicoletti (2014),Maczulskij & Viinikainen (2018), as well as a survey byAlderotti et al (2023), on wages and earnings;Fletcher (2013) on employment status and wages;Heckman et al (2006), Borghans et al (2008), and Heckman & Kautz (2012 on a wider set of labour market and social outcomes.…”

Solo self‐employment––Key policy challenges

“…So far, limited attention has been accorded to escaping downward operational hierarchy which benefits only the solo self-employed, operating without employees. Warr (2018) and Nikolova et al (2021) demonstrated that "supervising hardships" may negatively affect the operational autonomy and job satisfaction of business owners. Consequently, autonomy-motivated individuals may favor self-employment over paid employment but at the same time may be reluctant to hire employees to not lose autonomy jeopardized by the responsibility for employees.…”