Leader autonomy support in the workplace: A meta-analytic review

Abstract

Leader autonomy support (LAS) refers to a cluster of supervisory behaviors that are theorized to facilitate self-determined motivation in employees, potentially enabling well-being and performance. We report the results of a meta-analysis of perceived LAS in work settings, drawing from a database of 754 correlations across 72 studies (83 unique samples, N = 32,870). Results showed LAS correlated strongly and positively with autonomous work motivation, and was unrelated to controlled work motivation. Correlations became increasingly positive with the more internalized forms of work motivation described by self-determination theory. LAS was positively associated with basic needs, well-being, and positive work behaviors, and was negatively associated with distress. Correlations were not moderated by the source of LAS, country of the sample, publication status, or the operationalization of autonomy support. In addition, a meta-analytic path analysis supported motivational processes that underlie LAS and its consequences in workplaces. Overall, our findings lend support for autonomy support as a leadership approach that is consistent with self-determination and optimal functioning in work settings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11031-018-9698-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Contemplative interventions and employee distress: A meta‐analysis

“…Although some meta‐analyses (e.g., Lomas et al, , ) show small to moderate effects for burnout, these findings are likely to be biased upwards given the omission of unpublished literature in these studies, as well as the smaller number of studies included. Our finding, based on a broader sample of literature, is consistent with the notion that burnout does not easily respond to interventions that target the individual but rather may need to be combined with structural interventions that concurrently address the work environment (see Maslach et al, ), such as cultivating an organizational climate that is supportive of employees' ability to proactively engage in mindfulness or other behaviors that support their well‐being (e.g., Slemp, Kern, Patrick, & Ryan, ; White, Slemp, & Murray, ). We suggest that future research should directly consider the efficacy of contemplative interventions for improving job burnout, as well as multilevel approaches that simultaneously target both the individual and their work context.…”

Why and for whom does the pressure to help hurt others? Affective and cognitive mechanisms linking helping pressure to workplace deviance

“…Past research has shown a relation between subordinate intrinsic motivation and leader autonomy support (Gagné et al., ). Leader autonomy support refers to leader behaviors, such as “acknowledging worker perspectives, encouraging self‐initiation, offering opportunities for choice and input, communicating in an informal rather than a controlling manner, and avoiding the use of rewards or sanctions to motivate behavior” (Slemp, Kern, Patrick, & Ryan, , p. 707). Through these behaviors, leaders create an environment where employees view themselves as the initiators of their own actions within a supportive context, which in turn helps employees develop intrinsic motivation for the behaviors they engage in.…”

Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions

“…The diversity of countries being sampled in the current special issues is remarkable, with participants coming from Brazil, Israel, Belgium, Peru, Canada, Turkey, Malawi, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, and Korea, and with all studies reporting various benefits in relation to ARC satisfaction and costs in relation to ARC frustration (see also Benita et al 2020). Cross-cultural evidence has now been meta-analytically analyzed with autonomy as defined within BPNT appearing to carry similar benefits for individuals from diverse cultures (e.g., Slemp et al 2018;Yu et al 2018).…”

“…Basic psychological needs were broadly defined as critical resources underlying individuals' natural inclination to move towards increasing self-organization, adjustment, and flourishing (Ryan 1995). Abundant research, some of which has been summarized in meta-analyses (Ng et al 2012;Slemp et al 2018;Van den Broeck et al 2016;Vasquez et al 2016;Yu et al 2018), has since shown that these three psychological needs indeed play a prominent role in development, adjustment, and wellness across cultures, with strong implications for basic motivational science, applied practices, and even broad social policies (Ryan and Deci 2017).…”