The challenge of tied autonomy for traditional work stress models

Väänänen, Ari; Toivanen, Minna

doi:10.1080/02678373.2017.1415999

Cited by 32 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…These changes pose a major challenge to occupational health psychology. The basis for many of the models used in this field has been laid in the 1960s-80s, during which the industrial sector was strong and where the number of highly structured jobs that offered little challenge was large (Väänänen and Toivanen, 2018). These models (such Karasek's Job Demands-Control Model, 1979, the Job Characteristics Model of Hackman andOldham, 1980, andWarr's (2019) Vitamin model) were designed to provide organizations with the tools to create less stressful, more rewarding and more interesting jobs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going Your Own Way: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Motivational Demands at Work Scale (Mind@Work)

Taris

2020

Front. Psychol.

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In modern jobs, performing well at work requires to an increasing degree that workers manage and motivate themselves for their tasks. Rather than to rely on a supervisor, they must set their own goals, decide how hard they work to achieve that goal, and decide when the task is completed. This manuscript describes the validation of an instrument that measures the extent to which workers must deal with such "motivational job demands"; the Motivational Demands at Work Scale (Mind@Work). Using data from a Dutch (N = 308) and a Chinese (N = 681) sample of working adults, confirmatory factor analysis showed that this instrument was reliable and robust in both samples, and that the factor structures obtained in both samples were highly comparable. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that high scores on the dimensions of the Mind@Work were associated with higher levels of engagement, work passion, job crafting and innovation behavior, even after controlling for job control, and job demands. These findings suggest that motivational job demands can be measured in a reliable and valid way. Thus, more research that examines the potential of this new concept for well-being and performance of employees seems warranted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going Your Own Way: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Motivational Demands at Work Scale (Mind@Work)

Taris

2020

Front. Psychol.

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“…Our research proposes that knowledge professionals may have a specific composition of work-related well-being, which may be connected to the limitless nature of their work. Earlier studies show that work-family conflicts and sleep problems are common side effects on the upper level of the occupational ladder, where work is often openended and self-directed (Rugulies et al 2012;Väänänen and Toivanen 2018). The findings also indicate how often the pivotal occupational well-being models developed in the 1970s and 1980s do not adequately reflect the nature of knowledge work, nor are they suitable as a starting point for developing today's knowledge work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…More specifically, earlier research has neglected to pay attention to how socially determined time structures may frame knowledge work, how knowledge workers themselves experience the tension between high autonomy and high time-related dependency, and how these work characteristics may influence their well-being. In line with this, recent theoretical openings propose that current occupational health research should place considerably more empirical focus on the role of tied autonomy, as studies of occupational health psychology have not sufficiently understood the Janus-face of tied autonomy (Väänänen and Toivanen 2018). Therefore, the third aim of this study was to analyze the implications of current autonomy for well-being in knowledge work.…”

Section: Autonomy Temporal Conditions and Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…However, half of them also experienced strong ties with various networks, which considerably limited their autonomy (Toivanen et al 2016). This situation can be labelled tied autonomy, which is characterized by a high level of individual freedom to make decisions and plan one's work, but also by a high level of connectivity and temporal interdependency, because the work process itself is embedded in multiple social and organizational relationships (Väänänen and Toivanen 2018). In this context, autonomy may have a rather illusory character.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lost in Autonomy – Temporal Structures and Their Implications for Employees’ Autonomy and Well-Being among Knowledge Workers

2020

Self Cite

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Conceptual models based on the importance of work autonomy for employees' health represent important cornerstones in the occupational well-being and work stress literature. The objectives of this study were to 1) explore and understand the temporal conditions framing work among autonomous knowledge professionals, 2) describe how autonomy is experienced in knowledge work jobs, and 3) analyze the implications of current autonomy for well-being in knowledge work. The interview study consisted of 21 women and 13 men who worked in knowledge-intensive jobs in Finland. Analysis of the material shows that knowledge work is structured by different levels of transverse temporal structures: individual and social structures, and organizational and macrolevel structures. This creates a paradoxical nature of autonomy among knowledge workers, characterized by high task autonomy and intense socio-temporal interdependence. One can have strong autonomy and be tied at the same time. Unsynchronized time structures can lead to fragmented work, overwhelming work burden, and higher risk of mental health symptoms. It would therefore be advisable to establish collective temporal structures in organizations that create manageability and predictability. We conclude that models of occupational well-being and work stress should pay more attention to the social structure and temporal interdependencies that characterize knowledge work.

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“…Here, Karasek and Theorell (1990) discern between decision authority and skill discretion, but others such as Gangster (1988) has argued that seven domains of job control exist (tasks, pacing, scheduling, physical environment, decision making, other people, and mobility). In addition, it has recently been suggested that the increasing complexity in organizations affords new ways of assessing job control (Väänänen & Toivanen 2018). While employees today in general have more autonomy than previously, the autonomy is increasingly tied to, or contingent upon, a complex of inter-and intra-organizational factors.…”

Section: Participatory Organizational-level Interventions and Job Conmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceptualizing Job Control in Participatory Interventions – Collective Sensemaking as a Missing Link

Olsen¹,

Wåhlin-Jacobsen²,

Abildgaard³

2020

NJWLS

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Participatory organizational-level interventions where employees are invited to voice suggestions for improving the work environment have been claimed to increase job control. However, empirical studies suggest that the relationship is conditional, and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. To further our understanding, we highlight various weaknesses in current individuallevel conceptualizations of job control and argue that employees’ collective sensemaking relating to their job control is an important, yet overlooked factor. To demonstrate the principles of this sensemaking and how it shapes the participants’ engagement in the intervention, we analyze interactional data from an intervention with blue-collar employees. Based on this analysis, we discuss the implications of adopting a sensemaking perspective for research and practice.

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The challenge of tied autonomy for traditional work stress models

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Going Your Own Way: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Motivational Demands at Work Scale (Mind@Work)

Going Your Own Way: A Cross-Cultural Validation of the Motivational Demands at Work Scale (Mind@Work)

Lost in Autonomy – Temporal Structures and Their Implications for Employees’ Autonomy and Well-Being among Knowledge Workers

Reconceptualizing Job Control in Participatory Interventions – Collective Sensemaking as a Missing Link

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