To combat this, more and more organizations are moving towards a culture of autonomy in the workplace. Instead of being told what to do by others, autonomous employees have more freedom over how they work, where they work, and when they work.
In this guide, we’ll explore:
Let’s explore a better approach to managing employees’ time, productivity, and output. It’s time to start giving team members more control over the way they work, so we can all enjoy better results.
Autonomy in the workplace refers to giving team members freedom when it comes to the way they work. It’s not about letting everyone write their own job description, but it is about delegating decision making, scheduling, and other aspects of the work experience.
Examples of autonomy in the workplace include:
You decide what workplace autonomy means to your organization. Start small by offering customizable benefits packages, or aim toward a work culture where everyone has total freedom over the way they work.
This isn’t just wishful thinking though — workplace autonomy actually delivers a whole range of benefits for everyone involved.
Giving employees autonomy in their job role and work environment can lead to benefits like:
With benefits like these, there’s no reason not to give your team members more freedom when it comes to their work life — especially when you discover there are some easy yet impactful ways you can make it happen.
Workplace autonomy just makes sense, but how do you make it a reality? Here are some of the most effective ways you can encourage, promote, and celebrate autonomy in the workplace.
Decide what your approach to workplace autonomy is and create a set of guidelines or principles. Provide guidance on which areas of the work environment your employees can customize, and offer examples on what this looks like. Promote your approach to autonomy in your onboarding process, so your new hires know what to expect right from the start.
Workplace autonomy thrives in a company culture where trust, transparency, and honesty are key principles. Build a culture that expects honesty and promotes openness, and you’ll soon find that people naturally start to work more autonomously.
Give your team members a voice by hosting Q&A sessions with the senior leadership team. Encourage people to be candid about work challenges, setbacks, and failures. Give your employees access to insights on how your company is performing, what other teams are working on, and what your future plans are.
Invest in internal communications tools that match your goals. Set up Slack channels where people can connect over shared ideas and interests. Use Polly to set up a Suggestion Box with a linked public channel, so everyone has full transparency over your responses. Host video calls with specific purposes like brainstorming sessions, problem-solving sessions, or Zoom icebreakers to help others get to know each other.
In an autonomous work environment, employees should have access to opportunities for skill development and learning. Promoting life-long learning doesn’t just give your employees access to new skills. It can also help you spot those with special talents or leadership qualities, so you can reward them with more opportunities to grow.
Give your team members access to online learning platforms, host “lunch and learn” sessions where they can learn a new skill from another team member, and offer stipends for continuous education.
Polly makes this super easy. We have a range of features that make employee feedback a seamless part of your employee experience. Run employee engagement surveys, send regular check-ins with our Weekly Team Check-In template, and invite people to get involved with our Meeting Prep template.
This isn’t just something we encourage, but it’s something we actually do. Learn more about how Polly has created systems of continuous feedback and what the impact has been.
Empowerment plays a big role in workplace autonomy, and a great way to make that easy is to encourage your team members to set their own goals. Simplify this process and promote it by creating the right environment and offering the right tools.
Invest in software that allows your team members to set, customize, and track their own goals and to-do lists. Encourage them to use this to stay motivated, or come up with a way to gamify the experience and reward everyone for achieving their goals.
Come up with a list of staff awards your team members will actually want to win, and invite nominations. Host a monthly, quarterly, or annual employee awards ceremony online and offer thoughtful celebration awards for good work. Make this part of your team meetings too, with space on the agenda to celebrate good news and hard work.
Empower your team members to take control of the way they work, and end up with not only happier employees but a positive impact on the entire organization. Use these ideas to help you plan your own workplace autonomy changes and make them a reality.
As you consider all the ways you can encourage freedom in the workplace, bring Polly aboard as your co-pilot. Our feedback and coaching features give you a fresh way to engage with your team members, encourage feedback, and promote opportunities for autonomy.