Responsible autonomy: The interplay of autonomy, control and trust for knowledge professionals working remotely during COVID-19

Abgeller, Neve; Bachmann, Reinhard; Dobbins, Tony; Anderson, Deirdre

Abstract

This article revisits the concept of responsible autonomy, analysing the interplay of employee autonomy, management control and trust experienced by knowledge professionals in the UK compelled to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. The authors theorise about the tensions and paradoxes of responsible autonomy in the contemporary context of the COVID-19 crisis, drawing on empirical findings gathered in May 2020 and May 2021. Many participants experienced increased autonomy and discretion, but also work intensification and blurred work–life boundaries. Interestingly, many accepted this paradox as a palatable trade-off for the autonomy of being able to work from home, particularly where there was reciprocal trust between employee and manager. Trust is the glue in responsible autonomy, yet exists in tension with intrusive managerial control.

Citation

Abgeller, N., Bachmann, R., Dobbins, T., & Anderson, D. (2024). Responsible autonomy: The interplay of autonomy, control and trust for knowledge professionals working remotely during COVID-19. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 45(1), 57-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x221140156

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Dec 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 20, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 20, 2022
• Journal: Economic and Industrial Democracy
• Print ISSN: 0143-831X
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7099
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 57-82
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x221140156
• Keywords: Control, COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge professionals, paradox, responsible autonomy, trust, working from home
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X221140156