Embracing Autonomy And Discretion At Work

Upgrade your perspectives and your people systems

Despite the Fed recently raising interest rates to 16-year high and more prognosticators pointing toward signs of an impending recession, the US continues to add jobs and unemployment remains near historic lows. As a result, the pendulum of power has shifted firmly away from organizations and toward the workforce. Many companies have capitulated with double-digit compensation increases and $25k signing bonuses, but these tactics are not sustainable in the long run. The more endurable and economically viable approach to inspiring talent to work for us may actually lie in something much less expensive: the freedom of choice.

The definition of discretion is the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice, while autonomy is independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions. The last few years admittedly forced organizations to award autonomy to their employees in ways never thought imaginable. Workplace norms have been abandoned for practical realities, endowing discretion on individuals who previously had little-to-no control over their time or their work. Despite the protests of traditionalists who prefer to go back to the way things were, the genie is out of the bottle.
 

Forward-thinking companies are embracing this concept of empowerment, and are ceding control to their workforce including when/where they work (flexible scheduling, remote), what they do at work (job crafting, internal side hustles) and how they are managed (self-management, digital administration). While these new ways of working require allowing individuals more authority and decision-making rights, the risk can be mitigated by the utilization of technology.  And no… I do not mean tracking technologies that paranoid institutions use to monitor keystrokes or confirm compliance with time-related requirements.

New collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams give us access to colleagues across the world with the click of a “join” button, while technologies like Google Drive make it easy for asynchronous work to happen anytime. More organizations are using assessment technologies like Talent Science to match people to work based on their behavioral characteristics versus an antiquated job description. And conventional HRIS platforms are transforming by using RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to allow front-line managers to make promotion, compensation and transfer decisions without jumping through endless hoops and approvals.

While these concepts may sound contemporary, the human need for freedom and control has always existed and has universal appeal. Today’s new norms like hybrid work require this flexibility, the next generation has made it clear that they expect it, and we have the technology to enable it without alienating our shareholders. Are you ready to start trusting your talent while avoiding untenable wage increases? Then consider upgrading your perspectives as well as your people systems.   

Author Bio

Marcus Mossberger is the Future of Work Strategist at Infor