Future of Work
experienced professionals, most of whom were MBA and Executive Education students at Warwick Business School. More than 60 per cent said they knew someone who had been demoted from a supervisory role in an organisation they had worked for, and nearly half said they knew someone who had lost their managerial title. Thirteen said they could name multiple people this had happened to. Again, these demotions happened most frequently between the ages of 40–49. It appears that demoting or sidelining previously valued employees is a common practice. So why does autonomy peak so early for many employees? In truth, we do not know. No-one appears to have identified this trend previously and there is a strong case for further research to understand what causes the phenomenon. It cannot be adequately explained by workers changing employers and accepting a lower-level role in their new organisation. A relatively small proportion of those who reported having less autonomy had also moved jobs. Neither is it because workers with more autonomy are leaving the workforce in larger numbers. One thing we can say is that those who enjoy managerial status throughout their careers, and who are promoted again and again, are less likely to experience a loss of autonomy. Managers in the charity sector are also more likely to retain higher levels of independence. This may point to a stronger, age-based hierarchy in the sector. Why does this pattern of dwindling autonomy matter? Put simply, humans hate being monitored. The anthropologist Donald E. Brown listed
autonomy as one of the most basic human needs in his influential book, Human Universals . In the workplace, autonomy is widely regarded as a key source of motivation and job satisfaction. This is particularly significant when you consider two other trends. The first is the rise of hybrid and remote working. If this continues to spread, self-motivation is likely to become an increasingly important quality for workers. Employers should be mindful that lower levels of autonomy could result in experienced workers becoming less driven and less productive. countries are retiring later. This means they could spend a larger proportion of their careers working without the autonomy they crave. This could result in older employees who feel less loyalty to the organisation and are more inclined to take their skills and experience elsewhere. By the time the wider scientific The second is the fact that employees in many wealthy
community began to fully appreciate the potential of Karikó’s research, she had long since departed the university that demoted her. She took her expertise to BioNTech Pharmaceuticals in Germany, where she eventually became Senior Vice President. The company later worked with Pfizer to develop the first mRNA-based vaccine to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Few employees who are demoted or sidelined will go on to enjoy the success achieved by Karikó. But her story should serve as a warning to employers of the expertise they could lose if they sideline workers relatively early in their careers, when they have so much more that they could offer.
Learn about Behavioural Science in Practice with a three- day programme at The Shard.
Sustainable Development Goals
wbs.ac.uk | Warwick Business School
21
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog