The Autonomous Workplace

04.9.2017

Given the increasingly complex nature of work and working teams today, it is increasingly important that managers show high levels of autonomy – and that they promote an increased sense of autonomy in their employees. When they rely less on receiving explicit instructions, teams become more agile and, in most industries, more effective.

A collaborative management style encourages more creativity, greater communication and a division of responsibilities that empowers each team member. Such a style of management leaves employees feeling able to make decisions for themselves in a supportive environment.

The link between mindfulness and an autonomy supportive management style

Research suggests that an autonomy-supportive management style has a direct correlation with mindfulness. Mindful managers tend to connect with employees and encourage them to think for themselves. Such a management style involves seeing issues from different viewpoints, giving meaningful feedback, allowing choice in methods and encouraging employees to take on new projects.

It has also been shown that this style of management correlates with staff well-being. The less controlling a manager is, the more well-adjusted the employees are to the workplace. Conversely, if employees are feeling less empowered, they tend to feel less happy.

Mindfulness as a tool for coping with any work environment

Managerial styles vary across workplaces. Employees don’t always feel sufficiently empowered or receive the desired level of support from their managers. Most people don’t cope well with an unsupportive manager or an overly controlling boss.

Schultz and colleague’s research, mentioned above, also found that those employees who were more mindful were less frustrated by an unsupportive work environment. Even when managers reduced their independence to some extent, mindful members of staff were more content with the situation and more resilient. Mindfulness alone is never a solution for workplace ills, and poor management needs to be addressed, but when it is absent, at least more mindful employees seem to suffer less from that.

Developing autonomy

Mindfulness training can promote autonomy in the workplace. It can create a culture with more focus on the present moment. When people focus on the tasks at hand and on what needs to be done now, teams have greater clarity. When we’re mindful we communicate more openly about processes as well as outcomes. Instead of giving a big list of what we need done and when it needs doing, the discussion is as much about how it will get done and what steps can be made right now.

Mindfulness training increases empathy and an understanding of others and their needs. We all benefit from the job satisfaction that comes with empowerment and independence in the workplace. Mindfulness takes managers away from their own agendas and puts the focus more on the team so they can build up their levels of autonomy.

Managers with a controlling style can be their own worst enemy, blindly driving forward and imposing their vision on others. Mindfulness training allows managers to get out of the way and let their teams take more responsibility for achieving desired outcomes. That’s less stress for everyone concerned.

To learn more about mindfulness and autonomy in the workplace, contact rachel@mindfulnessworks.com, or call (+44) 01223 750660.