How leadership can help to mitigate the dark side of autonomy: results based on the German sample of the european working conditions survey
Backhaus, Nils ; Steidelmüller, Corinna
2021
32
3
182-218
future of work ; working conditions ; working time ; telework ; shift work ; survey ; data analysis
Working conditions
https://doi.org/10.5771/0935-9915-2021-3-182
English
Bibliogr.
"Structural changes in the world of work are accompanied by changes in work con-tent and working conditions, such as an increase in autonomy with respect to worktasks, working time and workplace. It is assumed that these aspects have a positiveeffect on health and satisfaction at work, but they may also blurry the boundariesof work and private lives and lead to self-endangering work behaviour. As leadershipbehaviour is particularly important for the safety and health of employees, weassume that it can also help to mitigate possible harmful effects of autonomy. Basedon data from the European Working Conditions Survey, we found that workingtime autonomy and working from home are positively associated with temporalboundarylessness. The construct mediates the association between working fromhome and unfavourable health outcomes. With respect to working time autonomy,it only mediates the relationship with both health outcomes when constructiveleadership is low. Thus, the two autonomy facets can be beneficial but mightalso deteriorate employees' health by blurring the boundaries between private andwork lives. In supporting employees by means of respect and guidance orientationand supporting employees, leaders can mitigate potentially detrimental effects ofworking time autonomy"
Digital
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