How initiatives empowering employees can backfire

Date:
October 20, 2020
Source:
Michigan State University
Summary:
Strategies meant to motivate people in the workplace may have
unintended consequences -- depending on who's in charge. Recent
research shows that empowerment initiatives aren't necessarily
the answer for business leaders hoping to motivate their employees.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Strategies meant to motivate people in the workplace may have unintended consequences -- depending on who's in charge. Recent research from
Michigan State University and Ohio State University shows that empowerment initiatives aren't necessarily the answer for business leaders hoping
to motivate their employees.


========================================================================== "People tend to think of empowerment in uniformly positive ways," said
Nicholas Hays, study co-author and associate professor of management in
MSU's Eli Broad College of Business. "After all, humans crave independence
and control so giving it to them at work should be a good thing. However,
as people feel increasingly autonomous, they can also become unmoored
from others' needs, expectations and social norms." Hays explained that,
in recent decades, companies have increasingly implemented various forms
of empowerment initiatives that assume empowered leaders will translate
into empowered workers.

The paper -- published in Journal of Applied Psychology -- found
that, when properly implemented, empowerment initiatives can lead to
heightened motivation, productivity and creativity. However, whether these initiatives are effective at all levels of the organization depends on
the management style of the person implementing them.

Hays -- along with Broad College of Business colleague, Russell
E. Johnson, MSU Foundation Professor of management, and Hun Whee Lee,
assistant professor of management at Ohio State University and lead
author of the study -- found that superiors who value being respected
will respond to empowerment initiatives by, in turn, empowering their
workers. But, superiors who value being in charge will, somewhat
ironically, respond to empowerment initiatives by closely controlling, dominating and managing their employees.

The researchers conducted three separate studies measuring outcomes
of empowerment initiatives that considered personality trait data and
leader behavior.

"We found that leaders who really care about being respected by their subordinates tend to react to empowerment initiatives by 'paying it
forward' with certain behaviors. This could include things like allowing subordinates to set their own goals or decide how to accomplish tasks,"
Lee said. "In contrast, leaders who prefer to be in control and tell
others what to do tend to react to these initiatives by doubling down on
their desire for control. This is when we see things like micromanaging or setting specific goals for subordinates." If an employee is uncomfortable
with a superior's leadership style, the researchers say it may be
beneficial to have a candid conversation between worker and boss.

"Many leaders are receptive to feedback and want to provide employees
what they need to succeed at work," Hays said. "If that doesn't work,
looking for different groups to join -- either within an organization and
with a different supervisor or even by changing organizations altogether
-- is sometimes the best option." And in the unprecedented workplace environment of 2020, Hays also offered insight into what he believes
the paper's findings may indicate for employees in real time.

"To the extent that leaders prioritize dominance and being in charge,
they may go out of their way to micromanage employees by, for example, monitoring their online status and requesting frequent check-ins," Hays
said. "I wouldn't necessarily characterize this as abusing an empowerment initiative, but certainly could rub employees the wrong way."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Michigan_State_University. Original
written by Caroline Brooks and Zach Richardson. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Hun Whee Lee, Nicholas A. Hays, Russell E. Johnson. To thine own
(empowered) self be true: Aligning social hierarchy motivation
and leader behavior.. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2020; DOI:
10.1037/apl0000813 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201020161215.htm

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