Is Your Team’s Autonomy Being Undermined?

Have you ever felt that urge to do the opposite of what you’re told? That’s psychological #reactance in action! 💡

In today’s constantly shifting world of work, knowledge of psychological reactance is a real advantage. Derived from the insights of Jack Brehm in 1966, it holds for the motivation experience of individuals when they confront a limitation of choice freedom. When employees feel their autonomy is threatened, they might resist or rebel against policies and directives. This isn’t mere rebellion; it’s a natural, self-driven response to reclaim their freedom and choice.

🤔Why Does This Matter?

In this ever-changing reality, knowing the psychological reactance can be quite valuable. If the employees of a certain company feel that their freedom has been slashed, they will likely resist any changes and directives given to them. This isn’t defiance; it’s a natural process of reclaiming their sense of control.

For example, consider a company with a strict dress code policy. People who believe their self-actualization is being restricted might begin to rebel in some way, either by twisting the rules or by overt defiance. This resistance can result in demoralization, and thus a low level of productivity.

🤝 Recognizing Reactance Behaviors

For leaders and HR specialists, it is necessary to acknowledge the behaviors that indicate reactance. These behaviors point out that one gets to see which design strategies are sensitive to the needs of employees to make their own decisions. Rather than dictate the outcomes of their actions and force strict adherence to the rules, we can ask, through an employee survey, employees to make their own choices and coordinate their efforts. This approach helps us improve compliance and enhance performance.”

For example, instead of imposing strict working hours, one could offer flexible alternatives that allow employees to choose their schedules. This affords them their so-called ‘autonomy’ while at the same time building the spirit of responsibility and trust.

🧩 Strategies that can be utilized to combat reactanceInvolve

1. Employees in Decision-Making: In essence, employees must be involved in the decision-making process of change if the changes are to be accepted. This can include them, asking for their input on new policies and allowing them to choose their projects.

2. Communicate Transparently: Explain the Strengths and Opportunities of policies and changes to the teams. In this situation, the employee is more likely to understand the reasons for exercising freedom and is less likely to feel restricted.

3. Offer Choices: There is one more rule – in any case, you can provide a choice. For example, rather than deciding on whom to give a specific task, one should allow employees to choose any task from a list of available tasks. This simple act of the recipient can decrease feelings of coercion rather considerably.

4. Foster a Culture of Trust: To increase employee engagement, make them feel important in the organization, and trust them. For instance, during team meetings, highlight specific accomplishments and express appreciation. This recognition reinforces their importance to the organization or access to workshops, courses, or mentorship programs. Trust as a feature can help eliminate the negative impacts of reactance because interlocutors will respect one another and know each other’s needs, as this investment shows that you trust in their potential and are committed to growth.

🧠 Thought to Ponder

Concretely, how can one be sure that measures necessitating some behaviors are not overdone? But how can we implement these measures without falling into a rut, while ensuring the necessary openness and flexibility to sustain creativity, enjoyment, and self-sufficiency?

🗣️ Reimagining Leadership

Let’s rethink how we lead and build organizations that strike a balance between freedom and rules, where sensible laws come from the freedom of the people.

Yet, if we have a further understanding of psychological reactance it will be possible to establish environments in which individuals are empowered and motivated to perform at their best at the workplace. The variations of organization that include more autonomy and structure also imply the positive connotations of a creative work context and the subsequent increase in productivity.

Hence, dealing with psychological reactance is not only a means to minimize resistance, but it is about creating an organizational culture that respects the employee’s psychological freedom. Therefore, it can be seen that this will enable us to practice the management of people effectively and thus get improved results for the organizations.