The design of a job has a great impact on whether or not the job itself is motivating. One of the characteristics of a job design is autonomy, which is the extent to which the job entails substantial freedom and decision making in carrying it out. What is true about autonomy?
• Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation – what drives a person from inside versus outside rewards • How control, responsibility, and decision-making affect how meaningful a job feels • The role of job design in making work more satisfying and engaging
• Ask yourself: when people have more say in how they do their work, does that usually make the work feel more rewarding on the inside, or does it mostly change external rewards like pay and bonuses? • Think about a job where you had a lot of freedom to decide how to do tasks. Did that increase your inner enjoyment and sense of ownership, or mainly affect outside rewards? • Which type of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic) is most closely linked with feelings of autonomy, mastery, and purpose?
• Be clear on the difference: intrinsic motivation = internal satisfaction/interest; extrinsic motivation = external rewards/punishments • Focus on what autonomy changes directly: the worker’s sense of control and ownership, not necessarily pay or external rewards • Eliminate any choice that reverses the usual link between autonomy and feeling personally motivated and engaged by the work itself
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