The Rise of Autonomy in Job Interviews

These days, job applicants are candid about their desire for autonomy, choice, and flexibility.  They often want some control over their schedules and work environments—including the power to choose when and where they work.

New Attitudes toward the Workplace

Workers have always valued a measure of flexibility and independence, but employers have usually set the boundaries. Now, potential employees are stepping over those boundaries and asking for specifics. “Do you have a hybrid program?” “Do I have to be in the office every day?” "Can I work from home on Fridays?" "Can I work 100% remote?" All these are questions job candidates would rarely ask 5 years ago, but they are common today.

These new attitudes about the workplace are a challenge for business leaders. They must navigate new workplace habits, cope with the legacy of the pandemic, and still foster an engaging workplace culture. The leaders who succeed are those who don’t get frustrated by what they cannot control, but instead learn to be effective in our new reality.

Growing Desire for Autonomy

This wish for autonomy isn’t new. In fact, our research shows that it held a very high value for people in the workforce as early as 2012. But the balance of power between employers and employees changed with the pandemic. Workers have wanted autonomy for a long time, but now they're in a position to demand it.

Harvard Business Review refers to the COVID-19 pandemic as the greatest change to work since the Industrial Revolution, but a broader societal shift toward self-centric habits began to prompt changes long before the virus emerged. This didn’t just start in 2019. We’ve been slowly moving toward isolation for much longer.

The Shift toward Isolation

We can see the shift toward isolation clearly illustrated by changes over the last several decades in the way we consume news and entertainment. Less than a century ago, families gathered around the radio to listen to broadcasts together and later did the same with movies and television. Then came personal mobile devices that enabled self-centric watching and listening experiences. What had once been communal experiences have become activities done in isolation.

When the pandemic hit, work from home became the norm out of necessity. We were forced to change the way we work entirely. The experience prompted employees to rethink traditional workplace habits, and as the pandemic passed, we found that many of our new habits had changed the way people feel about work.

A New Social Contract of Work

So, how is it that job candidates feel so comfortable voicing their expectations and asking about autonomy in job interviews today? How did autonomy evolve from a request into a demand?

The employer-worker relationship—what you could call the social contract of work—is very different from how we used to regard it. Workplace relationships were seen at the center of a circle with a solid line forming a defined boundary around it. Companies themselves set that boundary, which represented the norms of our work relationships, and people largely followed it. Obviously, it was an arrangement that business leaders had become familiar with and were comfortable working within.

The Impact of Talent Shortages

The company-driven work norm arrangement has been upended by a shortage of talent. The US has lost as many as 1.4 million workers from the labor force since February 2020, according to a US Chamber of Commerce analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. By 2022, the country’s labor force participation was just over 62%.

The new supply-demand dynamic is one reason for the shift from a solid, employer-driven boundary to a permeable, employee-defined boundary. The shrinking of the workforce has empowered workers and they are willing to use that clout. Our most recent data shows 66% of employees reported a net increase in their bargaining power. People feel much more comfortable and much more confident about setting requirements and asking for flexibility.

Autonomy vs. Satisfaction

Unfortunately, for employees empowerment doesn’t equal satisfaction. Full autonomy can also feel fully isolating. People have become exhausted by back-to-back virtual meetings. It's a one-way energy drain. Research shows that remote workers, who make up about 35% of the workforce, are getting burned out at a higher rate than before the pandemic, with 69% reporting they experience at least occasional burnout. Further, 58% say they plan to leave an unsatisfactory job in the next 12 months, showing that empowerment also does not equate to loyalty.

Prior to the pandemic and the boom in remote work, most of us were in the office together every day. We built relationships based on habits, personal interactions, and other factors inherent in physical closeness. Those relationships were more solid, and fewer people said they would be willing to leave. Today’s workplace relationships feel less solid because employees are burned out and feel empowered to find other employment.

Change What You Can Control

While employers may want people in the office, workers are not so eager. Our research shows that 51% of companies say they're experiencing resistance to being in the office. Just 10% of employers indicate that hybrid practices are increasing retention and improving engagement.

As companies continue to fine-tune hybrid work policies, significant focus has been placed on physical space. First, leaders must recognize that the purpose of the office has changed. Floor plans are shifting. With 47% of employers adapting their space to support a variety of activities, what used to be a static floorplate is now very flexible.

Designing Effective Workspaces

According to a 2024 Leesman survey, 47% of employees believe brainstorming and creativity are most effective in the office, while just 21% feel it’s effective online. This underlines the importance of designing spaces that matter. A company's space is something they control and influence. It can be designed in a way that helps employee teams be more effective. This is not just a human resources conversation. It is what drives business to ever-growing heights of success.

In-office mandates and workplace redesigns have improved results in recent years. Space design should concentrate on creating spaces that will attract new talent, engage and retain employees, and help teams and individuals perform. Office spaces must do more and be designed to support a range of needs, such as providing places to focus, collaborate, build social connections, and foster well-being.

Shifting habits have led to changes in workspace designs. More companies are doing away with assigned workspaces and offering more flexible seating arrangements so employees can work in a place within the office where they feel best. These ancillary spaces support culture and collaboration in the workplace. Other changes, such as using outdoor patio space and moving private offices away from outer walls to improve access to daylight and views, can make a difference for employees.

Building Collaboration

According to Leesman, meetings and collaboration are the top reasons employees come into the office. Therefore, our workspaces and culture need to encourage collaboration. When we come together and collaborate, we solve problems together. Collaborative organizations have higher revenue growth than those in non-collaborative organizations, with 79% of workers at collaborative organizations feeling well prepared to adapt to emergent business challenges.

Collaboration is key to culture, and culture is created by people working together. Businesses need physical presence to build their core culture. Why does culture matter? Because it drives employee engagement, and engagement is the extra energy that pushes a company forward. Without physical presence, it's difficult to create a culture that begets a highly engaged organization.