An Exploration of the Relationship Between Autonomy Congruence, Perceived Supervisor Individualized Consideration, and Employee Outcomes

• Author: Jaehee Jong,Michael Ford
• Published date: 01 September 2021
• Date: 01 September 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X20917185
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X20917185

Review of Public Personnel Administration

2021, Vol. 41(3) 566 –592

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X20917185

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Article

An Exploration of the

Relationship Between

Autonomy Congruence,

Perceived Supervisor

Individualized Consideration,

and Employee Outcomes

Jaehee Jong1 and Michael Ford2

Abstract

Human resource practices requiring employee participation or involvement in

work-related decision-making have been commonly believed to be beneficial to

work outcomes; however, we suggest that the effects of those practices on work

outcomes can be limited by individual preferences, which influence the perceived

quality of supervision. Drawing upon prior research on work structure, person–

environment (P-E) fit perspective, and perceived organizational support, we examine

the joint effects of autonomy and preference for autonomy on employee work

outcomes (task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors) that are

mediated via perceived supervision (individualized consideration) among U.S. state

government employees. The results showed that the congruence between autonomy

and preference for autonomy was associated with the highest level of perceived

individualized consideration by supervisors, highlighting the important role played by

perceptions of the supervisor behavior in promoting employees’ positive attitudes

at work.

Keywords

autonomy, supervision, person–environment fit

1Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

2The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jaehee Jong, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Northern Illinois University, 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy.,

DeKalb, IL 60115-2828, USA.

Email: jjong@niu.edu

917185ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X20917185Review of Public Personnel AdministrationJong and Ford

research-article2020

Jong and Ford 567

Introduction

Management scholars and researchers have long accepted that autonomy, defined as

“the degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discre-

tion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be

used in carrying it out” (Hackman & Oldham, 1976, p. 258), has a variety of positive

effects on employee attitudes and behavior (e.g., Bandura, 2001; Conger & Kanungo,

1988; Hackman & Oldham, 1980). Self-determination theory, one of the most widely

cited theories of human motivation, suggests that autonomy is a fundamental psycho-

logical need that facilitates self-motivation and healthy psychological development

(Ryan & Deci, 2000). Accordingly, it is commonly assumed that workers prefer more

autonomy and less centralization at work. Giving employees more control and auton-

omy is also presumed to facilitate more positive perceptions of supervisor and organi-

zational supportiveness because employees attribute favorable working conditions in

part to the discretion of their managers and employers (Kurtessis et al., 2017).

However, drawing from the management literature on person–environment (P-E)

fit (Edwards, 1996; Kristof, 1996), we argue that the benefits of autonomy for public

sector employees’ attitudes toward their supervisors may not be universal. In particu-

lar, the employees’ preference or need for an autonomous environment may be an

important boundary condition for the positive effect of job autonomy on perceptions

of supervisor supportiveness. Previous studies on autonomy have examined different

contexts in which autonomy operates (e.g., Adler & Borys, 1996; Bozeman & Kingsley,

1998; Langer et al., 2019), and we focus on individual values as contingencies for the

influence of autonomy on perceptions of supervisor individualized consideration, with

implications for worker behavior. We assume that not all employees equally prefer

autonomous or participatory environments and suggest that the ideal level of job

autonomy and control is in part based on individual preferences. Our argument for the

importance of considering both individual differences in preference and the work

environment together is guided by P-E fit theory (Edwards, 1996; Edwards & Parry,

1993),), which examines how job attitudes and other individual outcomes are explained

by the fit between individuals and their work situations.

In line with this perspective, we suggest that the fit between job autonomy and a

public sector employee’s preference for autonomy influences the extent to which the

employee perceives his or her supervisor as considerate of the employee’s individual

needs. Perceptions of individual consideration have been shown to be an important

factor in employee attitudes and behavior (e.g., Howell & Avolio, 1993; Stinglhamber

& Vandenberghe, 2003), rendering it an important outcome of P-E fit. Previous

research found that misfit between a job’s characteristics and those that would be

expected for one’s occupation predicts reduced perceptions of support from the

supervisor (Ford, 2012), suggesting that P-E misfit may indeed be an antecedent of

the perceived quality of the supervisor’s leadership. Employees may attribute the fit

between the work environment and their preferences to the quality of the supervisor,

influencing perceptions about whether they are supervised in a considerate and sup-

portive fashion. Considerate and supportive leadership is reflected in the construct