The effect of organisational and job autonomy on employees' psychological ownership of the organisation post hybrid and work-from-home

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had a pro-found impact on employees. With companies having to rapidly adopt hybrid and work from home arrangements, employee’s ways of working, their organisational structures, and team dynamics has changed at an unprecedented pace. Whilst the pandemic is no longer considered to be a global health emergency, organisations are reconsidering their work arrangement policies, as global developments have resulted in changes in the way companies interact across borders and business functions as relationships between countries evolve. These events have resulted in changes in employees’ job and organisational designs, the impact of which is unknown. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between employees organisational and job autonomy on their psychological ownership of the organisation, post the adoption of hybrid work arrangements. Psychological ownership is a construct in human resource management that reflects the feeling of “It is Mine” in the employee and is associated with positive organisational and employee outcomes. Utilising a quantitative survey study of 153 respondents, the study found statistically significant correlations between job autonomy and psychological ownership, and the strategic component of organisational autonomy and psychological ownership. Further, the study found limited significant difference in psychological ownership and work arrangements of the respondents. The findings contributed to understanding the relationship between job and organisational autonomy and psychological ownership of the organisation, providing insight for theory, human resource development practitioners and managers.