Exploring the relationship between Job autonomy and employee engagement in turbulent times

Abstract

This study aims to develop and test a holistic model that depicts and examines the relationships among job autonomy, its drivers, as well as autonomous motivation and influence employee engagement. This research is among the first works to deal with such a complex framework that considers the interrelationships among numerous constructs and their effects on employee engagement. A questionnaire was designed to measure the influence of Job autonomy and its drivers on employee engagement while taking into consideration the impact of turbulent times and organizational commitment on these relationships. Data collected from a sample of 317 respondents working in Ethiopian commercial banks were used to test the proposed relationships. The relationships were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the Smart PLS 3 software and SPSS version 26. PLS is a well-established technique for estimating path coefficients in structural models and has been widely used in a number of research studies.  The proposed model proved to be fit. The findings of this study suggest that creating job autonomy and assuring autonomous motivation, may help companies gain employee engagement and enhance their performance. The adoption and implementation of such activities are driven by method, criteria, and scheduling autonomy. The successful implementation of these practices requires considering the level of turbulent environment and organizational tenure. The hypotheses were supported, and implications were discussed