Coming Up
Why “more autonomy” energizes some employees and demotivates others
Five workplace conditions that can motivate one person and drain another
The mirror trap: when managers prescribe their own medicine
A simple way to trace checked-out behavior back to an unmet need
A manager notices that one of her strongest employees seems a little flat. So she does what she thinks a supportive leader should do: she gives him more ownership, checks in less often, and gives him room to work things out for himself.
Three weeks later, he seems even more disengaged.
She is confused because, in her mind, she trusted him. He is discouraged because, from his perspective, his manager stepped back just when he needed more direction.
Neither of them did anything obviously wrong. That is exactly what makes this situation so common – and so easy to mishandle.
Yesterday, we looked at what employees tend to withdraw when they disengage. Today, we turn to the harder question: why does it happen?
The answer often begins with a simple truth that is much harder to put into practice: the conditions that help you do your best work may not help someone else do theirs.
Before we jump in, here’s a reminder of where we are in this Managing Employee Disengagement Challenge:
Day 2: Why High-Performing Employees Stop Going Above and Beyond
Day 3: Why Good Employees Lose Motivation at Work (You Are Here)
Day 4: How to Talk to a Disengaged Employee
Day 5: Can a Disengaged Employee Be Reengaged?
When Autonomy Feels Like Trust – and When It Feels Like Abandonment
Autonomy is one of the most celebrated ideas in modern management, and often for good reason. For many employees, being trusted to work in their own way is one of the clearest signs that a manager believes in them.
But not everyone experiences autonomy that way.
For someone who values clear expectations – or who is still finding their footing in a role – a sudden increase in independence may not feel empowering. It can feel like being left alone with all the responsibility and none of the guidance.
The check-ins that disappeared may not have felt like micromanagement to them. They may have offered reassurance that the work was on track, the expectations were clear, and their manager was still paying attention.
Our “Need for Control” survey of more than 19,000 people shows just how differently the same approach can land. Only 39% of ENTPs said they would rather receive specific instructions than figure out what needs to be done themselves, compared with 81% of ISFJs.
Give both employees the same assignment and tell them to “run with it,” and one may hear confidence while the other hears distance.
And autonomy is only one example. The same mismatch can happen with nearly every management lever a leader pulls.
Four More Conditions That Cut Both Ways
Managers often offer the following things as support. But depending on the person, each one can help or make work harder.
