Starting a habit, listening to another person, turning experience into better judgment. Explore 67 academic publications in eight fields through questions from everyday work.
What the research found → Connections to your work
Each entry includes the study’s participants, methods and conditions. “Connection to this page” is our editorial interpretation informed by the research.
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Choice & motivation
8 studies
Research on acting on one's own judgment, considering the meaning of work, room for choice, a sense of capability and support from others.
Foundational theory and conceptual review2005
Self-determination theory and work motivation
Distinguished motivation based on enjoyment from motivation based on accepting the value of the work, while treating both as forms of acting willingly. The account emphasizes environments that support autonomy, competence and relatedness.
Connection to this page
Provides theoretical background for an entry point where readers choose one habit to try in light of the purpose of their own work.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
A theoretical paper organizing self-determination theory and prior research to explain work motivation in terms of degrees of autonomy.
Scope and limitations
This is not a new intervention experiment or meta-analysis. It does not test whether simply offering options increases autonomy or whether leaving people to act alone is sufficient.
Marylène Gagné; Edward L. Deci (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362
DOI: 10.1002/job.322
Original research (repeated workplace surveys and a quasi-experiment)1989
Self-determination in a work organization
Managers' autonomy-supportive orientations were associated with subordinates' perceptions of work and satisfaction. Managers' orientations improved after the intervention, but the effects on subordinates were less conclusive.
Connection to this page
Consider how communication and relationships can support people's choices and attempts, then check the actual responses that follow.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Surveyed 23 managers and their subordinates in a large company at three time points. An intervention helping managers support subordinates' self-determination was evaluated at staggered times across sites.
Scope and limitations
The number of managers was small, and changes in the workplace and the handling of comparison groups introduced constraints. Changes in managers cannot be treated as equivalent to effects on subordinates.
Edward L. Deci; James P. Connell; Richard M. Ryan (1989). Self-determination in a work organization
Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(4), 580–590
DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.74.4.580
Meta-analysis2018
Leader autonomy support in the workplace: A meta-analytic review
Perceiving a supervisor as respecting one's perspective and choices was positively associated with autonomous work motivation, basic need satisfaction, positive work behaviors and well-being.
Connection to this page
Provides background for considering work conditions that offer room to think and choose, along with necessary materials and support from others.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined 754 correlations from 72 workplace studies, 83 independent samples and 32,870 people, examining autonomy-supportive leadership, motivation, basic needs and work outcomes.
Scope and limitations
Many studies were cross-sectional and used self-reports. Reverse relationships and shared measurement methods are possible. The evidence does not establish that supervisors' behavior causes the outcomes.
Gavin R. Slemp; Margaret L. Kern; Kent J. Patrick; Richard M. Ryan (2018). Leader autonomy support in the workplace: A meta-analytic review
Motivation and Emotion, 42(5), 706–724
DOI: 10.1007/s11031-018-9698-y
Original research (experiment)1994
Facilitating internalization: The self-determination theory perspective
An environment that explained the reason, acknowledged feelings and conveyed choice increased the tendency to accept engagement in the task as one's own.
Connection to this page
Explain the purpose of trying an action and leave room for the person to choose, rather than simply prescribing what to do.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Assigned 192 psychology students to eight combinations of meaningful explanations, acknowledgment of feelings and language conveying choice, then compared subsequent engagement in an uninteresting task.
Scope and limitations
This was a short task experiment with students. It did not directly examine sustained workplace behavior or performance, and it does not show that wording alone is sufficient.
Edward L. Deci; Haleh Eghrari; Brian C. Patrick; Dean R. Leone (1994). Facilitating internalization: The self-determination theory perspective
Journal of Personality, 62(1), 119–142
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00797.x
Foundational theory (integrating evidence from treatment research)1977
Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change
Explained the expectation of being able to act as drawing on actual accomplishments, others' experiences, verbal influence and bodily states. The theory connects these expectations with initiation, effort and persistence.
Connection to this page
Provides background for viewing an attempt and a review of what happened as information that can shape expectations about taking the next action.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Integrated theories of behavior change with evidence from treatment procedures involving direct action, observing others and emotional processes, presenting a framework for self-efficacy.
Scope and limitations
This foundational theory was developed largely from clinical behavior change. General confidence differs from self-efficacy for a specific action, and neither guarantees actual workplace ability or results.
Albert Bandura (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change
A meta-analytic investigation of the within-person self-efficacy domain: Is self-efficacy a product of past performance or a driver of future performance?
After adjustment for the time trend, the relationship between self-efficacy and later performance was weak and not significant. The relationship between past performance and later self-efficacy remained, with differences across tasks and conditions.
Connection to this page
Go beyond raising confidence: examine what happened in an actual attempt, then adjust expectations and the next action.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Combined studies of changes in the same person's self-efficacy and task performance over time, comparing past performance predicting self-efficacy with the reverse relationship.
Scope and limitations
These findings concern within-person change and cannot simply be generalized to differences in ability between people. They do not mean that self-efficacy is always irrelevant.
Traci Sitzmann; Gillian Yeo (2013). A meta-analytic investigation of the within-person self-efficacy domain: Is self-efficacy a product of past performance or a driver of future performance?
Personnel Psychology, 66(3), 531–568
DOI: 10.1111/peps.12035
Original research (workplace survey)2006
Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work
Job autonomy, self-efficacy for acting beyond a narrow task range, and flexible role orientation were associated with proactive behavior. Coworker trust was also consistent with a model operating through role orientation.
Connection to this page
Consider room for choice, a sense of capability and relationships with others, rather than attributing independent judgment and action solely to personality.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Surveyed 282 UK wire-manufacturing employees about proactive idea implementation and problem solving, checking self-reports against other people's ratings for 60 of them.
Scope and limitations
The findings are associations in one occupational group, not causal conclusions from manipulating variables. The study did not find that every form of supervisory support was effective.
Sharon K. Parker; Helen M. Williams; Nick Turner (2006). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work
Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 636–652
DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636
Original research (concept and measurement validation; field studies)1997
The concept of personal initiative: Operationalization, reliability and validity in two German samples
Measures of self-starting, forward-looking initiative were associated with assessments by close others, planning and executing plans, and action orientation. They were not associated with job satisfaction.
Connection to this page
View initiative through concrete actions—anticipating, choosing and carrying out work—rather than only through the strength of someone's enthusiasm.
Participants, methods, scope and bibliography
Participants and methods
Tested interview and questionnaire measures of personal initiative using two waves of a longitudinal study of 543 people in East Germany and a cross-sectional study of 160 people in West Germany.
Scope and limitations
The focus was on validating the concept and its measurement, not testing performance improvements from a specific habit or teaching method. Social and historical conditions also matter.
Michael Frese; Doris Fay; Tanja Hilburger; Karena Leng; Almut Tag (1997). The concept of personal initiative: Operationalization, reliability and validity in two German samples
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70(2), 139–161
