Autonomi och kontroll: Den tekniska utvecklingens paradox. En kvalitativ studie av medarbetares och ledares upplevelser av teknologins påverkan på förhållandet mellan autonomi och kontroll.

Abstract

The study aims to investigate whether employees and managers in digitalized companies experience that technology affects the relationship between autonomy and control, and what consequences this has. Today the majority of companies in Sweden are digitalized in one way or another, creating new conditions for both control and autonomy. Technology has contributed to increased flexibility and efficiency of work. At the same time it has introduced deeper control through systems that promote visibility and demands for accessibility. Thus the duality of technology creates a paradoxical relationship between autonomy and control, ultimately impacting both employees and managers. The study shows that technological development has a paradoxical effect on the relationship between autonomy and control. Technology has created a subtle form of surveillance that is more pervasive and more difficult to avoid. At the same time the technology contributes to a freer form of work where employees can shape their own work process. Furthermore it is clear that the awareness of technology’s potential for increased control affects the individual’s experience of technology as inhibiting or promoting autonomy. The study includes managers and employees and the duality of technology is confirmed by both parties. On the other hand, leaders experience technology to a greater extent as less restrictive than employees. This difference can be attributed to the role of managers and the greater freedom of action it provides