Work Autonomy and Independence in Saudi Arabia

The Key Findings

The recent employee engagement survey by Engagesoft has provided valuable insight about how employees in Saudi Arabia feel about their work autonomy and independence in their workplace. The key finding shows that in general, employees in Saudi Arabia have scored their autonomy and independence a 7.4 on a scale of 1-10 (1 being extremely dissatisfied and 10 extremely satisfied); this is the second to lowest driver in the Job Engagement Pillar, according to the survey results.

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What is ‘Work Autonomy’?

Work autonomy is the degree to which an employee has control over their work. This includes factors such as how much control they have over their work schedule, how their work is assigned, and how much freedom they have to make decisions. A culture that empowers employees to work in a way that suits them is one that enables employees to be successful at what they do and to take full responsibility.

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Work Autonomy across Segments in Saudi Arabia

Autonomy across Career Levels

Fresh graduates have scored the lowest at 6.9, compared to managerial levels, which scored the highest at 8.5. Organizations need to focus on providing equal opportunities to all job levels to help boost engagement levels as well as give extra attention to fresh graduates.

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Autonomy across Cities

Employees in Riyadh scored ‘work autonomy’ the lowest at 7.1. This compares to around 7.7 among other large cities in the Western and Eastern provinces. While we don’t have definitive insight into the reason why employees in Riyadh struggle with their sense of independence, we call upon HR leaders in the capital to prioritize work independence.

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Autonomy by Industry

Employees in the technology sector scored ‘work autonomy’ among the lowest across all industries at 7.0. We find this surprising given that employees in technology companies require a large room of independence and autonomy to innovate and bring about creative solutions to the problems they face. HR managers in technology companies should pay close attention to this score.

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Autonomy by Gender

Females have an overall score of 7.6 out of 10, slightly higher than that of men at 7.3. It’s refreshing to see that organizations are allowing their female employees the flexibility and independence they require to excel at their jobs.

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Why ‘Work Autonomy’ Matters

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Boosts engagement and motivation levels

When organizations grant employees the freedom to work in ways that suit them and allow them to be responsible for their own work, engagement levels naturally increase. That, in turn, increases motivation to work well and efficiently.

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Increases work/life balance

When working environments are able to adapt to their employees’ personal needs, it enables a more productive work/life balance for everyone. Giving your employees flexible schedules will increase their sense of independence and eventually your organization's engagement levels as a whole.

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Builds an environment of creativity, innovation and personal responsibility

Increasing employee autonomy to an environment of trust between employees, managers and teams. Trusting your employees unleashes their ability to think freely, innovate and take accountability for their outcomes.

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What Organizations Should Do to Drive Autonomy

HR leaders should work with other organizational leaders and line managers to establish systems and practices that assess and enhance the sense of autonomy and independence among their employees.  We share the following pointers as a place to start:

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1. Allow employees to have more control over their work schedule.

2. Assign work in ways that allows employees to use their skills and abilities.

3. Train managers to encourage employees to make decisions and solve problems.

4. Create channels to give employees the opportunity to provide input on decisions that affect their work.

5. Communicate the company’s vision and goals to employees so they understand how their work contributes to the company’s success.

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Next Steps

We highlighted in this article the average scores of ‘work autonomy’ in Saudi Arabia and also among some of the employee segments, sectors, and cities. 

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However, it’s vital that HR leaders take initiative to assess and survey employee engagement drivers (including autonomy) among their employees and create plans of actions tailored to their organization. 

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Engagesoft team will be happy to give you a demo of how you can leverage Engagesoft to survey your employees, and gain access to a rich set of dashboards and reports to identify the best plan of action to drive higher employee engagement in your organization.

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