- Project number: F 2593
- Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
- Status: Ongoing Project
- Planned end: 2028-02-29
Description:
The concept of empowerment generally describes taking responsibility for one's actions. In organisations, empowerment is understood as a process in which leaders allow their employees a higher degree of autonomy, share responsibility and influence over decisions with their employees, or transfer it to them entirely. The intention is to make work more attractive, motivating and agile for employees by increasing their participation and responsibilities.
However, high demands for employees and leaders may arise, which can lead to risks and unintended side effects of empowerment processes. For employees, the increase in responsibility and self-management can lead to work intensification, boundary dissolution and excessive demands. This can have a negative impact on the employees' health and well-being. These negative consequences may arise if the corresponding organisational conditions, such as organisational support, agile forms of work or a climate of trust, are lacking. In turn, leaders may experience role ambiguity as well as a loss of status and control as their responsibilities diminish. In extreme cases, organisational change measures can go as far as to reduce management positions altogether. The resulting ambiguity about the future of one's own position is not only negatively related to the health of leaders, but can also cause destructive leadership behaviour. These risks for employees and leaders can be mitigated or avoided through appropriate organisational conditions and support.
The potential side effects and risks of empowerment are examined in this research project. To this end, several studies that use different methodological designs will be conducted, including a systematic literature review, secondary data analysis, and longitudinal data collection. The results of the project will then be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences. Finally, the project results will enable the derivation of general recommendations for the design of empowerment processes that are based on the standards of good work design.