Agentic work behaviour and thriving at work: role of decision making authority

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of agentic work behaviour and decision-making authority (DMA) to thriving at work and, more importantly, the moderating role of DMA in the relationship between agentic behaviour and thriving. Design/methodology/approach The study has been carried out upon a random sample of 330 employees below supervisory level from manufacturing companies located at Odisha (a state located at the eastern part of India). After verifying the significance of correlation among the study variables through Pearson’s product moment correlation, moderated regression analyses were carried out to examine the independent contribution of agentic work behaviour and DMA to thriving as well as the moderating contribution of DMA towards thriving. Findings Results reveal that the three dimensions of agentic work behaviour, namely, task focus, exploration and heedful relation, have a direct positive contribution towards thriving at workplace. As far as the moderation is concerned, it is observed that the thriving level is higher for the employees having high DMA irrespective of the level of agentic work behaviour at each dimension. Research limitations/implications The findings imply for designing interventions to enhance task focus, super-ordinate relationship and interest for learning. In addition, the organisations should provide autonomy to employees for decision making. Originality/value The study is first of its kind in the Indian context upon employee thriving. In this study, the authors have not only investigated the separate independent contribution of agentic behaviour and DMA, but also their interacting contribution to employee thriving.

Antecedents and Consequents of Prosperity at Work: A Mediation-Moderation Model

“…These findings, thus, corroborated hypothesis 1, which predicted a positive impact of participative decisionmaking on thriving at work. These results are in the direction of a previous study that demonstrated the positive effects of participative decision making on thriving at work (Sia & Duari, 2018).…”

“…According to the model of Spreitzer et al (2005), contextual factors, such as participation in decision making, are characterized as triggers of thriving at work. In this sense, organizations that give their employees greater freedom to make their own decisions and implement their ideas at work contribute to increasing their motivating energy at work, which leads them to explore and learn new skills (Sia & Duari, 2018). Therefore, this finding provides empirical support for that theory, as it was found that participation in decision making acted as a factor in the labor context that positively impacts thriving at work.…”

“…At the end of our literature review, and taking into account the databases searched (SciELO, PsycINFO), only one study was found that investigated the direct influence of participation in decision making on thriving at work (Sia & Duari, 2018), having found positive effects of participation in decision making on thriving at work. Thus, a working environment that encourages individuals to make decisions that affect their own job is likely to foster greater thriving at work.…”

The Impact of Employee’s Job Stress on Staff’s Job Performance at Administrative Office in Bahagian Samarahan, Sarawak

“…Lastly, a research done by Sia and Duari (2018) found that decision making had a positive effect on the employees since they were given a freedom to give ideas and this provides them with a sense of control in the final decision. Heponiemi et al (2014) also found that decision authority was something positive in an organization, and employees can make their own decision to resign when they feel like their certain jobs are too stressful.…”

“…The results showed that the positive effect on the employees made them be more confident, thus, would increase their job performance. To investigate the impact of decision-making authority on performance, Sia and Duari (2018) had proven that decision making had a positive effect on employees. When employees were given a chance to share their ideas and have a sense of control in making the final decision, they became more confident to perform their jobs.…”