Who benefits from autonomy? Action-state orientation moderates the effect of autonomy need satisfaction at work on employee well-being.

Abstract

Autonomy need satisfaction at work does not influence every employee equally. In the present research, we investigate how the personality disposition of action-state orientation influences who benefits from autonomy need satisfaction at work. Thus, our approach integrates self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) and personality systems interactions theory (Kuhl, 2001). We argue that high autonomy need satisfaction at work facilitates access to the integrated self. Action-oriented employees can easily draw on their integrated self, and thus their self-regulatory abilities, during stressful work situations, whereas state-oriented employees struggle to do so under work stress. Therefore, we expect state-oriented employees to benefit more strongly from autonomy need satisfaction at work as a resource than action-oriented employees. We conducted two studies. In Study 1 (N = 142), we tested our hypotheses using a correlational design, and in Study 2 (N = 130), we experimentally induced low versus high autonomy need satisfaction using certain job autonomy conditions. Both studies confirmed that practitioners should not assume all employees benefit equally from autonomy need satisfaction since personality matters. State-oriented employees seem to generally benefit from high levels of autonomy need satisfaction at work across contexts, whereas action-oriented employees appear to benefit most from autonomy need satisfaction at work when facing specific situational stressors that require them to unfold their self-regulatory abilities. We discuss these differences, future research directions, and practical implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).