Self-management: An offer you cannot refuse

New research programme about management of self-management

When do you manage too much – and when do you manage too little? And how do you manage employees who are better at managing themselves? A new research programme with Professor Sverre Raffnsøe from the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy will attempt to answer these questions.

- Everybody knows that the key to new knowledge, innovation and creativity is the freedom that lies within your ability to create something yourself - when the employee is not bound by being managed, but manages him or herself. Therefore, a company may find it beneficial to work with self-management, but the employee will also feel more motivated when he or she has more independence, explains Sverre Raffnsøe.

Development and freedom vs. curse and submission

On the other hand, freedom does not only equal opportunities for development. It can also be a curse and a burden. The company does not leave the employee with a choice to manage him or herself, but requires that it is done. Self-management is therefore a requirement more than an offer.

- The blessed freedom can be a curse to the employees when it leaves them with the overall responsibility in the workplace. It creates an enormous pressure, and it becomes quite a burden for the employees to have to challenge and outperform themselves constantly, says Sverre Raffnsøe.

To have a burning passion without burning out

Self-management requires that the employee finds a perfect work-life balance. At the same time, it is all about making sure that the employees stay motivated and committed without turning into workaholics.

- The management must empower the employee, so that it is possible to self-manage. This imposes entirely new requirements on management tasks. The management must encourage the employee’s burning passion for their work but at the same time make sure that they do not burn out. Self-management is the solution to some urgent problems, but is also the reason for entirely new problems, says Sverre Raffnsøe.