THE YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW OF EMPLOYEE AUTONOMY: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Abstract

Following the phenomena of the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and ubiquitous remote work in post‐COVID human resource management, researchers’ interest in job autonomy has grown to an all‐time high. Besides the growing scientific maturity of the field, the extent to which employees should enjoy autonomy in crafting their workload, choosing their work methods and workplace, and the impact on the work outcomes is not synthesized and open to debates. We address the evolutionary development track of this concept using a multitechnique bibliometric analysis of employee autonomy and the invisible colleges framework. Moreover, the research presents a combination of descriptive bibliometric analysis, co‐authorship, and keyword co‐occurrence analysis, to investigate the state‐of‐the‐art research and past scholar directions about job autonomy. Thus, we contribute to academic research by revealing job autonomy’s inherent intellectual structure, investigating the most influential concepts and hotspots, and portraying new paths for future research. Namely, the analysis pointed out core themes including benefits of employee autonomy, job satisfaction and well‐being, environmental context, motivation, employee behavior, organizational psychology, work organization, leadership, digitalization, and performance, and five paths for future studies. This leaves space for the topic to be further cross‐pollinated with other managerial concepts. The findings have the potential to benefit policy‐ makers, practitioners, and the academic community as crucial stakeholders in the field.