The Relationship of Work Autonomy Levels and Work Performance in Three Service-Oriented Companies

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between the work autonomy levels and the work performance quality of employees in three service-oriented companies, namely, TBWA\SMP Advertising Agency (TBWA\SMP), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and Cambridge University Press-Manila (CUP-Manila). A total of 90 respondents, 30 from each company, participated in the study. All the 90 respondents were asked to answer a work autonomy questionnaire in order to determine their work autonomy levels. After which, the performance quality of the 90 respondents were determined by the ratings of their respective supervisors in the work performance quality questionnaire developed by the researcher. Qualitative data were then gathered by the researcher in order to further support and countercheck the data gathered from questionnaires. Out of the 90 respondents, 10 were interviewed, while on the other hand, a total of eight supervisors were interviewed regarding autonomy, performance, and the relationship of the two variables. Questionnaire scoring and Pearson Rho Correlation were used to determine the kind of relationship that existed between work autonomy levels and work performance quality. The answers from the interview, on the other hand, were to support the quantitative data. The results of the Pearson Rho Correlation showed that the work autonomy levels and the work performance qualities of the respondents had a negative linear correlation in TBWA\SMP (0.0715), high positive linear correlation in BSP (0.8283), and a high positive linear correlation in CUP-Manila (0.8032). Moreover, the qualitative data gathered was consistent with the survey scores; hence, it supported the quantitative findings. In addition, it was also discovered that the method autonomy facet had the highest correlation to work performance over the other autonomy facets. It is important to note that these results are not constant, and is only applicable for the companies and the respective respondents who participated in the study. It is therefore recommended that a similar study be conducted on a wider scale by involving more service-oriented companies with a bigger sample taken.