Employees Need a Real Say in How Things Work to Flourish, Study Finds

Why It Matters

The findings prove that workplace design—not employee demographics—determines engagement and productivity, prompting leaders to restructure for autonomy and support to boost performance and retention.

Key Takeaways

• Autonomy plus support yields 68% flourishing rate.
• Low autonomy/support drops flourishing to 10%.
• No demographic predicts thriving; environment matters.
• Ethical clarity boosts employee flourishing.
• Manager well‑being directly influences team happiness.

Pulse Analysis

The recent Gies College of Business survey underscores a clear formula for employee flourishing: combine high autonomy with robust support. By giving workers a real voice in decisions and ensuring they feel backed by peers and supervisors, companies saw a 68% flourishing rate among respondents, compared with just 10% in neglected environments. This pattern holds across all demographic groups, confirming that the work context—not age, gender, or income—drives engagement. Earlier research, such as the University of Phoenix’s 2025 report, also highlighted autonomy as a key driver of resilience, with 91% of autonomous workers adapting quickly to change.

Beyond autonomy, the study highlights the role of an ethical climate and manager well‑being in sustaining high performance. Employees who operate under clear ethical expectations and consistent accountability are more likely to flourish, employing positive stress‑management strategies like reframing and seeking peer support. Glassdoor’s 2025 findings echo this, showing that happy managers foster happier teams, reinforcing a culture where support is institutionalized rather than incidental. Together, autonomy, ethical clarity, and supportive leadership create a virtuous cycle that elevates morale, reduces turnover, and boosts overall productivity.

For leaders seeking to translate these insights into action, the roadmap is straightforward: redesign teams into "empowered squads" that embed decision‑making authority at the front line, pair that with structured mentorship and resources, and hold managers accountable for both their own well‑being and that of their reports. Measuring flourishing through regular pulse surveys can quantify ROI, while training programs that develop autonomy‑focused skills and supportive behaviors cement the change. As the future of work leans increasingly toward flexible, purpose‑driven models, organizations that prioritize autonomy and support will capture talent, drive innovation, and sustain competitive advantage.

Employees need a real say in how things work to flourish, study finds

Published February 4, 2026

A survey of 2,000 U.S. workers found that 68 % of employees flourish when they are part of a team, or “empowered squads,” with high autonomy and high support, Gies College of Business pointed out in a February 4, 2026 post. By comparison, in neglected environments—those with low autonomy and low support—only 10 % of employees thrive, the survey found.

Dive Brief

• There is no “at‑risk demographic”; employees languish—meaning they struggle with engagement, motivation, or fulfillment in their roles—regardless of age, racial/ethnic group, gender, education, income level, or region. Instead, work conditions themselves signal whether employees thrive or languish.

• Day‑to‑day environments that foster autonomy (having a real say in decisions and how things work) alongside support (feeling backed by coworkers, supervisors, and the organization) mark the difference between workplaces where employees thrive and where they languish, according to a recent study from the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business.

Dive Insight

Being nice to people or only giving them independence isn’t enough, said Oscar Ybarra, a professor of business administration, director of the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society, and leader of the study.

“Employees need the autonomy to make meaningful decisions, and they need support from an organization that has their back,” Ybarra explained.

“When you combine those elements, you see a significant increase in flourishing compared to environments where both are absent.”

An organization’s ethical climate is also a factor; employees who flourish are significantly more likely to operate under clear ethical expectations and consistent accountability.

Researchers also found that flourishing employees are more likely to use positive strategies to deal with stress, such as looking for a silver lining in difficult situations, interacting with others and seeking comfort and perspective from trusted people, and taking breaks for rest and restoration.

Recent studies confirm the importance of autonomy. A December 2025 report from the University of Phoenix found that autonomy plays a key role in worker resilience, showing that 91 % of workers who feel they have autonomy adapt easily to new situations.

Manager well‑being is also critical because it affects employee satisfaction with workplace culture and values. An October 2025 report from Glassdoor emphasized that when managers are happy, their teams tend to be happy as well.

“Designing for flourishing requires both individual skill‑building and organization redesign,” Ybarra explained. “Employees can practice reframing and reaching out, but those behaviors become sustainable when organizations create empowered squads that make autonomy and support the norm rather than the exception.”