How Choice Architecture Can Help Boost Engagement

Why It Matters

Empowering employees with genuine choice boosts engagement and productivity, directly impacting talent retention and bottom‑line results in an increasingly hybrid economy.

Key Takeaways

• Hybrid postings require at least two office days (UK data)
• Employees with work control are 43% more engaged
• Choice architecture nudges decisions without limiting options
• Psychological ownership links control and belonging to performance
• Leaders should design flexible structures for remote, hybrid, office

Pulse Analysis

The post‑pandemic era has forced executives to reconsider traditional office mandates. While 85% of UK hybrid job ads now stipulate a minimum two‑day office presence, research from Gallup indicates that autonomy drives a 43% lift in employee engagement. Companies that cling to rigid, input‑based management risk higher turnover and lower morale, especially as talent increasingly values flexibility over location. Shifting the focus to outcomes rather than hours worked aligns leadership with the expectations of a mobile workforce and safeguards competitive advantage.

Choice architecture, a concept pioneered by behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, offers a practical framework for this shift. By thoughtfully designing how work options are presented—rather than eliminating remote or hybrid choices—leaders can nudge employees toward decisions that benefit both the individual and the organization. This subtle influence respects employee agency while encouraging collaborative behaviors, such as scheduled in‑person team days or virtual brainstorming sessions, without imposing a one‑size‑fits‑all policy.

When employees feel psychological ownership of their roles, they exhibit higher commitment and productivity. Ownership stems from two pillars: control over how work is executed and a sense of belonging within the team. Providing discretion over goal‑setting, resource selection, and collaboration partners, alongside intentional community‑building activities, cultivates this ownership. The result is a more engaged, innovative workforce capable of thriving in a blended environment, ultimately translating into stronger financial performance and a resilient corporate culture.

How Choice Architecture Can Help Boost Engagement

By Sara Daw · Data & Strategy · February 16, 2026

If you’re a CEO who is contemplating a back‑to‑office mandate for staff, you’re not alone. Leaders across industries continue to struggle with the question of whether their teams should be remote, hybrid or fully in‑office, with many starting to avoid the fully remote option. In fact, data from Indeed reveals that in the UK, 85 % of hybrid job postings require at least two days a week in the office.

But what happens when leaders start removing options from staff and enforcing in‑person attendance? While the motivation might be to increase collaboration and engagement, the opposite can be true. Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report found that employees with control over how they work are 43 % more engaged than those under strict schedules.

Ultimately, the world of work has transformed, and a different style of leadership is needed to make it work, regardless of team location. Leaders must focus more on output rather than input, the “how” of work rather than the “where”. This requires a shift from a command‑and‑control approach to one of distributed and collective practices, whereby choice over work is shared between leader and employee.

This is where choice architecture and psychological ownership come in. These two concepts combined can help leaders support the different needs and requirements of a blended workforce, providing the ideal environment for staff to perform at their best, wherever they work from. So, what do these concepts mean, and what do they look like in practice?

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What is choice architecture?

Choice architecture is a term from behavioural science that describes how the presentation of choices can be designed to influence decision‑making without restricting the options. According to Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein and John Balz, the former two coined the term; choice architecture “can be used to help nudge people to make better choices (as judged by themselves) without forcing certain outcomes upon anyone”.

Applying this to the remote/in‑office debate: businesses shouldn’t take away the option of working from home as an attempt to boost team collaboration—this removes an employee’s autonomy to choose the best working arrangement for them, which will differ for each individual. Rather, leaders should offer remote, hybrid and in‑office arrangements and ensure that the structure of each option is centred around opportunities for being “together” as a team.

This allows leaders to become choice architects – they create a flexible environment where employees have the choice of what works best for them, which naturally gives them a sense of control over their roles and motivates them to perform at their best. A win‑win situation.

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How does psychological ownership come into play?

Psychological ownership at work means an individual feels a genuine sense of owning their role – they feel connected, responsible and psychologically tied to the work they do. When employees have this feeling, they take pride in their work, are actively engaged, and see outcomes as part of their own success.

Two key elements that nurture psychological ownership in employees link closely to choice architecture for a blended workforce – control and belonging.

Control

Control helps us feel ownership of our work and that it matters to us, boosting motivation, engagement and performance. The more control we have, the more ownership we feel.

A sense of control, and therefore psychological ownership, isn’t just nurtured through the freedom to choose where to work, but also through choosing how work is done in those environments, including:

• How to achieve goals and deadlines

• What resources to use

• Who to collaborate with

Having control over these elements increases employees’ interest and involvement in their roles, as well as their autonomy and creativity – vital for a functional blended workforce.

Leaders can set parameters by clarifying the purpose and goals of the work teams need to achieve, and enhance control by allowing individuals to choose the best way to achieve them. As a result, employees can align their tasks with organisational vision while enjoying freedom and flexibility.

Belonging

Individuals also need to belong and feel they have a place at work to develop psychological ownership. This is especially pertinent for a blended workforce. Creating a sense of belonging between team members who are spread across office and home can be complex, but it is a key ingredient for boosting collaboration and cohesion.

Giving teams the opportunity to connect, to have meaningful communication and interaction, is vital for building belonging. There are multiple ways to achieve this, and as “choice architects”, leaders should allow their teams to have a say in what they think will work best for them:

• Deliberate online meetings with the sole purpose of developing relationships

• Informal catch‑ups aimed at checking in on each other’s well‑being, goals, and challenges

• Social events and activities that are fun and promote getting to know each other outside of work

• Conferences and other learning environments that enable discussion of hot topics and the sharing of hard and soft skills

Facilitating these choices nurtures stronger bonds and creates a positive, fulfilling work environment. As a result, blended teams can deal with conflicts more effectively and develop confidence to achieve goals together.

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Conclusion

Working outside of the office, at least some of the time, is now the new norm. As hybrid and remote arrangements have become integrated into the world of work, taking these options away could be disastrous for employee motivation, productivity and engagement.

When leaders give their staff control over their work life – the freedom to choose where they work best and how best to achieve their goals – they build a sense of ownership that psychologically ties them to their tasks. Strengthening this with opportunities to nurture a sense of belonging with colleagues and within the organisation creates a blended workforce that is driven to succeed.

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Written by Sara Daw

Group CEO, The CFO Centre & The Liberti Group; author of Strategy and Leadership as Service – How the Access Economy Meets the C‑Suite

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