Content area
Full Text
Introduction
For most Western countries, knowledge work makes up an increasing part of their economic activity (Engelbrecht, 2000; Kitay & Wright, 2003; Wei, 2004; Cannizzo & Osbaldiston, 2016; Hays, 2016; Eurostat, 2018), not least what is known as knowledge-intensive business services (Miles, 2005). Knowledge workers are typically highly educated, and the input and output of their work are concerned mainly with the handling and production of information (Alvesson, 2004). Knowledge-intensive business service relies highly on worker creativity, on the personal, professional judgment of the worker, and on close interaction with customers (Løwendahl, Revang, & Fosstenløkken, 2001). All these factors contribute to the fact that knowledge workers are expected to self-lead to a high degree (Drucker, 1999).
A prominent challenge for knowledge workers is to manage the underdesign of their work. How and even what to work on often is not clearly specified, but is considered part of the job to define (Drucker, 1999; Alvesson, 2001; Hatchuel, 2002; Davenport, 2005). Knowledge work is nonroutine: It may not be clear exactly what a problem is or what your task is, what you can expect or demand from others, or what they can demand from you. The responsibility for planning, prioritizing, coordinating, and executing work is placed to a large degree on the individual knowledge worker (Grant, Fried, & Juillerat, 2010: 104; Allvin, Mellner, Movitz, & Aronsson, 2013). Outcomes in service business are more directly the result of employee behaviors than they are in industrial settings where technology and work design play a larger role (Edgar, Gray, Browning, & Dwyer, 2014). Although the knowledge worker is the most valuable asset of a knowledge-intensive business services firm, little empirical research has been carried out that examines the self-leadership of knowledge workers.
Moreover, mental health problems due to stress at work, including worker burnout, are growing and expensive issues in Australia (Safe Work Australia, 2015), New Zealand (Baehler & Bryson, 2009), UK (Health & Safety Executive, 2017), United States (American Psychological Association, 2012), and Scandinavia (Borg, Andersen Nexø, Kolte, & Friis Andersen, 2010; Försäkringskassan, 2017). Although previously thought to be the case, knowledge workers’ great autonomy does not exempt them from the risks of work intensification; in fact, such autonomy may even contribute to it (Ipsen & Jensen, 2010; Michel,...