Experience, Inc.

CHAPTER 4You Got This: Agency and Autonomy

We want to feel as if we're creating our own life – as if we have more than a little say in what it becomes and how we navigate the world. We want to feel as if we're getting better at the things that matter to us. We want freedom to use our strengths. We want to be the best version of ourselves.

These are universal truths, and they can't exclude who we are at work.

There is a reckoning within the workplace, accelerated by the pandemic, to reassess what work means. Employees are considering what they expect not only of their employer but of their job. How do they really want to work? Where do they want to work? What value do they get out of what they do at work?

It's not really up to organizations or leaders to answer these questions because no two individual employees will have the same answers. Employees need agency – the ownership and freedom to define what a great experience is for them – and autonomy – the permission to make it happen.

That means giving employees a significant say over crucial issues. Do they choose a hybrid, remote, or in-office setting? How will they pursue learning and growth opportunities? Where is their career going (whether it's ultimately with you or not)? It means helping them figure out the right answers for each of those questions.

The average length of time a person stays at one company is less than five years – and the number of careers a person has in their lifetime will only continue to grow. It's ...