The Impact of Job Autonomy on Employees' Subjective Well-Being in Remote Work Settings
Abstract
Against the backdrop of innovation-driven development, remote work has become a commonplace workplace model. Remote workers enjoy higher levels of job autonomy, making its impact on subjective well-being worthy of attention.This study constructs a mediated moderation model based on self-determination theory and the demands-resources model to explore how job autonomy influences employees' subjective well-being through psychological detachment, and the moderating role of organizational attachment in this relationship. Using a questionnaire survey, empirical data were collected from 500 remote workers. Findings reveal that job autonomy significantly enhances employees' subjective well-being. Psychological detachment partially mediates the relationship between job autonomy and subjective well-being, while organizational attachment moderates the interaction between job autonomy and psychological detachment.
References
Braugh, J. A. (1985). The measurement of work autonomy. Human relations, 38(6), 551-570.
Bowlby, J. (1982). *Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment*. Basic Books.
Brennan, K. A., & Shaver, P. R. (1995). Dimensions of adult attachment, affect regulation, and romantic relationship functioning. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 21(3), 267-283.
Cai, GW., & Liu,JX.(2013).Attribution, autonomy and job satisfaction. Management World,(01),133-142+167.https://doi.org/10.19744/j.cnki.11-1235/f.2013.01.012.
Cocker, F., Martin, A., Scott, J.,Venn, A., & Sanderson, K.(2013).Psychological distress, related work attendance, and productivity loss in small-to-medium enterprise owner/managers. International journal of environmental research and public health, 10(10),5062-5082.
Chen, Y. (2025). The Effect of Psychological Detachment on Safety Performance —Based on the Role of Mind Wandering and Proactive Personality. Journal of Jining University, 46(04), 55-65.
Chen,L.,Le,Gl.,& Wang,LM.(2015). Application and implications of attachment theory in organizational research. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 13(6), 853.
Delfino, G. F.,& Kolk,B.V.D. . (2021). Remote working, management control changes and employee responses during the covid-19 crisis. Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied psychology, 86(3), 499.
Gajendran, R. S, & Harrison, D.A.. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology 92(6), 1524-1541.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (2017). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. In Interpersonal development (pp. 283-296). Routledge.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 59(2), 270.
Hedberg, L. M., & Luchak, A. A. (2018). Founder attachment style and its effects on socioemotional wealth objectives and HR system design. Human Resource Management Review, 28(1), 33-45.
Liang, ShR.(2022). study on the relationship between organizational support Self-efficacy and Rural teachers' occupational subjective well-being. Northeast Normal University. Master https://doi.org/10.27011/d.cnki.gdbsu.2022.000263.
Li,CX. (2025). A study on job autonomy, leisure experience and the subjective well-being of young occupational groups. Hebei Enterprise, (08), 133-138. https://doi.org/10.19885/j.cnki.hbqy.2025.08.020.
Li,T.,Wang,R.,& Liu,X.(2021).A study on the influence of overtime work and job autonomy on the well-being of young workers: An empirical analysis based on CLDS (2016) data. Chinese Journal of Youth Social Science, 40(02), 88-95. https://doi.org/10.16034/j.cnki.10-1318/c.2021.02.029.
Li.FJ., Yong, BW.,Yong,ShG.,& Song,Y. (2025). Impact of electronic communication and psychological detachment during non-working hours on occupational burnout among rehabilitation nurses. Occupation and Health, 41(01), 24-28. https://doi.org/10.13329/j.cnki.zyyjk.2025.0003.
Li,TG.,& Liu,Y.(2012).Calibrating Group Attachment Scale: An Application of Item Factor Analysis. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis,48(2),331-342.
Meske, C., & Junglas, I. (2021). Investigating the elicitation of employees’ support towards digital workplace transformation. Behaviour & Information Technology, 40(11), 1120-1136.
Mazmanian, M., Orlikowski,W.J.,& Yates,J .(2013).The autonomy paradox: The implications of mobile email devices for knowledge professionals. Organization science, 24(5), 1337-1357.
Morgeson, F. P., & Humphrey, S. E. (2006). The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ): develo** and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of applied psychology, 91(6), 1321.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological assessment, 5(2), 164.
Rihard, J., Hackman, and, Greg, R., & Oldham. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: test of a theory.Organizational Behavior & Human Performance.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation,social development,and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1),68.
Sonnentag, S., & Bayer, U. V. (2005). Switching off mentally: predictors and consequences of psychological detachment from work during off-job time. Journal of occupational health psychology, 10(4), 393
Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2007). The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of occupational health psychology, 12(3), 204.
Saleh, K. M., Hasan, A. A., & Jawad, A. B. (2023). The Moderating Effect of Burnout in Relationship Between Job Complexity and Psychological Detachment. Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, 17(8), 1-14.
Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor‐detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of organizational behavior, 36(S1), S72-S103.
Thompson, C. A., & Prottas, D. J. (2006). Relationships among organizational family support, job autonomy, perceived control, and employee well-being. Journal of occupational health psychology, 11(1), 100.
Wang, DY., & Liu,H. .(2017).Modeling the factor analysis for telework promotion. Jiangsu Social Sciences.
Wendsche, J., & Lohmann-Haislah, A. (2017). A meta-analysis on antecedents and outcomes of detachment from work. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 2072.
Yang,Y.,Yan,R.,Zou,MY. &Meng,Y. .(2025).Why do employees engage in workplace cheating behavior in remote work.Business review,37(05),157167.https://doi.org/10.14120/j.cnki.cn11-5057/f.2025.05.005.
Yu,J.,Li,L.,Shen.Q.(2025)Barriers to psychological detachment among junior nurses:a qualitative study[J].Journal of Nursing Science,40(09):70-73+110.
Zhang,ER.,Tan,YM.,&Zhang,TM. (2025). Influence Mechanism of Psychological Capital and Group Cohesion on the Subjective Well-Being of Members in Informal Sports Clubs. Journal of Hebei Sport University, 39(06), 56-66.
Zhao, L., & Wu, L. (2023). How does digital office affect overtime through job autonomy in China? A nonlinear mediating model for the autonomy paradox. Technology in Society, 72, 102181.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ping/ 欧阳维 Wang/ 欧阳, Wei Ouyang

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright of their published work and grant the International Journal of Social Science Research and Review (IJSSRR) the right of first publication.
Articles published in IJSSRR are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Authors are permitted to share, archive, and distribute the published version of their work, provided that proper acknowledgement of the original publication in IJSSRR is given.