The Hidden Cost of Decision-Making Autonomy at Work: How Task Reflexivity and Construal Level Induce Mental Fatigue

Contrary to the traditional belief that decision-making autonomy enhances employee well-being, we investigate the cognitive circumstances and mechanisms through which daily decision-making autonomy leads to mental fatigue. Integrating self-regulation theory with construal-level theory, we propose that daily decision-making autonomy triggers cognitive activities related to task reflexivity, which subsequently results in next-day mental fatigue. We identify trait construal level as a key moderating factor, arguing that the indirect effect of decision-making autonomy on mental fatigue through task reflexivity is particularly pronounced when employees have a low (vs. high) trait construal level. Our hypotheses received support from two experience sampling studies in the United States and China. Specifically, we found that the detrimental effects of decision-making autonomy are indirect by nature and only manifest in certain employees.