Work brings more autonomy and more pressure – and pay does not reflect it

Fabien Postel-Vinay (Southern Methodist University) and Grégory Jolivet (University of Bristol, Institute for Fiscal Studies) combined data from the US O*NET database with the Current Population Survey. They assessed three health-related job characteristics: psychological demands, decision latitude and physical demands. This is the same pairing that has underpinned the psychological demand–control model of work stress for decades. The results were released as a working paper, ahead of peer review.

In the average job, psychological demands rose by 1.5 per cent over the period studied, and decision latitude by 3 per cent. The changes are moderate, but the direction is clear: work is becoming both more autonomous and more demanding. Notably, the shift happened mainly within occupations rather than because people moved into different kinds of work. As Postel-Vinay put it: "Most of the change is within occupations."

The authors also estimated how much pay workers would give up for better conditions. The compensation people expect for stressful work rose over time, while actual wages in such roles stayed essentially flat. Decision latitude, by contrast, was valued and tended to be better paid. Women more often than men reported jobs that were both more psychologically demanding and more autonomous, yet were underrepresented in the highest-paid occupations. The study covers the US labour market.

What this means for organisations: growing autonomy does not automatically offset growing pressure – both need to be designed deliberately into every role. Boards and HR directors should regularly review how the psychological load of existing roles is changing, not just their scope. Where pressure rises, it is worth genuinely strengthening employees' control over how they do their work, and reflecting that load in pay policy and leadership development.