The impact of teleworking on employee idea generation: a self-determination theory perspective

Drawing on self-determination theory, this study examines how teleworking influences employee idea generation and clarifies the motivational mechanism and leadership boundary condition underlying this relationship. We propose that teleworking facilitates employee idea generation by enhancing work autonomy, and that empowering leadership strengthens the extent to which teleworking is experienced as usable autonomy. Study 1 used a between-subjects experimental design and showed that participants in the high remote work condition reported higher creative idea generation than those in the low remote work condition. Study 2 employed a three-wave survey of employees in real organizational settings and found that work autonomy mediated the positive relationship between teleworking and idea generation. Empowering leadership further moderated the teleworking–autonomy relationship and the indirect effect of teleworking on idea generation through work autonomy. These findings extend teleworking and creativity research by identifying work autonomy as a proximal psychological pathway and empowering leadership as a key contextual condition for converting remote-work flexibility into creative benefits.