The autonomy of a subject is linked to his freedom of action and his ability to function on his own.
The adjective autonomous has its etymological origin in the Greek word autonomous . The concept refers to that or that which has autonomy .
The notion of autonomy , meanwhile, refers to the condition or state of someone who has freedom of action , without being dependent on another or others. Therefore, in a certain way, autonomy can be associated with independence.
The autonomous individual according to philosophy and psychology
In a broad sense, autonomy is an individual's ability to direct themselves . The autonomous subject is trained and/or enabled to decide his/her actions without the intervention of an external agent.
Philosophy , in this framework, relates autonomy to ethics . By taking charge of their own actions, the person is responsible for the moral aspect of their decisions and must assume the consequences of their actions.
Psychology , for its part, emphasizes the different factors that affect autonomy. Autonomy is not achieved, for example, without the cognitive development and emotional maturity necessary to be able to function beyond the guidance or tutelage of others.
A self-employed worker offers services independently, which means that he or she is not under a dependency relationship with any company.
The concept in the workplace
A worker who carries out his work activity independently is called self-employed; that is, without being under a dependency relationship. This implies that it does not have exclusivity with any company .
Job autonomy provides advantages, but also entails negative issues. The self-employed person (or freelancer , according to the English word that is also used in our language ) manages their schedules according to their interests and needs; You can define how much you intend to charge for your work; and has the possibility of offering services to several companies simultaneously, to specify some possibilities.
Among the most unfavorable aspects, we can mention the lack of stability; the lack of some benefits that employees have in a dependency relationship (such as paid vacations and bonuses); and the need to take on administrative issues (billing, paying taxes for working, etc.).
Self-employment has grown a lot in recent years thanks to technological advances: it is becoming increasingly simpler to carry out work tasks remotely using the Internet . It must be considered, however, that you can work from home ( home office ) while maintaining a dependency relationship with a single employer.
Autonomous territories
If we focus on the political organization of the territory , we will find that those regions that enjoy a certain freedom with respect to other higher administrative entities are named as autonomous. This autonomy has nuances.
Take the case of Puerto Rico . It can be considered an autonomous territory since it has self-government, although at the same time it is associated with the United States . Thus, certain internal matters are decided by the US authorities.
In Spain , the autonomous communities have their own institutions and have representatives who assume executive and legislative functions. These autonomous communities, in turn, make up the Spanish State .
It should be noted that many peoples and nations are fighting for their autonomy or independence. The Republic of Abkhazia is an example : it declared its independence in 1992 , but most countries consider that it is not truly independent, but rather an autonomous republic that belongs to Georgia .