Worker Autonomy: A Natural Law of Labor - by Adam Ard

Philosophically, I hold the view that no developer—or any worker, for that matter—should be forced or coerced. Autonomy isn’t just vital for professionalism—it’s the cornerstone of workers’ dignity and humanity.

This is not just a moral argument; it’s a natural law argument—a belief in fundamental, self-evident rights tied to human nature. By nature, workers must have control over their own actions, because they are the ones performing them. It’s the worker’s hand that pounds the nail, types the code, or operates the machinery. It is most natural that they choose how to work. In fact, they can only lose this control through coercion—most often through the fear of being fired.

Some argue that corporate owners hold absolute authority, but logic shows their power must have limits. What if an owner demands the unreasonable—such as working 24-hour days—or insists on unsafe or unreasonable conditions? Clearly, the worker can refuse. In these extremes, worker autonomy is self-evident. But this same autonomy applies much more broadly.

Natural law dictates that all worker action must be voluntary—just as collaboration is voluntary in other relationships, like those between spouses, church volunteers, or friends.

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