The study, which is believed to be the first randomized control trial into workplace flexibility, saw participants divided into two groups. The first were taught various practices that aimed to increase their control over their work. So employees were trained to focus more on outcomes than face time.
Definition of Control Theory. In sociology, control theory is the view that people refrain from deviant behavior because diverse factors control their impulses to break social norms.
As such, social control theory is aligned more with the classical school of criminology than with positivist or determinist perspectives. For the most part, social control theory postulates a shared value or belief in social norms. Even those who break laws or violate social norms are likely to share the general belief that those rules should be followed. Crime and deviance are considered predictable behaviors that society has not curtailed.