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Frequency of Decision Making

Work context · O*NET

Frequency of Decision Making is a work-context dimension in the O*NET database — one of the standardized conditions O*NET uses to describe the environment a job is done in , grouped under Structural Job Characteristics. O*NET defines it by asking workers: "How often is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?." It is rated for 894 occupations, which average 3.79 out of 5 (high relative to other context dimensions).

How it's measured

O*NET rates each occupation on this dimension on a 1–5 context-importance scale (the CX scale), where higher means the condition is a more frequent or more central part of the work. The figures on this page are those occupation-level ratings — a description of working conditions as workers report them, not a judgment about pay, difficulty, or whether a job is "good."

Economy-wide average 3.79 / 5 Mean across all 894 rated occupations
Range across occupations 1.47–5.00 Lowest to highest occupation rating (spread 3.53)
Intensity vs. other dimensions 81st pct Where this dimension's average ranks among all O*NET work-context dimensions

Occupations where it's highest

The occupations that rate this condition strongest on the 1–5 scale.

Occupation Rating Score
Family Medicine Physicians 5.00
Motorboat Operators 4.99
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 4.99
Sports Medicine Physicians 4.99
Bicycle Repairers 4.97
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers 4.97
Air Traffic Controllers 4.93
General and Operations Managers 4.92
First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand 4.91
Physical Therapist Assistants 4.90
Dentists, General 4.89
Hospitalists 4.88
Motorcycle Mechanics 4.88
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas 4.88
Parking Enforcement Workers 4.87
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators 4.86
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers 4.85
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance 4.85
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 4.85
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 4.83
Insurance Sales Agents 4.81
Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage 4.80
Loan Officers 4.80
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 4.80
Neurologists 4.78

Occupations where it's lowest

The occupations that rate this condition weakest — where it is rarely part of the work.

Occupation Rating Score
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 1.47
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers 1.86
Manicurists and Pedicurists 2.03
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand 2.05
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic 2.05
Astronomers 2.17
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand 2.23
Mathematicians 2.25
Anthropologists and Archeologists 2.26
Environmental Economists 2.26
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2.28
Social Science Research Assistants 2.29
Computer Programmers 2.33
Dishwashers 2.34
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2.34
Fuel Cell Engineers 2.36
Photonics Engineers 2.39
Craft Artists 2.41
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse 2.41
Software Developers 2.42
Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators 2.43
Rock Splitters, Quarry 2.43
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2.44
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 2.48
Physicists 2.48

How AI is used by roles where frequency of decision making is central

A working condition is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the occupations where it is most central and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across the roles that rate this condition 3 or higher (CX-rating-weighted). 56.5% of the 806 occupations where this condition is present carry observed AI-usage data (455 roles).

Across those roles, 45.1% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 31.3% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.54 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
directive 29.1% AI does it; you give the instruction
task iteration 23.1% you and AI go back and forth
learning 19.3% you ask AI to explain or teach
validation 2.6% you do it; AI checks your work
feedback loop 2.2% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback

Roles behind this signal

The occupations where this condition is most central and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Condition (1–5) Works with AI Autonomy
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.1 63.2% 4.0/5
English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 3.2 63.2% 4.0/5
Editors 4.3 68.2% 4.0/5
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 3.7 65.2% 3.0/5
Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors 3.9 70.6% 4.0/5
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary 3.8 66.2% 3.3/5
Technical Writers 3.6 54.2% 4.0/5
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.2 65.7% 3.3/5
Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary 3.8 66.8% 3.3/5
Education Teachers, Postsecondary 4.0 65.3% 3.5/5
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary 4.1 65.7% 3.3/5
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary 4.0 65.7% 3.0/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. This is a role-weighted projection from AEI-linked occupations where this condition is central, not a direct measurement of AI use for the condition itself. Shares are weighted by how central the condition is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Frequency of Decision Making." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-context/frequency-of-decision-making

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Frequency of Decision Making. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-context/frequency-of-decision-making

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-frequency-of-decision-making,
  title  = {Frequency of Decision Making},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-context/frequency-of-decision-making}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.