Work Design and Stress - Stephen P Robbins Meenakshi Upadhyay, Academician,UDCJ

Work Design and Work Design and StressStress

-Stephen P Robbins

Meenakshi Upadhyay, Academician,UDCJ

Work DesignWork Design

The way tasks are combined to create individual jobs, the degree of flexibility employees have on their jobs, and the presence or absence of organisational support systems all have a direct influence on employee performance and satisfaction


Task Characteristics TheoriesTask Characteristics Theories

Requisite task attributes theoryThe Job characteristics modelSocial Information Processing Model


Requisite task attributes theoryRequisite task attributes theory

The task characteristic approach began with the pioneering work of Turner and Lawrence in the mid-1960s

They developed a research study to assess the effect of different kinds of jobs on employee satisfaction and absenteeism


They predicted employees would prefer jobs that were complex and challenging; that is, such jobs would increase satisfaction and result in lower absence rates


They defined job complexity in terms of six task characteristics:

Variety Autonomy Responsibility Knowledge & Skill Required social interaction Optional social interaction


The Job characteristics modelThe Job characteristics model

Turner and Lawrence’s requisite task attributes theory laid the foundation for what is dominant framework for defining task characteristics and understanding their relationship to employee motivation, performance and satisfaction: Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model


According to JCM, any job can be described in terms of five core job dimensions, defined as follows:◦Skill Variety: The degree to which the job

requires a variety of different skills and talents◦Task identity: The degree to which the job

requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work


Task significance : The degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives of work of other people

Autonomy: The degree to which the job has a substantial freedom, independence, and the discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out


Feedback: The degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance



Characteristics Examples

Skill Variety• High variety The owner-operator of a garage who does electrical repair, rebuilds engines,

does body work, and interacts with customers• Low variety A bodyshop worker who sprays paint eight hours a day

Task Identity• High identity A cabinetmaker who designs a piece of furniture, selects the wood, builds the

object, and finishes it to perfection• Low identity A worker in a furniture factory who operates a lathe to make table legs

Task Significance• High significance Nursing the sick in a hospital intensive care unit• Low significance Sweeping hospital floors

Autonomy• High autonomy A telephone installer who schedules his or her own work for the day, and

decides on the best techniques for a particular installation• Low autonomy A telephone operator who must handle calls as they come according to a

routine, highly specified procedure

Feedback• High feedback An electronics factory worker who assembles a radio and then tests it to

determine if it operates properly• Low feedback An electronics factory worker who assembles a radio and then routes it to a

quality control inspector who tests and adjusts it

Examples of High and Low Job CharacteristicsExamples of High and Low Job Characteristics

Social Information Processing Social Information Processing ModelModel

The fact that people respond to their jobs as they perceive them rather than to the objective jobs themselves is the central thesis here

The SIP model argues that employees adopt attitudes and behaviors in response to the social cues provided by others with whom they have contact. These could be coworkers, supervisors, friends, family members, or customers


People can look at the same job and can evaluate it differently

It has been proved by studies that employee motivation and satisfaction can be manipulated by such subtle actions as a coworker or boss commenting on the existence or absence of certain job features: difficulty, autonomy and challenge


Work RedesignWork Redesign

Job Rotation: The periodic shifting of a worker from one task to another.

Job Enlargement: The horizontal expansion of jobs.

Job Enrichment: The vertical expansion of jobs.



Guidelines for Enriching a JobGuidelines for Enriching a Job

E X H I B I T 7–2E X H I B I T 7–2

Source: J.R. Hackman and J.L. Suttle, eds., Improving Life at Work (Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman, 1977), p. 138.

Alternative Work Schedule Alternative Work Schedule OptionsOptions

Compressed Workweek: The most popular form of the compressed workweek is four 10-hours days. The 4-40 program was conceived to allow workers more leisure time and shopping time, and to permit them to travel to and from work at non-rush-hour times


Flextime: It is a scheduling option that allows employees, within specific parameters, to decide when to go to work

For e.g. exclusive of a one-hour lunch break, the core may be 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., with the office actually opening at 6 A.M. and closing at 6 A.M.


Job Sharing: It allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job

Telecommuting: It refers to employees who do their work at home on a computer linked to their office


Documents

Work Design and Stress - Stephen P Robbins Meenakshi Upadhyay, Academician,UDCJ