Simplicity lowers productivity
Posted by
Ricki Sharpe on
November 1, 2007
Filed Under
Work Behaviour
A new study, looking at the effects of work design on employee attitudes and productivity, suggests that trying to increase efficiency by simplifying job responsibilities might lead to lower job satisfaction and, ultimately, lower productivity.
“In a globally competitive marketplace, companies are trying to introduce efficiencies wherever they can improve their financial performance for stockholders,†says lead author Stephen Humphrey.
“One way they do that is by designing, or redesigning, jobs to make them more narrowly focused on specific tasks. While this may improve productivity in the short term, it appears to create a new set of problems in the longer term, such as dissatisfied employees.” Over time, the researchers say, workers will perform at a lower level and have higher stress levels.
The study summarises the results of more than forty years of earlier research, made up of 259 studies and nearly 220,000 workers in analysing the effects work design has on employee attitudes and productivity.
Among key findings:
- Simplifying tasks usually led to lower performance ratings and reduced worker satisfaction.
- More autonomy on the job was linked to better performance, higher satisfaction and less exhaustion.
- People who work interdependently had better performance ratings, greater work and organisational satisfaction, lower stress, and lower turnover intentions.
- Frequent feedback from others increased employee job satisfaction, increased performance, reduced stress and reduced intentions to leave the employer.
- A socially supportive workplace was related to greater job satisfaction and lower feelings of exhaustion, and it strongly reduced the likelihood of workers wanting to leave the job.
There is clear evidence, the study says, that organisations that focus on providing job flexibility, opportunities for social interaction and feedback on performance “can produce highly performing, highly satisfied workers who have low levels of stress, anxiety and burnout, and who are uninterested in searching for greener pastures.â€
Autonomy and social support were the two best predictors of job satisfaction, according to the paper.
While more autonomy might not always be feasible—it can increase training requirements and compensation—“increasing social support does not have these negative trade-offs,†the study says.
“The most important thing is that workers find ways to interact. Fun ways are a plus,†Humphrey said.
Telecommuting’s effect on the social aspects of work, though, concerns Humphrey. He urges employers to use caution, and employ creativity, when implementing it.
“What our research suggests to me is that if you work a lot from home, you are going to be less satisfied with your job because of a lack of social interaction.”
“You lose a lot of the other aspects of work, the informal socialisation. Those social aspects of work are a better predictor of work satisfaction than autonomy, job complexity, the variety of tasks you perform,†he said.
“I think it’s going to be really important for organisations to view this, to monitor this, to make sure people are not getting lost by working from home,†he said of telecommuting.
He suggests setting up co-working situations where there is a shared workspace, such as satellite offices, instead of working from home, for employees who telecommute a great deal.
Ultimately, pay attention, he tells employers, “to the long-term outcomes of your decisions.â€
Reference
Humphrey, S. E., Nahrgang, J. D. & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1332-1356.
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burnout | job satisfaction | telecommuting | work design.Comments
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