JOB DESIGN
Over the years, job design has been gaining critical importance in the workplace as well as considered a fundamental HRM activity since it encourages employee motivation and engagement (Foss et al. 2009). Traditionally, job design focused more on the job itself rather than the individual assigned to perform the work, despite the fact that job design has motivational consequences (Hsieh & Chao 2004; Shantz et al. 2013). According to Kramar et al. (2014), job design or redesign refers to changing the way work is performed or changing tasks in an existing job with the aim of improving employee engagement, increasing job quality and productivity.
Companies may adopt various methods of job design but the ultimate result is to increase employee satisfaction and performance. Therefore, many new human resource practices are being developed rather than standardized production methods such as employee engagement programs through job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment (Maxwell 2008) to increase employee productivity and morale in the workplace. The aim of this essay is to address one of the special incidents regarding job design program and discuss how the team approached the problem and it further moves on to explain and apply relevant works of literature supporting the decision as well as its HR implications.
The special incident in quarter 2 was based on job design where the primary objective was to come up with a possible solution in job design from a list of seven options provided. The company was facing numerous complaints from its employees that their jobs were repetitive, limited social interaction, forced pacing of work and no efforts made to improve their jobs. Therefore, as a team of HR professionals, we looked at these issues as well as the options available and re-designed the job to address these frustrations and motivate the employees to perform better.
According to Kramar (2014), a significant input in the process of job design is to consider the strategic goals of the organization as well as the cultural values within the organization and one that will engage employees. Hence, all the options available were taken into consideration and evaluated based on their pros and cons. For instance, few of the options included flexible work arrangements, telecommuting, part-time and job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment. Among these options, the team came to a consensus and agreed on job rotation, enlargement and enrichment as it is a well-known fact that such practices are related to skill acquisition, motivation, and growth of employees. Moreover, Maxwell (2008) argues that job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment are the methods that must be used while redesigning jobs as it contributes to an environment where employees feel that their job is rewarding and meaningful. While on the other hand, solutions such as flexibility, telecommuting and part-time do bring opportunities for employees and organizations, the changes...
