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Work redesign: Eight obstacles and opportunities
Author(s) -
Campion Michael A.,
Mumford Troy V.,
Morgeson Frederick P.,
Nahrgang Jennifer D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
human resource management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.888
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-050X
pISSN - 0090-4848
DOI - 10.1002/hrm.20080
Subject(s) - work (physics) , order (exchange) , obstacle , job analysis , process management , job design , computer science , work order , job enrichment , operations management , business , marketing , public relations , knowledge management , risk analysis (engineering) , management , job performance , political science , job satisfaction , engineering , economics , mechanical engineering , finance , law
Abstract Successful work‐design initiatives must overcome many obstacles in order to have their intended impact.This article outlines eight obstacles to work redesign: (1) influences on multiple outcomes, (2) trade‐offs between different approaches, (3) difficulty in choosing appropriate units of analysis, (4) difficulty in predicting the nature of the job, (5) complications from individual differences, (6) job enlargement occurring without job enrichment, (7) creating new jobs as part of growth or downsizing, and (8) differences between longterm and short‐ term effects. This article examines the nature of these eight obstacles, reviews prior research on this topic, and outlines suggestions for managing these obstacles in practice. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.