QUALITY CIRCLES AND EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES

Quality circles have repeatedly been suggested as a technique for enhancing employees' involvement in and satisfaction with their work. This study explored the relationship between employees' participation in quality circle (QC) activities and their reactions to their jobs. Specifically, the relationship of participation in QC activities and employees' perceptions of the influence they have on their jobs, the characteristics of their jobs, and their overall job satisfaction were examined. Four hundred and fifty-five (455) QC members and 305 non-QC members, all employees of a large electronics manufacturer, were surveyed. The effect of QC membership as well as tenure in quality circles on the above variables is reported. Involvement in a quality circle was found to have a significant relationship to employees' perception of influence, as well as to some job characteristics. No significant effect of QC membership on job satisfaction was found. The results are discussed in the context of the need for further validation of many arguments heard about quality circles.     

Moderation of the effects of job enrichment by participation: A longitudinal field experiment

In a 2 × 2 field experimental test of L. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldham's (1980, Work redesign, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley) task characteristic model, the moderating effects of a contextual variable, participation, on job redesign were examined. Seventy-six desk receptionists participated in the redesign of their jobs or did not, and/or their jobs were actually redesigned or not. The results found significant main effects of job redesign on several measures of satisfaction. Participation was more limited in its effects, only affecting one of the satisfaction measures. However, both factors significantly affected turnover. In addition, contrary to predictions from the model, employee participation did not enhance the effects of enriched work. The results are discussed in terms of revisions to the theory and the practice of job redesign.     

MINIMIZING TRADEOFFS WHEN REDESIGNING WORK: EVIDENCE FROM A LONGITUDINAL QUASI-EXPERIMENT

Although cross-sectional job design research highlights a tradeoff between motivational and mechanistic work design, the redesign literature is more equivocal. We develop a work redesign process that suggests the tradeoffs can be minimized if both motivational and mechanistic approaches are explicitly considered when work is designed and the ultimate outcomes of the design effort (e.g., satisfaction, efficiency, or both) are taken into account when work is redesigned. In a longitudinal quasi-experiment, we examined how jobs can be differentially changed in terms of their motivational and mechanistic properties. Results showed at least partial support for all expected relationships. This suggests that the tradeoffs previously considered inherent in job design may not always occur, particularly if conceptual and methodological consideration is given to their minimization.     

SUPERVISORY AND EMPLOYEE CHARACTERISTICS AS CORRELATES OF EMPLOYEE SALARY INCREASES

Previous research on merit pay has focused on the context in which merit decisions take place and on characteristics of the employee. In the present study it was hypothesized that not only do employee characteristics influence merit increases, but so do characteristics of the employee's supervisor. The results from 175 employees in a midwestern manufacturing plant showed that 11% and 24% of the variance in employee salary increases were attributable to supervisory and employee characteristics, respectively. These results suggest that supervisory characteristics should be included in future research involving correlates of employee salary increases and by organizations when auditing the administration of merit pay plans.     

TEAM-BASED EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS: EFFECTS OF DESIGN AND ADMINISTRATION

In recent years, many organizations have attempted to pursue continuous improvement through team-based employee involvement programs (EIPs). As a result, increased practical emphasis has been placed on how to design and administer EIPs, though empirical work has been slow to emerge. In the present research, a pilot study of 68 EIP administrators was used to identify those design and administrative variables thought to be associated with EIP effectiveness. Data were then collected from 72 EIP teams in two organizations and associated with participant and supervisory assessments of EIP effectiveness. Results suggest that the significant predictors of team effectiveness were the degree of openness of a team's information access structure, the degree of heterogeneity in the job functions performed by team members, and the team's size. Implications for EIP research and practice are discussed.     

Integrity Testing and Job Performance Within High Performance Work Teams: A Short Note

Integrity tests have exhibited robust validity for predicting performance among traditional jobs. However, some organizations have shifted to self-managed work teams and the relationship between integrity and performance within these jobs is untested. One hundred fourteen high performance team members within a single department completed the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). The HPI Reliability scale was used as the integrity measure. The subjects' job performance was evaluated by their team leaders. Performance ratings were transformed to equalize ratings across the eight teams. Results indicate that integrity was related to transformed performance ratings (r = .25) within a high performance team environment. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Effects of Job Redesign: A Field Experiment1

A telephone company project to redesign the job of directory assistance operator was: studied in order to determine the effects on workers of “job enrichment” programs. The change increased the amount of variety and the decisionmaking autonomy in the operator's job. However, no change in work motivation, job involvement, or growth need satisfaction occurred as a result of the changes; instead, the changes had a significant negative impact on interpersonal relationships. After the changes, the older employees reported less satisfaction with the quality of their interpersonal relationships, and those supervisors whose jobs were affected by the changes reported less job security and reduced interpersonal satisfaction. Implications of these findings for the theory of job redesign proposed by Hackman and Lawler (1971) are discussed.     

EMPLOYEE AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS: MODERATING EFFECTS OF JOB CHARACTERISTICS

This research examines (a) the relative importance of each of three role variables—role conflict, ambiguity, and overload—as sources of stress and dissatisfaction among managerial-level personnel, and (b) the moderating effects of job enrichment characteristics on the relationships between role stressors and intrinsic job satisfaction, involvement, and anxiety. Data were collected from a sample of 89 managerial personnel of a large, heavy-equipment manufacturing company in the Midwest. Results show that role ambiguity has the strongest relationships with role responses in the predicted directions. Further, significant interactions are obtained between each of role ambiguity and role overload, but not role conflict, and job characteristics. The two role stressors tend to be more aversive for individuals on low-enriched rather than high-enriched jobs. Implications of the findings for work design and the management of stress are discussed.     

Assessment of Stress Risks and Learning Opportunities in the Work Organization

Abstract

Organizational innovation and recent European legislation on work organization require instruments, to be used by practitioners, for the assessment of jobs and the redesign of the structure of the division of labour. In The Netherlands the so-called WEBA-instrument (conditions for well-being at work) has been developed to assess stress risks and learning opportunities. The foundation of the instrument refers to the Dutch modern sociotechnical systems theory, the Karasek demand-control theory and the German action regulation theory. Its application is becoming widespread because, among other reasons, this instrument is supported by the Labour Inspectorate of The Netherlands. Besides a presentation of the instrument and its foundation, some examples will be given and some theoretical and practical problems discussed.     

UNDERSTANDING REACTIONS TO JOB REDESIGN: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT ON PERCEPTIONS OF PERFORMANCE BEHAVIOR

Redesigning jobs from a traditional workgroup structure to a semi-autonomous team structure has become increasingly popular, but the impact of such redesigns on employee effectiveness criteria has been mixed. The present longitudinal quasi-experimental study showed that although such a redesign had positive effects on 3 performance behaviors (effort, skill usage, and problem solving), its effectiveness also depended on aspects of the organizational context. In conditions where the organizational reward and feedback and information systems were effective, redesigning work into a semi-autonomous team structure had no discernible effect on performance behaviors. In conditions where these systems were poor, however, such a redesign produced large positive benefits. This suggests that work redesigns that enhance worker autonomy are most effective in contexts where other supportive management systems are absent.     

Psychosocial job strain and productivity in human service workers: A test of the demand-control-support model

The aim of the study was to test the main and interactive effects of the key dimensions of the demand-control-support model in predicting levels of strain (specifically emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and job dissatisfaction) and feelings of productivity and competency (personal accomplishment) in a multi-occupational sample of human service workers (N = 813). Controlling for demographics, negative affectivity (NA), and quadratic terms, structural equation analyses showed some support for the additive iso-strain hypothesis: jobs combining high demands, low control and low support produced the lowest levels of satisfaction in workers. High demands and low supports only were associated with high depersonalization, and high emotional exhaustion. Support was also found for the additive active learning hypotheses: jobs combining high demands and high control produced the highest levels of personal accomplishment. The study supports job redesign interventions for improving worker well-being and productivity.     

EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE MMPI FOR EMPLOYEE SCREENING

Psychological screening has become commonplace in a number of occupational groups. With the growing popularity of screening and the relative scarcity of appropriate personality measures, re-screening individuals with the same inventory is frequent. This paper examines the effect of re-screening with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) on contract workers (n = 1,997) from the nuclear power industry. Participants completed the Inventory as a part of a routine screening procedure. Each participant provided several profiles as a result of regular employment cycles. Although the differences are generally small, some scales show large enough mean changes to warrant concern when interpreting the profiles of those who have taken the profile multiple times. Although scale reliabilities tend to increase, the usefulness of the Inventory appears to decrease with an increasing number of administrations. The effect is one of increasing normality of test profiles. One interpretation of the results is that candidates for jobs become "test-wise," and the scores are the result of a combination of responses to the repeated assessment. It becomes increasingly difficult to identify unfit employees with the Inventory. Given these results, further research on retesting effects of the Inventov, as well as other personality measures, is indicated.     

网络协作过程中团队成员信任机制的实验研究

本文采用情景模拟实验的方法,以大学生为研究对象,通过模拟现实环境中虚拟团队的工作方式,考察了虚拟团队协作过程中个体信任六个因子（风险、利益、实用价值、影响力、兴趣以及努力程度）的发展。实验历时两个月,共进行三次问卷调查,收集了不同阶段各个团队个体信任六个因子变化发展的数据。本研究运用蜘蛛图和平衡秤模型分析了积极团队和消极团队个体信任发展的差异。研究结果表明,在虚拟团队发展的早期,个人利益和兴趣是影响个体信任的主要因子,随着团队任务的进展,实用价值成为后期主要的影响因素之一;在虚拟团队发展早期,成员间可能会发生较为激烈的人际和任务冲突,并对兴趣和努力等因子产生消极的影响;相对于消极团队,积极团队更专注于团队任务,成员更乐于参与团队协作并提高自身的影响力。     

THE 12-HOUR WORK DAY: DIFFERING EMPLOYEE REACTIONS

This field study examined the reactions of non-exempt employees (N=671) to utilizing a "compressed word schedule" (i.e., 12-hour shifts) for staffing a continuous process plant which operated 24-hours per day/seven days per week. The 12-hour shifts were fixed with shifts changing at noon and at midnight. Based upon previous research, it was hypothesized that employees who had actually worked the 12-hour schedule would be more positive towards it than would employees who had never worked it. This was found to be the case. For example, those who had worked the 12-hour schedule saw the compressed schedule as being less fatiguing, saving on commuting cost and time, providing a more regular sleep pattern, and providing more usable time off. A second hypothesis concerned only those working the 12-hour shift. It was hypothesized that those employees working the 12 PM to 12 AM shift would be "less out of phase" with physiological and social rhythms and, thus, react more positively to the 12-hour shift than employees working the 12 AM to 12 PM shift. This hypothesis was strongly supported.     

The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ): developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work

Although there are thousands of studies investigating work and job design, existing measures are incomplete. In an effort to address this gap, the authors reviewed the work design literature, identified and integrated previously described work characteristics, and developed a measure to tap those work characteristics. The resultant Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) was validated with 540 incumbents holding 243 distinct jobs and demonstrated excellent reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, the authors found that, although both task and knowledge work characteristics predicted satisfaction, only knowledge characteristics were related to training and compensation requirements. Finally, the results showed that social support incrementally predicted satisfaction beyond motivational work characteristics but was not related to increased training and compensation requirements. These results provide new insight into how to avoid the trade-offs commonly observed in work design research. Taken together, the WDQ appears to hold promise as a general measure of work characteristics that can be used by scholars and practitioners to conduct basic research on the nature of work or to design and redesign jobs in organizations.     

IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPRESSED WORK SCHEDULES: PARTICIPATION AND JOB REDESIGN AS CRITICAL FACTORS FOR EMPLOYEE ACCEPTANCE

This paper summarizes the empirical evidence on compressed work weeks and analyzes the effects of an implementation of a three-day/ thirty-eight hour (3/38) work schedule among information systems personnel ( N = 84). Data showed that eighteen months after implementation, 3/38 employees still strongly favor the compressed schedule. Those most likely to express favorable attitudes towards the schedule were employees who had participated in the decision to implement 3/38, those whose jobs had been enriched by the schedule change, and those with strong higher order needs. Fatigue did not appear to be a problem. The data also suggest substantial organizational payoffs including reductions in sick time, overtime, and personal leave time.     

Working conditions,well-being,and job-related attitudes among call centre agents

A comparison of 234 call centre agents with 572 workers in traditional jobs with long lasting training revealed lower job control and task complexity/variety and higher uncertainty among call agents. However, time pressure, concentration demands, and work interruptions were lower in call agents. Within the call agent sample, controlling for negative affectivity and other working conditions, job control predicted intention to quit, and job complexity/variety predicted job satisfaction and affective commitment. Social stressors and task-related stressors predicted uniquely indicators of well-being and job-related attitudes. Furthermore, data confirm the role of emotional dissonance as a stressor in its own right, as it explained variance in irritated reactions and psychosomatic complaints beyond other working conditions. Results indicate that strong division of labour may be a rather general phenomenon in call centres. Therefore, working conditions of call agents require a redesign by means of job enrichment or—better—organization development. Moreover, measures of social stressors and emotional dissonance should be integrated routinely into stress-related job analyses in service jobs.     

Attention bias for social threat in youth with tic disorders: Links with tic severity and social anxiety

Many individuals with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders (TS/CTDs) report poor social functioning and comorbid social anxiety. Yet limited research has investigated the role of cognitive factors that highlight social threats in youth with TS/CTD, and whether these biases underlie tic severity and co-occurring social anxiety. This study examined whether selective attention to social threat is enhanced young people with TS/CTDs compared to healthy controls, and whether attention biases are associated with tic severity and social anxiety. Twenty seven young people with TS/CTDs and 25 matched control participants completed an experimental measure of attention bias toward/away from threat stimuli. A clinician-rated interview measuring tic severity/impairment (YGTSS Total Score) and questionnaire measures of social anxiety were completed by participants and their parents. Young people with TS/CTD showed an attention bias to social threat words (relative to benign words) compared to controls but no such bias for social threat faces. Attention bias for social threat words was associated with increasing YGTSS Total Score and parent-reported social anxiety in the TS/CTDs group. Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect path between YGTSS Total Score and social anxiety, via attention to social threat. Tentatively, these associations appeared to be driven by impairment rather than tic severity scores. Preliminary data suggests that youth with TS/CTD have enhanced attention to threat, compared to controls, and this is associated with impairment and social anxiety. Attention to threat could offer a cognitive mechanism connecting impairment and social anxiety, and so be a valuable trans-diagnostic treatment target.     

Revisiting the survivor syndrome: The role of leadership in implementing downsizing

This article examines the key strategic and operational aspects of managing downsizing in Barclaycard, a credit card company, and SKF (UK), a bearings manufacturing company. The article begins by briefly reviewing the literature on downsizing; it then presents the data collection methods used in this study. The main areas explored were the strategic reasons for downsizing, the implementation strategies used, and the reactions of middle managers and nonmanagerial staff. In both organizations, downsizing was accompanied by significant redesign and transformation. The underlying theme in Barclaycard was that downsizing was a proactive measure in order to protect future jobs; despite this, the survivors' reactions were negative. SKF (UK) had experienced many rounds of downsizing over the years, yet the reactions of survivors were positive. This article provides possible explanations for these contrasting findings and concludes by suggesting actions that organizations need to take in order to avoid the survivor syndrome.