One Hundred Years of Work Design Research
One Hundred Years of Work Design Research
One Hundred Years of Work Design Research
Gary Johns
Concordia University
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
In this article we take a big picture perspective on work design research. In the first section of the paper
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
we identify influential work design articles and use scientific mapping to identify distinct clusters of
research. Pulling this material together, we identify five key work design perspectives that map onto
distinct historical developments: (a) sociotechnical systems and autonomous work groups, (b) job
characteristics model, (c) job demands-control model, (d) job demands-resources model, and (e) role
theory. The grounding of these perspectives in the past is understandable, but we suggest that some of
the distinction between clusters is convenient rather than substantive. Thus we also identify contemporary
integrative perspectives on work design that build connections across the clusters and we argue that there
is scope for further integration. In the second section of the paper, we review the role of Journal of
Applied Psychology (JAP) in shaping work design research. We conclude that JAP has played a vital role
in the advancement of this topic over the last 100 years. Nevertheless, we suspect that to continue to play
a leading role in advancing the science and practice of work design, the journal might need to publish
research that is broader, more contextualized, and team-oriented. In the third section, we address the
impact of work design research on: applied psychology and management, disciplines beyond our own,
management thinking, work practice, and national policy agendas. Finally, we draw together observa-
tions from our analysis and identify key future directions for the field.
Keywords: job characteristics, job demands, job design, job resources, scientific mapping
“Is there no inspiration in labor? Must the man who works go on McChesney’s reflections, and related interest in the question of
forever in a deadly routine, fall into the habit of mechanical nothing- what makes good work, largely arose because of the specialized
ness, and reap the reward of only so much drudgery and so much pay? and simplified jobs that became prevalent during the Industrial
I think not. The times demand an industrial prophet who will lift Revolution, when machine-operated work in large factories re-
industry off from its rusted, medieval hinges and put pure human
placed small, craft-based industries. Smith (1776) formulated the
interest, and simple, free-spirited life into modern workmanship”
(McChesney, 1917, pp. 176 –177).
concept of division of labor, an idea that Taylor (1911) took further
with the concept of scientific management, in which tasks were
In the Journal of Applied Psychology’s (JAP) first edition, G. G. broken down into simplified elements. Time and motion study
McChesney made this elegant call to more seriously design work (Gilbreth, 1911) complemented these simplification principles,
that preserves human character. McChesney went on to argue that with Henry Ford fully exploiting them by opening the first con-
“every man should be more of a man, a better man, for having tinuously moving automotive production line in 1913. The success
worked a day,” and that “deterioration of men deteriorates profits” of this mode of work organization was so great (e.g., the assembly
(p. 177). Thus, right from its very beginning, JAP considered what time for a Model T automobile in this plant was reduced from
type of work is best for organizations and those who work in them. more than 12 hours to a little more than 90 min), that simplified or
narrow and low autonomy jobs became the work design of choice
in manufacturing and beyond (Davis, 1966). Simplified work
This article was published Online First February 9, 2017. designs still exist, as witnessed at contract manufacturer Foxconn,
Sharon K. Parker, UWA Business School, University of Western Aus- who have become (in)famous for the large-scale production of
tralia; Frederick P. Morgeson, The Eli Broad College of Business, Mich- such products as the iPhone.
igan State University; Gary Johns, John Molson School of Business,
Thinking and theory about how to organize work (although not
Concordia University.
This research was supported in part by the first author’s Australian
always practice) has developed considerably since Taylor’s day, in
Research Council Future Fellowship. part in reaction to the responses that job simplification prompted.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sharon K. Unsurprisingly, workers were often deeply dissatisfied with sim-
Parker, UWA Business School, University of Western Australia, M252, plified jobs. As well as turnover, strikes, absenteeism, and other
Perth WA 6009 Australia. E-mail: sharon.parker@uwa.edu.au negative consequences for organizations, detrimental effects of job
403
404 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
simplification on employees’ mental health and job satisfaction It is also pertinent to observe that although most research in this
began to be documented (e.g., Fraser, 1947). These studies were field focuses on work design as an independent variable, we
influenced by the Hawthorne studies (e.g., Roethlisberger & Dick- include in our analysis studies that consider work design as a
son, 1939) and occurred at a time when there was a flourishing of moderator, as a mediator, and as an outcome of top-down forces
thinking on motivation, such as that seen in McGregor’s (1960) (e.g., technology, leadership) or bottom-up processes initiated by
theory X and Y. Over time, the more specific field of research the incumbent (e.g., proactivity, crafting).
known as job design, and more recently work design, emerged.
Empirical work has since flourished. Indeed, there are now more Mapping the Field
than 17,000 published articles on the topic of work design.
Our goal in this article is to take stock of this vast corpus of To make sense of the vast work design literature, we first
research and to examine the role of JAP in shaping its develop- identified the 35 most important journal articles. Second, we
ment. As we elaborate, much evidence shows that work design mapped the research using bibliographic techniques. Online sup-
affects health and economic outcomes for individuals, teams, and plemental material (Resource 2) explains both of these analyses in
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
organizations. At the same time, radical shifts occurring in today’s greater depth.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
organizations have profound implications for people and their To identify the most important work design articles, we focused
work. In short, work design matters, and we must keep it front and on 5708 journal articles on the topic of work design within the
center in the field of applied psychology. We hope the current field of management and psychology identified using a broad set
article helps with this endeavor. of search terms. We narrowed this list further by including only
In the first substantive section of the paper, we map where work those articles published before 2010 that had at least 100 citations
design research is at and how it got to be there. In the second (Web of Science), and those between 2010 and 2015 identified as
section, given the 100th anniversary of this journal, we assess ‘highly cited’ papers. From this list of more than 500 articles, we
JAP’s contribution to the field of work design. We show how, identified those influential articles that took the field in new
although the number of articles published in JAP on work design directions. In making these judgments, we did not rely on citations
remains relatively low, the journal has published many of the key alone because of citations’ temporal bias (underestimating the
impact of both very early articles and more recent articles), their
articles in the field (throughout, articles published in JAP are noted
cultural bias, and because citations do not differentiate the type of
with bold font). But we also note how the wider field of work
influence. Regarding the latter, many highly cited work design
design research has benefited from additional perspectives that
articles support the field in important ways, such as via measure
emphasize work organization for system and team effectiveness
development or synthesis of studies, but they do not move the field
and that reflect contemporary changes in the workplace. Work
in a new direction. Many highly cited articles also apply work
design has been (and should be) a topic that is tightly linked to
design theory, rather than develop it, such as a meta-analysis of
application. Hence in the third section of the paper, we comment
home-work conflict that identifies work design as one of the many
on the extent to which work design concepts are influential in
antecedents. We settled on 35 articles for which we had good
shaping management thinking, are adopted in practice, and are
consensus (see Table 1, which shows these articles in chronolog-
considered at the national policy level. We agree with Peter Warr
ical order of their appearance in the literature). When these articles
and Toby Wall who observed over 40 years ago that “work will are cited in the subsequent text, we use italics to indicate they are
always matter to people . . . they will always love it and hate it . . . one of the especially influential articles and we use bold italics to
society should help people love it more than hate it” (Warr & Wall, indicate the influential article is published in JAP.
1975, p. 11). Finally, we identify key further directions for the Second, we conducted a bibliographic analysis on the 5708
field. work design studies published in the management/psychology
Before we proceed, it is important to define job and work fields. We used the well-established technique of scientific map-
design. A typical definition of a job is “an aggregation of tasks ping (Waltman, van Eck, & Noyons, 2010) to analyze and create
assigned to a worker” (Wong & Campion, 1991). From this visual representations of topics and relationships between topics
perspective, job design refers to the content and organization of within a particular field. Relative to meta-analyses that focus on
tasks. However, scholars have recognized that individuals at work specific topics, scientific maps “have the capability to zoom out
not only execute assigned static tasks, but they also engage in further, and empirically capture the relationships between multiple
emergent, social, and sometimes self-initiated activities; that is, topic areas” (Lee et al., 2014, p. 340). We used a VOS (visualiza-
people can enact flexible work roles (Ilgen & Hollenbeck, 1991). tion of similarities) program, which has been demonstrated to
The term work design has increasingly been used to capture this provide a better representation of the underlying data set than maps
broader perspective. Parker (2014) defined work design as, “the constructed using multidimensional scaling approaches (van Eck
content and organization of one’s work tasks, activities, relation- et al., 2010). After extracting noun phrases (or terms) that occur in
ships, and responsibilities,” and Morgeson and Humphrey (2008, the abstract or title of articles, the program computed the relevance
p. 47) defined it as “the study, creation, and modification of the of terms and assessed their co-occurrence with related terms.
composition, content, structure, and environment within which Association strength measures were then used as input for visual
jobs and roles are enacted.” These broader definitions recognize mapping, creating a two-dimensional depiction of term related-
that work design can be in part crafted by the incumbent, and they ness.
allow for work design to be considered at the team level. To help From the scientific mapping analysis, we identified five clusters
the reader navigate the topic of work design, we provide a glossary of work design research (Figure 1; and see online supplemental
of key terms (see online supplemental material [Resource 1]). material [Resource 2], Table A), with each cluster containing
WORK DESIGN THEORY AND RESEARCH 405
Table 1
Top 35 Influential Work Design Articles and Their Citations in Chronological Order of Their Appearance in the Literature
Article GS WoS
1. Trist, E. L., & Bamforth, K. W. (1951). Some social and psychological consequences of the Longwall method. Human 2407
Relations, 4, 3–38.
2. Herzberg, F. (1966). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review. [reprinted in 2003, Best of 753/1120 50/94
HBR; also published in New York: The Leader Manager, 433–448]
3. Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative 3941 1690
Science Quarterly, 15, 150–163.
4. Hackman, J. R., & Lawler, E. E. (1971). Employee reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology 2753 1010
Monograph, 55, 259–286.
5. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 5963 1961
159–170.
6. Cherns, A. (1976). The principles of sociotechnical design. Human Relations, 29, 783–792. 854 234
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
7. Hackman, J. R., Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and 6006 1809
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Table 1 (continued)
Article GS WoS
34. Grant, A. M. (2008). The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary 351 148
conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 108–124.
35. Parker, S. K. (2014). Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more. Annual Review 27 6
of Psychology, 65, 661–691.
Note. Citation data obtained on November 29, 2015 from GS (Google Scholar) and WOS (Web of Science). Bold indicates the article is published in the
Journal of Applied Psychology.
strongly associated terms. Interestingly, each cluster maps closely ization, exhaustion, cynicism). The final cluster focuses on the
onto a particular historical perspective on work design. Thus, the more specific role demands of role conflict, role ambiguity, and
first and largest cluster of topics (red, N ⫽ 235 terms), labeled role overload, which in turn arose out of sociological and social
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sociotechnical systems and autonomous work groups, reflects re- psychological theories on roles. This distinct history is reflected in
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
search emerging out of the sociotechnical systems perspective, the fact that these role variables form a separate cluster in the
including research on autonomous work groups. The second larg- scientific map (yellow, N ⫽ 92 terms, labeled role theory).
est cluster (green, N ⫽ 130 terms), job characteristics, maps on to Next we elaborate each of the five work design perspectives that
the highly influential job characteristics model of work design. The are reflected in discrete clusters in the scientific map, as well as
third cluster (blue, N ⫽ 101 terms), job demands-control, covers some of the more contemporary work design perspectives that are
research topics spurred by Karasek’s (1979) job demands-control not yet reflected as discrete clusters in the scientific map.
model (e.g., job demand, work condition, decision latitude, phys-
ical demand, risk factor, psychosocial work environment, strain,
Sociotechnical Systems and Autonomous Work Groups
job stress, depression, heart rate, physical symptoms, pain, mus-
culoskeletal injuries, and smoking). The fourth cluster (pink, N ⫽ Early medical studies identified psychological and social factors
65 terms; labeled job demands-resources) includes research on job as causing sickness among coal miners (e.g., Halliday, 1948), but
demands (work load, role overload, work hour, job security, emo- it took Trist and Bamforth (1951) to link these problems to the way
tional demands, work pressure, hindrance) and job/personal re- that work was designed. As these researchers observed, the tradi-
sources (job resources, self-esteem, optimism, conservation). What tional “hand-got” method of mining, in which small groups of
distinguishes this cluster from the job demands-control one is its self-managing and multiskilled colliers contracted with manage-
focus on the outcomes of engagement (absorption, dedication, ment to work a small coal face, was replaced by a mass production
personal accomplishment, vigor) as well as burnout (depersonal- or “longwall” approach. The latter involved new technology (e.g.,
conveyor belts) as well as a new social organization of work (40 to elements of a system might need to operate together to achieve
50 men worked a long coal seam, each carrying out one task, higher-level outcomes is present in concepts like high performance
managed by a set of deputies). The unpredictable conditions un- work systems, although evidence suggests that, of the different
derground contradicted with the rigid work sequencing, creating elements, work design might be especially crucial in shaping
conflict and causing a plummet in productivity. Later, Trist, Sus- organizational outcomes (Birdi et al., 2008).
man, and Brown (1977) observed that the destructive effects of the The technological element of the sociotechnical systems ap-
longwall method were alleviated when groups of miners found a proach has been less present in the literature. Exceptions include:
way to autonomously complete whole tasks. Similar studies in discussions of how to design technology using sociotechnical
Indian textile mills showed the benefits of optimizing both social systems principles (Clegg, 2000); studies of how teams adapt
and technical aspects of work (Rice, 1958), in what became known technology to achieve their goals (Majchrzak et al., 2000); and
as the “sociotechnical systems” approach (Cherns, 1976). how technically oriented changes such as lean production and
Ultimately, applying sociotechnical systems principles led to the integrated manufacturing interact with work design (e.g., Dean &
development of autonomous work groups (AWGs; see Cummings, Snell, 1991; Parker, 2003). A more recent development is re-
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1978), teams that are also referred to as semiautonomous work search on the design of virtual teams.
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groups and self-managing teams. In AWGs, teams carry out a These developments and focus on the sociotechnical interface
relatively whole task, members have a range of skills, and the team are reflected in the red cluster in Figure 1, which covers topics
has autonomy over when and how the work is done. Interdepen- such as teams, work organization, and self-managing teams. Out-
dence is also typically recognized as a defining feature of a team come variables include team performance, as well as more strate-
(Kiggundu, 1983). AWGs were most popular in Europe, especially gic outcomes like innovation and competitive advantage. The map
Scandinavian countries with a strong history of industrial democ- also includes research with a social focus (e.g., networks, trust,
ratization, although they also spread to the U.S. and beyond. information sharing, conflict) and technological focus (e.g., ad-
In a review of 134 U.S. sociotechnical experiments, Pasmore, vanced manufacturing technology, total quality management). Of
Francis, Haldeman, and Shani (1982) concluded this work design all clusters, this is the broadest, including topics such as human
approach led to enhanced productivity, quality, and satisfaction, as resource management, industrial relations, operations manage-
well as lower costs, although they noted actual changes to techni- ment, supply chain, knowledge management, and community. The
cal systems were relatively infrequent. Further reviews of AWGs cluster also includes contemporary topics such as virtual teams,
were similarly positive (e.g., Cohen & Bailey, 1997), as were telecommuting, and globalization.
studies of later reincarnations of the concept such as team empow-
erment (e.g., Kirkman & Rosen, 1999). Nevertheless, other re-
Job Characteristics Model
views highlighted inconsistencies in outcomes (Guzzo & Dickson,
1996). For example, one study showed benefits of AWGs for At around the same time that the sociotechnical systems ap-
employee satisfaction, but not for productivity (Wall, Kemp, Jack- proach was being developed in Great Britain, U.S. scholars were
son, & Clegg, 1986). van Mierlo et al. (2005) attributed some of exploring alternatives to mechanistic work designs. These explo-
these inconsistencies to a failure to consider levels of analysis rations, which spanned 15 years, culminated in the Job Character-
issues satisfactorily, a failure which is troubling given evidence of istics Model (JCM) of Hackman and Oldham (1975, 1976, 1980),
different findings at the individual and team level when both are by far the most influential model of work design.
considered (Langfred, 2000). The JCM is a logical conclusion of the field’s interest in in
Other explanations of inconsistencies include: AWGs might understanding how work can satisfy fundamental human needs
enhance performance within the group, but not across groups (McGregor, 1960). An important first step was the development of
(Parker, 2014); ineffective implementation of AWGs (Parker & Motivator-Hygiene Theory. Through interviews of accountants
Wall, 1998); and variations in task, team, or contextual character- and engineers, Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman (1959; Herz-
istics that shape the relevance of AWGs, such as whether the level berg, 1966) concluded that only intrinsic work factors such as
of interdependence in tasks is suited to team work (Wageman, recognition and achievement were motivational in nature. Al-
1995), the fit with the workforce (Guzzo & Dickson, 1996), the though this theory was largely discredited (Locke & Henne, 1986),
degree of operational uncertainty (Cordery, Morrison, Wright, & it is important because it explicitly suggested that intrinsic job
Wall, 2010), and level of support in the organizational context features impact motivation, which sparked interest in job enrich-
(Morgeson, Johnson, Campion, Medsker, & Mumford, 2006). The ment and stimulated a stream of research that culminated in the
idea that autonomous work groups are always beneficial for em- development of the JCM.
ployees has also been challenged by studies adopting a more The next major development was the research of Turner and
critical approach. In a qualitative study, Barker (1993) showed that Lawrence (1965). Using a sample of 470 workers in 47 jobs across
employees in autonomous teams exercised a high level of control 11 organizations, they showed that “Requisite Task Attributes”
over each other’s behavior. such as autonomy and responsibility were related to attendance
This highlighting of group dynamics as relevant to work design and job satisfaction. Turner and Lawrence also identified “Asso-
was a theme further developed in team effectiveness models pro- ciated Task Attributes,” such as pay, cycle time, and level of
posed in the 1990s. Beyond work characteristics such as auton- mechanization. In addition to demonstrating relationships with
omy, these models highlighted aspects such as leadership, group outcomes, this research was influential because it developed mea-
composition, group processes, and the wider context as drivers of sures of several important work characteristics, serving as the
team effectiveness (Manz & Sims, 1987; Campion, Medsker, & foundation for the next major publication by Hackman and
Higgs, 1993; Cohen & Bailey, 1997). The emphasis on how Lawler (1971).
408 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
In their JAP monograph, Hackman and Lawler (1971) exam- reasonably close tie between job analysis and job characteristics
ined how four “core” job dimensions (variety, autonomy, task research.
identity, feedback) and two interpersonal job dimensions (dealing
with others, friendship opportunities) related to internal motiva-
Job Demands–Control Model
tion, job satisfaction, high quality work, and reduced absence in a
sample of telephone company workers. Because only the four core While all of the above was going on, rather independently, an
job dimensions clearly related to outcomes, the importance of the equally important focus emerged concerning the impact of work
two interpersonal job dimensions was discounted in the JCM. design on physical and mental health, initiated largely by
In two significant studies using data from over 600 employees in Karasek’s (1979) job demands-control model. Interest in strain and
62 different jobs, Hackman and Oldham developed a measure- health-related effects of work design emerged in the 1940s when
ment tool (1975; the Job Diagnostic Survey or JDS; the Job scholars (e.g., Whyte, 1948) showed the dysfunctional effects of
Characteristics Inventory, JCI by Sims, Szilagyi, & Keller, 1976, heavy workloads combined with limited decision latitude. Draw-
has been a popular alternative measure) and tested the underlying ing on this research, Karasek (1979) argued that motivational job
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
theory (1976; the JCM). Although the development of the JDS design research disregarded work demands, whereas large-scale
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
included seven job dimensions, only five were considered to be epidemiological studies identifying the role of stress in mental
“core” (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, health (e.g., Caplan et al., 1975) ignored job discretion. Key
and feedback from the job itself). The basic idea of the JCM is that predictions of Karasek’s model were that demands and control
these job characteristics lead to three critical psychological states, interact such that control can buffer the negative effects of de-
which then lead to a set of personal and work outcomes. In mands, and that strain will be greatest when demands are high and
addition, these relationships are proposed to be moderated by control is low. In addition to control, Karasek and Theorell (1990)
growth need strength, which is the “desire to obtain ‘growth’ subsequently recognized social support as another antidote to job
satisfactions” from work (Hackman & Oldham, 1975, pp. 162– demands (see also Johnson & Hall, 1988).
163). Although later formulations of the theory (Hackman & There is now copious evidence supporting a positive association
Oldham, 1980) identified other moderators (individual knowledge between job demands and stress and burnout (Crawford, LePine,
and skill, context satisfaction), they have been infrequently stud- & Rich, 2010; Schaufeli & Taris, 2014) and between stress and
ied. compromised physical health (e.g., Ganster & Rosen, 2013). Like-
Despite criticisms (e.g., Roberts & Glick, 1981; Salancik & wise, much research documents the positive impact of job control
Pfeffer, 1978), the JCM was the dominant model of work design on well-being (see above). In part, excess job demands, or low
for many years and indeed is still highly influential. Indeed, control, damage health and well-being because they lower indi-
Hackman and Oldham (1975) is the 2nd most highly cited JAP viduals’ daily experiences of work recovery (Sonnentag & Zijl-
article of all time. Such influence is well-earned, as the five core stra, 2006). The effects of demands and control on physical/mental
work characteristics are related to a host of affective and behav- health also vary for different individuals. For instance, Bond and
ioral outcomes (Fried & Ferris, 1987; Humphrey, Nahrgang, & Bunce (2003) showed employees high in psychological flexibility
Morgeson, 2007; Loher, Noe, Moeller, & Fitzgerald, 1985), benefit most from high job control. However, support for the
although the specific model described by the JCM has received specific proposed interaction between demands and control is
only limited support. For example, there is minimal support for the mixed and mainly negative (e.g., van der Doef & Maes, 1999),
moderating role of growth need strength (Morgeson & Campion, even among longitudinal studies vetted for quality (De Lange,
2003; Morgeson, Garza, & Campion, 2012; Tiegs, Tetrick, & Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003).
Fried, 1992), and the specific mediational mechanisms have re- An advance in this literature has been to highlight that not all
ceived limited support, with research suggesting that experienced demands are created equal. For instance, Cavanaugh, Boswell,
meaningfulness is the key critical psychological state (Humphrey Roehling, and Boudreau (2000) proposed a distinction between
et al., 2007; Johns, Xie, & Fang, 1992). However, interactions hindrance demands (“bad stressors”) and challenge demands
between personality and work design (Raja & Johns, 2010) con- (“good stressors”). The former, including organizational politics,
firm the spirit of the JCM’s prediction of individual differences in role ambiguity, and role conflict (see next section), constrain goal
responses to work features. attainment and personal development. The latter, including work-
Perhaps the most enduring legacy of the JCM is the codification load, time pressure, and responsibility, can contribute to personal
and institutionalization of the five core job characteristics as key development and career success. Although both challenge and
work features. Of course, many other work characteristics beyond hindrance demands are positively related to burnout, hindrance
the five shape motivation, an issue we return to when we discuss effects are stronger (Crawford et al., 2010). Also, challenge
integrative perspectives on work design. Nevertheless, despite demands are positively related to job attitudes and performance
some limitations in the underlying theoretical model and its nar- and negatively related to turnover, whereas the reverse applies to
rowness, the JCM has prompted much research and continues to be hindrance demands (Podsakoff, LePine, & LePine, 2007). Given
highly cited. Its dominance is reflected in the scientific map by the that one person’s challenge might be another’s hindrance, Parker
green cluster’s size and density. Key work design variables indi- (2014) argued for an approach that accounts for appraisals of
cated include job characteristics, job perceptions, job complexity, demands (e.g., Ohly & Fritz, 2010). This approach avoids a priori
job feedback, task design, task variety, and skill utilization. Key categorization and also accommodates demands such as emotional
outcome terms include job/work satisfaction, job performance, and labor, attentional demands, and responsibility for costs (Jackson,
intrinsic motivation. This cluster also includes topics related to job Wall, Martin, & Davids, 1993) that are prevalent but uncatego-
analysis (e.g., job analysis, judgment, applicant), suggesting a rized.
WORK DESIGN THEORY AND RESEARCH 409
Another research theme has been the possibility of curvilinear ambiguity and conflict on outcomes such as turnover, commit-
relationships. Warr’s (1984) vitamin model proposed that most ment, and job strain (Fisher & Gitelson, 1983; Jackson & Schuler,
conventionally positive work characteristics will have diminishing 1985; Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970). The role perspective has
returns on well-being over their range, and some will damage also expanded to consider roles outside of the work place. Al-
well-being at high levels. In samples with an adequate range on though work-family issues are a distinct topic in and of them-
work characteristics, these propositions have been supported. For selves, work can be designed in ways that support, or interfere
example, Xie and Johns (1995) found a U-shaped relationship with, nonwork goals (Frone et al., 1992).
between job complexity and emotional exhaustion. Such findings Rather than considering role characteristics as an independent
are important in light of the trend toward work design via restruc- variable, or a job demand, a different approach concerns investi-
turing in which disparate tasks are combined into “super jobs” that gating when, how, and why people expand or change their work
may greatly tax their incumbents. Relatedly, the idea that a job roles. Ilgen and Hollenbeck (1991) argued that, whereas jobs focus
might be “too good” by conventional job design standards led on established and objective task elements, roles are broader and
Elsbach and Hargadon (2006) to prescribe the insertion of daily include emergent and self-initiated elements.1 Job crafting (Wr-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
“mindless” work into creative professionals’ jobs to curb the zesniewski & Dutton, 2001) refers to the process by which indi-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
effects of excess richness. Indeed, Ohly, Sonnentag, and Pluntke viduals cognitively and behaviorally shape their roles to enhance
(2006) found that some degree of task routinization contributed their sense of meaning. Judge, Bono, and Locke’s (2009) study
positively to proactive and creative job behavior, presumably by identified a crafting type of process as one explanation of why
conserving cognitive resources. individuals with high core self-evaluations tend to end up in more
complex jobs. In a similar vein, but coming at the topic from an
active performance perspective, Parker et al.’s (1997) concept of
Job Demands–Resources Model
role orientation captures how individuals construct their roles in
The next development in this area was the introduction of the different ways, with this study showing that autonomous work
job demands-resources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, designs promote flexible role definitions that in turn predict job
& Schaufeli, 2001). The job demands-resources model offered performance. Job autonomy also promotes role breadth (Morge-
two important advances over Karasek’s (1979) initial effort. First, son et al., 2005), role breadth self-efficacy (Parker, 1998), per-
it recognized the fact that other work features in addition to control sonal initiative (Frese, Garst, & Fay, 2007), and proactive work
and support (e.g., rewards, security) might serve as resources to behavior (Parker et al., 2006), with evidence showing that each of
counter job demands, stimulate growth, and foster achievement. these role attitudes and behaviors enhances job performance
Second, it actively incorporated both strain and motivation. Al- (Grant & Parker, 2009). Research on roles is reflected in the
though allowing for an interaction between resources and de- yellow cluster that, as well as topics relevant to role demands,
mands, a key feature of the model is its assertion that demands captures topics concerned with the social and constructed nature of
primarily function to impair health, via strain and burnout, whereas roles (e.g., socialization, newcomer adjustment, crafting, role in-
resources lead to high levels of performance, via engagement. This novation) and a broad array of outcomes (e.g., citizenship, orga-
dual-path quality recognized the essential need to consider multi- nizational commitment, self-efficacy).
ple criteria when examining the impact of work design (Johns,
2010). Integrative and Contemporary Perspectives
Although research has supported many predictions derived from
variants of the demands-resources model (Schaufeli & Taris, The foregoing shows the vast literature on work design within
2014), and the model has been extended to other domains such as the field of psychology and management appears to coalesce into
employee safety (Nahrgang, Morgeson, & Hofmann, 2011), five broad clusters that, in turn, have a clear parallel with historical
predicted interactions between demands and resources remain elu- perspectives. On the one hand, this mirroring of history in current
sive. Also, questions arise about the distinction between key con- clusters of research is to be expected. On the other hand, the fact
structs constituting the model: Are demands and resources con- that the clusters so strongly reflect history—as opposed to reflect-
ceptually distinct? That is, do poor resources constitute a demand ing similarity of topics—implies that there could be important
(Schaufeli & Taris, 2014)? And are engagement and burnout synergies across research areas that are currently not being ex-
conceptually distinct or the opposite ends of a continuum (Cole, ploited. For example, when researchers assess the effects of job
Walter, Bedeian, & O’Boyle, 2012)? characteristics, there is no reason why they should not transcend
the traditional JCM outcomes like performance and turnover (clus-
ter 2) to consider outcomes such musculoskeletal symptoms, role
Role Theory innovation, or burnout (clusters 3, 4). The more integrative and
The job demands-control/resources models encompass the de- contemporary perspectives on work design that we describe in this
mands of role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload. Yet section—which are not reflected as discrete clusters— can help
interest in these particular demands has a distinct history, which link these domains.
likely accounts for them having a separate cluster in the scientific One big picture integrating perspective is what has been referred
map. In 1964, well before the introduction of Karasek’s (1979) to as an interdisciplinary perspective. Campion and colleagues
model, Kahn et al. (1964) introduced role conflict and role ambi-
guity as two key types of stressful role dysfunction. It is beyond 1
Although rarely acknowledged, this distinction is highly similar to
the scope of this article to review in full this literature, but one key Turner and Lawrence’s (1965) “prescribed” and “discretionary” task ele-
point is that much evidence shows the negative effects of role ments.
410 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
(e.g., Campion & Thayer, 1985; Campion, 1988) identified four work with low supervision (Kohn & Schooler, 1982), can promote
distinct work design “models” that draw from unique disciplines. worker learning and development. A learning mechanism is dis-
This includes the mechanistic (i.e., scientific management and the tinct from the traditional motivational focus of the JCM and
industrial engineering approach focused on maximizing effi- acknowledges that work design might promote moral, cognitive,
ciency) and motivational (i.e., the organizational psychology ap- and personality development. Li, Fay, Frese, Harms, & Gao
proach focused on maximizing job satisfaction and motivation) (2014), showed that job demands and control predict the develop-
models we have already discussed, along with two other disciplin- ment of a more proactive personality, which in turn has lagged
ary approaches: The biological model from ergonomics and med- beneficial effects on work characteristics. Similarly, the work of
ical sciences that emphasizes work design to maximize comfort Wu, Griffin, and Parker (2015) showed that job autonomy predicts
and physical health, and the perceptual-motor model from exper- the development of a more internal local of control, which then
imental psychology and human factors that considers the atten- predicts later job autonomy. This focus on learning and develop-
tional and informational demands of the work. This interdisciplin- ment as a result of work design dovetails with advances in the
ary model highlights the distinct benefits and trade-offs of each careers field, such as O’Mahony and Bechky’s (2006) research
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
disciplinary-based approach, which can be particularly helpful showing that contract workers intentionally engage in ‘stretch-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
when designing or redesigning work (Morgeson & Campion, work’ (work that includes some aspects which exceed existing
2002). Despite its interdisciplinary focus, there remained gaps in competencies) to build their skills over their career. Likewise,
construct coverage and measurement (Edwards, Scully, & Brtek, coming from a careers perspective, Hall and Heras (2010, p. 455)
1999), suggesting the need for additional integrative work design advocated the need to design ‘smart jobs’ that “contribute to an
research and conceptualization. enhancement of the adaptive capabilities and self-identity of the
Building on Parker and Wall (1998), and linking their ideas to employee.”
changes occurring in modern work as well as the workforce,
Parker, Wall, and Cordery (2001) developed an elaboration of the
Summary of Key Work Design Perspectives
JCM that proposed an expanded set of job characteristics, as well
as extended outcomes, mediators, moderators, and antecedents of Spurred by problems arising from job simplification and scien-
work design. Morgeson and Campion (2003) reached a similar tific management, multiple perspectives on work design have
conclusion, which Morgeson and Humphrey (2006) then built on emerged. Five clusters of research can be readily identified in a
to develop the Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ). The WDQ scientific map, with each of these clusters clearly reflecting his-
assessed work design characteristics included in existing models torical developments. More recently, integrative perspectives have
(e.g., Campion, 1988; Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Hackman & arisen. Figure 2 synthesizes the various work design perspectives,
Oldham, 1975) as well as a host of specific work characteristics summarizing how each has developed over time (note that the
identified in the literature (e.g., Karasek, 1979; Wall, Jackson, & closely related job demands-control/job demands-resources/role
Davids, 1992; Kiggundu, 1983; Wong & Campion, 1991). The theory perspectives are grouped together because of insufficient
taxonomic approach resulted in an integrative set of 21 work space in the figure).
characteristics spanning task, knowledge, social, and contextual Nevertheless, we need to go further in these efforts to build
domains. As such, it includes work design elements from across bridges across different perspectives. For example, as the scientific
the four work design models identified by Campion (1988). This map shows, there is a marked distance between the more individ-
model was validated in a sample of 540 incumbents across 243 ualist research clusters (job characteristics model, job demands-
different jobs and has been used for meta-analytic (Humphrey et control model, job demands-resources model, and role theory) and
al., 2007) and primary (e.g., Grant, 2008) research studies. The the more team/system-level research cluster (sociotechnical sys-
diverse set of work characteristics in the WDQ enables a more tems theory and AWGs). As we discuss later, a multilevel model
complete consideration of the modern work environment (Parker of work design might bring these areas closer. Such bridge-
et al., 2001). building is important as the field becomes more diverse. It can be
Two additional contemporary perspectives deserve mention. seen, for example, that whereas the dense areas of the scientific
First, building on earlier social perspectives such as Salancik and map match well-established concepts (e.g., job characteristics,
Pfeffer (1978) and the integrative model of Morgeson and Cam- demands, teams), around the periphery we see that work design
pion (2003), Grant (2007, p. 395) developed the idea of “relational research includes a wide range of topics; from more macrooriented
work design,” which focuses on the “relational architecture of jobs variables such as globalization (red cluster) to physical health
that increases the motivation to make a prosocial difference by topics such as heart disease (blue cluster) to individual concepts
connecting employees to the impact they are having on the bene- like extraversion (yellow cluster) to socially oriented topics such
ficiaries of their work.” Empirical research has supported and as public sector motivation (yellow cluster).
extended this conceptual model (e.g., Grant, 2008; Parker, John-
son, Collins, & Nguyen, 2013). This important research explicitly
Work Design Research in JAP
acknowledges that work exists in a social context that can have a
profound impact on employees. JAP has published proportionately more articles on work design
Second, Parker (2014) has advanced a learning and develop- than other top tier journals. We analyzed the number of articles
ment approach to work design. This perspective draws from a published in JAP over time relative to those published in six other
diverse body of research showing that jobs with certain character- top tier journals (using the same classification as Humphrey et al.,
istics, such as high demands and control (Karasek & Theorell, 2007) and those published in the management/psychology field
1990), autonomy (Wall, Jackson, & Davids, 1992), and complex (see Figure 3). This analysis shows that, since appearing in the mid
WORK DESIGN THEORY AND RESEARCH 411
Parker, 2014
Parker &
Wall, 1998 M orgeson &
Humphrey, 2006
Pre 1900 1900 – 1930 1930 – 1940 1940 – 1950 1950 – 1960 1960 – 1970 1970 – 1980 1980 – 1990 1990 – 2000 2000 – Present
1970s, work design publications in JAP fluctuate a bit, but are paper; Demerouti et al. (2001) is the ninth, and Hackman and
reasonably constant overall (on average, 5.5, 8, 5, 8, and 11 articles Lawler (1971) is the 14th most cited JAP article in its history.
per year from 1970 –1979, 1980 – 89, 1990 –1999, 2000 –2009, and Moreover, citation analyses of the more than 5000 work design
2010 –2014, respectively). There is a similar pattern of constancy articles in psychology and management shows that those published
for other top tier journals. It is noteworthy that overall, JAP has in JAP are the most cited by a significant margin (N ⫽ 46,469
published about the same number of work design articles (N ⫽ citations in Web of Science), more than double the number of
366) as the other top tier journals combined (N ⫽ 397), showing citations relative to work design related articles published in Acad-
that, proportionately, JAP publishes more on work design than emy of Management Journal, the next most cited (N ⫽ 19,823).
other top tier journals. Citation numbers of work design articles published in the next five
Perhaps even more striking, and consistent with the conclusion journals are as follows: Administrative Science Quarterly (18,567);
from Humphrey et al. (2007), this analysis shows that number of
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
work design publications in the wider management/psychology
(17,416); Journal of Organizational Behavior (13,261); Harvard
literature has increased dramatically since the mid 1980s and is
Business Review (10,935); and Journal of Management (10,153).
now almost seven times greater than equivalent set of publications
Put differently, work design articles are published across more
in top tier journals or in JAP. In other words, at least in terms of
quantity of publications, work design as a research topic has than 400 different journals, and yet JAP articles are cited 13.3% of
tended to flourish most outside of JAP and other top tier journals. the time whenever a work design article is cited.
When it comes to quality and influence, however, it is clear that Although JAP publications represent just 6.4% of the total
JAP has been and remains a leading vehicle for work design number of published work design articles in the psychology/
research. Twelve percent (over one third) of the top 35 influential management field (366 in JAP of 5,708 articles), their influence is
articles (see Table 1) were published in JAP. Some of these work three times that figure (46,469 citations of JAP articles relative to
design articles represent the most highly cited JAP articles ever: approximately 250,000 citations of articles from the top 60 jour-
Hackman and Oldham (1975) is the second most highly cited JAP nals, or 19%).
412 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
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Figure 3. Number of work design articles appearing in the Journal of Applied Psychology, top tier journals
(excluding JAP), and in psychology/management journals from 1920 to 2014.
In regard to what types of work design topics are covered in In sum, JAP is a significant and influential outlet for work
JAP, we repeated the science mapping exercise reported earlier, design research. However, whereas the broader field of work
focusing only on work design articles published in JAP. The design has extended its reach into a wide array of topics, including
cluster map from this analysis is shown in online supplemental more sociotechnical, macro, and contextualized topics, as well as
material (Resource 2), Figure A (see also Table B). This map many more publications concerning physical health, these are not
depicts four clusters derived from 34 concepts: (a) job character- present in JAP. There is no compelling reason why JAP should
istics model, (b) role theory; (c) job demands-control model and omit these broader topics, albeit with a psychological and rigorous
job demands-resources model; and (d) work-family interface. The viewpoint, which in turn requires that editors recognize some of
map has a reasonably similar underlying structure compared with the challenges of field work that is highly contextualized and value
the psychology/management map, although there are also some outcomes such as job stress and injury.
key differences between the maps. Notably, the JAP map is much
narrower in its coverage of concepts relative to the psychology/
Contributions of Work Design Research
management map. For example, the JAP map excludes many work
design aspects (e.g., emotional labor, mental work load) and many Work design research and theory has significantly contributed to
outcomes (e.g., physical health-related outcomes, knowledge man- academic research, management thinking, and practice and policy,
agement). In addition, the “sociotechnical systems and autono- as we elaborate next.
mous work groups” cluster from the broader field is missing in the
JAP structure. Thus, the latter excludes concepts such as lean, Impact on Academic Research Within the Discipline
telecommuting, system, virtuality, and human resource manage-
and Beyond
ment, in part perhaps reflecting that research on some of these
topics tends to be qualitative or case study based, methods that Is the work design research and theory discussed above impor-
have not typically been JAP’s focus. This does not mean that these tant within our own field? The answer to this is quite straightfor-
topics are disregarded entirely by JAP, just that they are much less wardly yes: work design is recognized as a key antecedent of most
frequent. For example, there are few articles on self-managing of the major dependent variables we focus on in the field of
teams or autonomous work groups in JAP. This is consistent with psychology and management including productivity, well-being/
the review of Cascio and Aguinis (2008), who found that less than strain, absenteeism, presenteeism, job satisfaction, organizational
3% of the articles appearing in JAP over a 45 year period were on commitment, job performance, creativity, and more. Work design
the topic of groups or teams. Although there are an emerging is also recognized as a mediator between other variables and
number of articles in JAP on team empowerment, these often do outcomes (e.g., between leadership/downsizing/lean production/
not link explicitly to work design literature, even though that employment contracts/etc. and outcomes), as well as an outcome
connection would make sense. of individual processes such as job crafting.
WORK DESIGN THEORY AND RESEARCH 413
The contribution of work design research to the psychology/ American Journal of Public Health (e.g., Johnson & Hall, 1988,
management field is shown by the sheer number of articles in this cited 835 times in WOS).
body of work (N ⫽ 5,708 articles) and the many citations to these One concern is that many of these epidemiological studies tend
articles (well over 250,000 citations). Moreover, in an analysis of not to be very well linked to psychology and management work
the value of various theories in organizational behavior (OB), design research, especially that published in JAP. The same issue
Miner (2003) highlighted the usefulness of work design theory. He applies in the field of economics. For example, from the perspec-
evaluated 73 OB theories using 95 expert judges (past presidents tive of optimizing incentive payments, Holmstrom and Milgrom
of AOM, past editors/board members of top tier management (1991; cited 1288 times in WoS) concluded that work should be
journals) to assess each on a range of criteria. The Job Character- specialized so that one person is assigned hard-to-monitor tasks
istics Model was one of just eight theories rated as simultaneously whereas another is assigned easy-to-monitor tasks. The reference
high on scientific validity and applied utility. Sociotechnical sys- list in this paper did not include any psychology or management
tems theory was rated as moderate in scientific validity and high in work design articles. Several similar articles advocate how to
usefulness. Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene theory and Scientific design jobs according to economic principles with little or no link
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Management were both rated low on scientific validity and ques- to psychological theory (e.g., Graham et al., 2015). Perhaps a
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
tionable in terms of usefulness.2 It is interesting that job charac- richer perspective could be developed if such economic research
teristics theory and sociotechnical systems theory both remain drew upon existing work design theories, and of course vice versa.
dominant today as shown by their large clusters in the scientific
map, providing some validity to Miner’s conclusion about their Impact on Management Thinking
value.
But does the academic reach of work design theory extend Another way to assess impact in our field is to examine whether
beyond our own field? The answer to this question also appears to work design research affects management thinking, such as man-
be yes, albeit with scope for more impact. If we extend our ifested by its appearance in the practice-oriented management
analysis beyond psychology/management, there are more than literature. There is no clear agreed way to assess this question since
17,000 articles that include work design topics in their title or practical outlets are many and varied. Thus, we focused on Har-
abstract (see online supplemental material [Resource 2]). These vard Business Review (HBR) as an exemplar outlet. HBR is
articles occur in fields such as ergonomics, health care, medicine, widely circulated among practitioners and managers (Rynes et al.,
epidemiology, economics, engineering, operations management, 2007), and is the most assigned journal in selected online business
industrial relations, and sociology. Examples include: Industrial course syllabi (Kousha & Thelwall, 2008). We analyzed the con-
Relations, such as how self-managing teams (but not team work in tent of articles in recent HBR issues to establish the contemporary
general) promote employee motivation and welfare (Gallie et al., relevance of work design. Of the 178 articles (excluding letters)
2012); nursing, such as how “core problems in work design . . . published in 2014 and in the first few months of 2015, 24% (N ⫽
threaten the provision of care” (Aiken et al., 2001); marketing, 44) of the articles had clear work design content and a further 24%
(N ⫽ 43) were highly relevant to work design. Thus, in total,
such as how empowering work designs affect customer-contact
almost half of the articles had relevance to work design. Examples
employees (Hartline & Ferrell, 1996); clinical science, such as
include: Fernandez-Araoz (2014) in “21st Century Talent Spot-
work design in relation to back pain (Hoogendoorn et al., 2000),
ting” on the importance of job rotation for developing talent;
and engineering/operations management, such as how to design
Nidumolu et al. (2014) on how global sustainability requires
work to improve lean systems (Shah & Ward, 2003). Many of
collaboration via multidisciplinary teams; Zweig (2014) in “Man-
these articles cite work design research from our field. For exam-
aging the Invisibles” on the importance of intrinsically interesting
ple, Hackman and Lawler’s (1971) JAP article, cited 1010 times
work for managing less visible high performers; Moritz (2014) on
(WOS), has obviously been well cited in our field (a total of 479,
how job flexibility and other work design elements can engage
335, 174, and 48 WOS citations, respectively, are in management,
Millennial staff; and Kuehn (2014) on how a health care profes-
‘psychology applied,’ business, and psychology journals), but also
sional team in Uganda, in response to increasing numbers of AIDS
often in other fields such as industrial relations (42 citations), patients, introduced “task shifting” involving pharmacists doing
sociology (37 citations), education (30 citations), nursing (15 some of the work carried out by doctors, freeing up their time for
citations), social work (15 citations), and criminology (15 cita- patient care. Many further examples show work design is impor-
tions). tant in contemporary conversations about managing talent, boost-
Some of the articles in disciplines beyond psychology/manage- ing innovation, and enabling outcomes like virtuality and sustain-
ment, however, are not just instances of application, but they ability. It is nevertheless intriguing to observe that, with one
extend work design research. Particularly important are prospec- exception, none of these articles contained the terms “job design,”
tive, large scale, and rigorous studies in the health/epidemiology “work design,” “job characteristics,” “job autonomy,” or “job
fields. An example is the Whitehall longitudinal studies that have demands” in their abstracts or titles. The topic of work design is
tracked the work design and health of more than 10,000 British thus often central to business and organizational discussion, and
civil servants since 1967. In a highly cited article published in The
Lancet, Marmot et al. (1991; cited 1555 times in WOS) showed
2
that individuals in lower status jobs have a higher risk of morbid- This result surely reflects the organizational behavior bias of the
judges. Core scientific management principles are at the heart of all major
ity. There are similar high impact studies in outlets such as the production system innovations of the last 100 years (i.e., the assembly line,
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health (e.g., Ki- Toyota production system, just-in-time, lean production), all of which have
vimäki et al., 2006; cited 306 times in web of science) and the demonstrated significant organizational utility and practical usefulness.
414 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
yet it is not explicitly referred to using the language more com- reason why work design continues to be an important policy
monly used by academics. Work design is perhaps so ubiquitous in agenda in many countries. Government agencies in most countries
its breadth of application that the impact of the topic is somewhat have departments with responsibility for health and safety at work
obscured. (see, e.g., NIOSH in the United States, the Ministry of Health,
Top selling business press books also often feature work design, Labor, and Welfare in Japan), which in turn stimulate a policy-
albeit without explicit reference to this term. One example is related focus on work design. Work design also often features in
Hammer and Champy’s (2006) Reengineering the Corporation: A government policies concerned with national productivity (e.g.,
Manifesto for Business Revolution, identified by Forbes (2002) as work place innovation, skill development) and ageing. For exam-
one of the most influential business books ever. This book advo- ple, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2009) argued
cates restructuring jobs to remove process fragmentation, thus that government policy needs to move away from focusing purely
providing task identity. A further example is Maitland and Thom- on the development of skills to instead place more attention on
pson’s (2014) book on Future Work, which extensively highlights skill use within the workplace, which is enabled through good
virtual work design, job autonomy, and empowerment as neces- work design. As well as government, other stakeholders have a
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
sary for success in today’s dynamic world. A final example is policy interest in work design. By way of illustration, in Australia,
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Grant’s (2013) Give and Take, named one of the best books of a Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance4 includes government
2013 by the Financial Times, which is a practical version of the agencies (e.g., Safe Work Australia), business representative bod-
relational work design approach discussed above. ies (e.g., The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry),
The notion that work design is highly relevant in contemporary professional associations (e.g., Australian Psychological Society),
management literature, albeit not necessarily expressed using tra- and not-for-profit associations/charities (e.g., Beyondblue).
ditional academic language, is further shown in an analysis of Of course, the sophistication of policy, and its actual impact on
word usage of digitalized books available on Google3 (see online practice, varies considerably across nations for many complex
supplemental material [Resource 4]). Our analysis shows that reasons (see, e.g., Holman, 2013). The key point is that the topic
references to scientific management peaked around 1918 and then of work design is on the policy agenda in most nations, both from
declined, whereas core work design terms (job design, work de- an economic and a health perspective. And it should be. Although
sign, job characteristics, job demands/control, sociotechnical, role there is much practitioner-oriented discussion about work design,
conflict and other role demands) all peaked in the early 1980s with good quality work designs are not so prevalent as to make further
a decline thereafter. However, in contrast to these traditional terms, research on the topic redundant. Indeed, as we discuss next, we
there is a dramatic increase in the use of terms associated with need more research into how to better embed good work design
teamwork as well as clear increases in the use of newer terms such into practice (that is, work design as an outcome rather than as an
as empowerment, demands, time pressure, emotional demands, antecedent).
cognitive demands, and electronic monitoring, thus showing the
continued contemporary relevance of work design issues.
Roadmap for Future Research
Impact on Work Design Practice and Policy In Table 2 we synthesize the main ideas for further research that
Are core work design research ideas embedded in actual work have been made in the past decade in reviews, special journal
design practice? On the one hand, surveys of work practices issues, and meta-analyses (see online supplemental material [Re-
(usually targeting human resource managers) suggest high preva- source 4] for a list of these articles). Here we briefly recap some
lence of enriched work designs such as high involvement work of these directions, and then suggest some of our own perspectives
practices, self-managing teams, and empowerment (see, e.g., for advancing the field.
Lawler, Mohrman, & Benson, 2001). However, analyses that di- Scholars have urged more complete assessments of work char-
rectly ask employees tend to offer a less rosy picture. For instance, acteristics. This includes calls for attention to social, relational,
the 2006 national British Skills Survey, showed that 58.9% of cognitive, and physical aspects of work beyond the traditional
employees reported working in teams, but only 14.2% of employ- ‘motivating’ characteristics; assessing multiple aspects of work
ees reported working in self-directed teams (Gallie et al., 2012). As design at the same time, such as including motivating work char-
a further example, in the Fifth European Working Conditions acteristics when assessing job/role demands; and the need to better
Survey (2010), of 44,000 workers across 34 European countries, address work characteristics relevant to broader changes occurring
over one fifth of jobs have poor intrinsic quality. A further 20% of in work, such as electronic performance monitoring, cognitive
jobs involve highly demanding work. Finally, in an analysis of demands, and emotional labor. More unusually, scholars have
U.S. work, Vidal (2013, p. 598) concluded: “Low autonomy jobs argued we need to consider how distinctive configurations of work
accounted for around 41 per cent of total employment in 1960 but design characteristics might create synergistic effects. Similar calls
continue, after 45 years of technological progress, to account for have been made to consider more comprehensive outcomes of
fully 35 per cent of total employment.” Sociological analyses work design. For example, it will often make sense to include
likewise highlight that, even when new jobs are designed, they are motivation, strain, and health outcomes within a single study, in
not necessarily well designed from a psychological perspective, part so trade-offs can be examined. Measuring outcomes of work
and some scholars suggest that efforts to standardize work and
lower discretion may even be increasing in professional contexts. 3
For more detail see https://books.google.com/ngrams.
The continued prevalence of simplified work, and the growing 4
http://www.headsup.org.au/training-and-resources/mentallyhealthy-
levels of excess demands in some jobs, is no doubt part of the workplace-alliance
WORK DESIGN THEORY AND RESEARCH 415
Table 2
Future Directions for Work Design Research Summarized From Multiple Reviews and Meta-Analyses (See Online Supplemental
Material [Resource 5])
Theme Examples
Work characteristics • Extended work characteristics (e.g., ‘strategic significance’ instead of task significance; social, relational
characteristics; extended job demands)
• Configurations/profiles of work characteristics
Outcomes • Expanded outcomes, such as work design effects on: skill and learning; cognitive, moral, identity development;
organizational-level outcomes like ROI; co-ordination/knowledge-sharing outcomes; safety and injury prevention;
active vs passive mental health; development of swift trust; etc.
• How work design at one level affects outcomes at the next level; multiple outcomes at once; and trade-offs amongst
outcomes
Mechanisms • Alternative mechanisms (e.g., knowledge; different types of motivation; team coordination processes; effects on
identity)
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design over longer periods, and with enough measurement waves standing. Christensen and van Bever (2014, p. 67) described how
to test theory about temporal processes, is also needed. electronic spreadsheets became the “fast food of strategic decision
Once we have expanded outcomes, it is then of course sensible, making,” abrogating managerial judgment and shifting power from
indeed necessary, to expand the mechanisms that link work design executives to Wall Street analysts. These examples suggest that
inputs to outcomes. For example, researchers have often argued for active consideration of work design may provide a constructive
the need to consider individual-level mechanisms beyond intrinsic way to shape identity dynamics in the context of technological
motivation (e.g., alternative forms of motivation, learning, knowl- change. Thus, designing enriched jobs might lead to adaptive
edge sharing) as well as expanded team-level mechanisms (e.g., identities that are an asset in the changing world of work: they are
the development of swift trust, implicit task coordination, the associated with viewing work as a calling (Bunderson & Thomp-
occurrence/prevention of fault-lines). Once again, when we ex- son, 2009) or at least an unfolding career (Skorikov & Vondracek,
pand work characteristics, outcomes, and mechanisms, this gives 2011), and Parker (2014) asserted that they might encourage
rise to the need to recognize different moderators. For example, in people to experiment with new identities in line with the notions of
a study concerned with how the level of team autonomy affects the provisional selves (Ibarra, 1999) or future work selves (Strauss,
development of swift trust, an obvious moderator to consider Griffin, & Parker, 2012). On the other hand, if technology is
might be geographic virtuality. implemented in such a way that it is allowed to deskill jobs, we
We certainly concur with, and echo, the need for the above might provoke a schism in which people behave at work in ways
expansions to our field. But at the same time, we advocate a that belie their identity, with negative consequences for effective-
reorientation of the dialogue. There is a somewhat passive feel to ness.
the above agenda. For example, rather than asking ‘how does work In essence, then, we propose work design as a powerful vehicle
design affect an expanded array of outcomes?,’ we propose that for mitigating potential negative effects (and enhancing potential
one ask ‘what is the role of work design in achieving important positive effects) of technological and social change, as well as for
outcomes?’ In the words of Parker (2014), “we need to expand the enabling these changes to be more effective. This approach builds
criterion space . . . not just by adding extra dependent variables to on studies showing that the effects of various practices (e.g.,
empirical studies but by exploring when, why, and how work downsizing, temporary work, lean production) can be improved
design can help to achieve different purposes” (p. 16.23). through good work design (Parker & Wall, 1998). Such a proactive
As an example, a promising area is the role that work design perspective is likely to become even more vital in the light of work
might play in shaping, or protecting, personal and occupational changes. Take, for instance, the trend that computers and robots
identity. For instance, Eriksson-Zetterquist, Lindberg, and Styhre are increasingly replacing humans, leaving only high-skilled, com-
(2009) recounted how centralized Internet purchasing technology plex jobs and low-skilled jobs that involve nonroutine physical
reduced the autonomy of purchasing personnel, precluding their elements (e.g., care work). For these jobs that remain, achieving
direct interaction with suppliers and damaging their professional good quality work design with reasonable level demands will
416 PARKER, MORGESON, AND JOHNS
become a more important issue than ever. But even more crucially there is always more to learn, and here we have highlighted several
than tracking how computerization affects work, we should be important research needs moving forward.
asking: ‘what types of work design will enable more effective We close with some more wise words from McChesney (1917)
adaption to computerization?’ For instance, how should tasks be 100 years ago:
allocated among people, and between people and computers, to
Every man should be more of a man, a better man, for having worked
maximize health, safety, and productivity? Related proactive ques-
a day. The humdrum shop, operated by humdrum workmen, managed
tions include: how can work design help combat the negative
by humdrum superintendents, dominated by humdrum ideals, should
health consequences of increasingly sedentary work? How can be banished to Humdrum Land, if for no other reason than to save the
work design help keep mature workers in work? What is the role men.
of work design in reducing gender inequities or other forms of
disadvantage? How might work design reduce growing levels of We concur with McChesney (with the extension to also save the
underemployment within our society? women!). We hope that our article helps, like many before it
There are methodological implications of this more proactive published in JAP, to banish bad jobs to Humdrum Land.
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2393703 Accepted February 11, 2016 䡲