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Work Design and Job Design

• Work Design is an umbrella term used to collectively address
the issues of job design and work measurement.

• Job design means assigning various components i.e. tasks to a

job to be performed by a worker in daily routine.

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 Components of Work Design

Work Design

Job Design Work Measurement

Methods Job enlargement, Principles of

Analysis rotation & enrichment Motion Economy Stop-watch Work
Time Study Sampling

Employee-
Flow
Machine
Process
Activity Chart
Chart

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 Behavioral Aspects of Job Design

• Job enlargement is the horizontal loading of the job of a

worker. This means certain tasks of the same skill and mental
level as being handled by the worker earlier are added to the
job.

• In job rotation, highly repetitive tasks like in assembly lines

are swapped (interchanged) amongst workers after a suitable
duration of time.

• Job enrichment means giving some additional responsibilities

to the worker, which are slightly more dignified than the
routine tasks being handled by him. This is also called vertical
loading of the job.

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 Job Task Discretion
Breaugh (1985) identified three types of job task discretion that can
be exercised by workers on a factory floor:
•Work method This type of discretion allows workers to modify the
way a work is performed. They may be given the liberty to suitably
modify the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for performing a
given task.
•Work criteria In this type of job discretion, the workers may be
involved in deciding about the criteria that would be used for
assessing the quality of their work. This may include their
involvement in evolving product specifications.
•Work schedule Workers are allowed to decide on scheduling,
sequencing, and timing of the activities to be performed.

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Job Task Discretion Matrix

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 Methods Analysis
• Methods analysis is a technique in job design in which the job is usually broken down
into various steps or procedures. The workplace arrangement, tools and equipment used,
materials used, and the worker’s skill set required for the performance of the job are all
studied in detail in order to devise better methods of performing a job.

• Flow process chart shows the flow of materials, labor, and products (semi-finished and
finished) from one place to the other in the facility. It helps in identifying the various
sources of delay in the process, which may be eliminated in order to achieve better
efficiency.

• Employee-machine activity charts help in methods analysis of jobs for improving the
efficiency of the employees and the machines. In employee-machine activity chart, we
show the various time instants and the activities of the employee and the machine
simultaneously.

• Principles of motion economy aim at minimizing the human fatigue of workers due to
repetitive motion of the different parts of the body like hands, feet, eyes, etc. and, thus,
maximizing the efficiency of the worker during the performance of a job.

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 Work Measurement
• Stopwatch time study is a method of work measurement used for measuring
the standard time duration of repetitive tasks.

• Standard time duration means the time taken by an average worker to perform
a task at a sustainable rate under the given facility arrangements.

• A performance rating (P) is multiplied with the observed time of the job to
arrive at the normal time (N) of the job.

• Standard time (S) is normal time plus allowances. Allowances have to be

made for time consumed in adjusting or repairing the machines, workers
drinking water, or taking rest breaks.

• Work sampling is a method used to determine the fraction of idle time of

machines or workers during the day or to determine the time spent by workers
on different types of tasks. This method is suitable for jobs which are non-
repetitive in nature.

• Productivity is defined as the ratio of output produced to the input used in

producing the output.

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