The Physical Correlates of Variety in Work

Abstract

The level of variety in work in four shop floor work situations was investigated by means of semi-structured interviews with the workers. Variety was found to occur mainly at the level of batches (that is work units of one to two hours duration) and was generally unimportant in other periods of time. Discretion in work enabled the job occupants to possess more variety in work through allowing different responses to the same stimuli of the work situation. Preferences for different levels of variety were affected by such features of the work situation as bonus earnings and individual levels of skill on particular tasks.

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