The Effects of Participation on Job Motivation,Job Satisfaction and Work Practices: A Case Study in a Heavy Engineering Workshop

Abstract

T he effect of participation on employee responses was investigated in a participative team and a number of non-participative work groups in a heavy engineering workshop. In the participative team the members met weekly with their supervisor to address work-related problems. The non-participative groups continued to perform their tasks with the traditional work practices, which did not include problem-solving sessions. It was demonstrated that after installation of participation, the participating team experienced a higher perception of involvement in decision-making, were more satisfied in their work, but suffered a greater loss of job motivation than the non- participative groups. A most important outcome was that the participative team installed a better set of work practices, which led to a number of new initiatives about the work site. These findings are described