Are Small Teams More Satisfying?

Abstract

Interviews were conducted at two geographically distributed FAA Technical Operations remote monitoring and coordination centers. The centers did the same type of work but were organized differently. The first center was organized into seven small teams of five to seven members. The second center assigned individuals to shifts with no set leadership or team membership. The centers operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and all specialists worked rotating shifts. Satisfaction was negatively affected by high workload, perceived individual differences in effort, and shift work. Small teams were thought to improve satisfaction by ensuring that all team members carried their fair share of the workload and by providing emotional support. Shift flexibility, however, was seen as more difficult under the small team concept. Additional research is needed to determine the extent to which schedule flexibility is possible within the context of small teams.