Effects on Productivity and Morale of a Systems-Designed Job-Enrichment Program in Pacific Telephone

Abstract

In two experiments over a 14-mo. period, 56 maintenance mechanics (framemen) served as experimental (N = 21) and control (N = 35) groups. Framemen carried work responsibilities on large “frames“—serving the larger business communities. Quantity aspect of the work consisted of 24-hr., day-to-day connection of wires to complete new, re-arranged, or disconnected circuits. The quality aspect could be measured by number of customer complaints which could be directly traced to inefficient or careless work on the frames. For the experimental groups only, all jobs were “systems analyzed.” Analyses were carried out and job enlargement (horizontal loadings) and job enrichment (vertical loadings) were implemented. Feedback was provided on productivity of individuals. “Hawthorne effects” and fluctuations of effort due to subtle types of supervisor-employee interaction were controlled by alternating supervisors and other environmental controls. Job satisfaction of each group was measured by the Job Description Index before and after each experiment. Following introduction of job-enrichment programs for experimental groups and measured before and after and during 14 mo., significant improvement in quantity and quality occurred and was maintained after termination of experiments. Expressed job satisfaction was average or slightly below on the Job Description Index for all workers. Despite improvement in productivity there were no significant differences in expressed job satisfaction.