RESEARCH NOTES. EFFECTS OF WORK REDESIGN ON EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS: A LONG-TERM INVESTIGATION.

Abstract

The work of Hackman and his associates stimulated current interest in work redesign (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Hackman & Oldham, 1976, 1980). Drawing from earlier work by Turner and Lawrence (1965), Hackman argued that the motivating potential of jobs can be best represented by a number of task dimensions. The dimensions most commonly described are task variety, autonomy, feedback, identity, and significance. The presumption is that if a job has relatively high levels of these attributes, its motivating potential is greater than that of a job that has relatively low levels of the attributes. Although others have advanced alternative theoretical formulations (cf. Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978), Hackman's basic theoretical framework has not been refuted. And even though the potential role of individual differences has fallen to a position of secondary interest, the general approach of relating task perceptions to outcome variables is still a common method of studying tasks (e.g., Idaszak & Drasgow, 1987; Gerhart, 1988). Indeed, the extant research in this area has found fairly consistent support for a link between task perceptions and attitudes (cf. Griffin, 1982a). On the other hand, the link between task perceptions and performance is less clear-cut (Griffin, Welsh, & Moorhead, 1981). In some instances, for example, task perceptions have been unrelated to performance (e.g., Hackman &