Journal of Managment
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1, 2011
Motivating by Enriching Jobs to Make Them More Interesting and Challenging
Fred C. Lunenburg
Sam Houston State University
ABSTRACT Job enrichment is a job-design strategy for enhancing job content by building into it more motivating potential. Expanding on the work of Frederick Herzberg, Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham provide an explicit framework for enriching jobs. Based on their own work and the work of others, they developed a job characteristics model. In particular, the model specifies that enriching certain elements of jobs alters people’s psychological states in a manner that enhances their work effectiveness.
Job enrichment is directed at improving the essential nature of the work performed. The idea behind job enrichment is that motivation can be enhanced by making the job so interesting and the worker so responsible that he or she is motivated simply by performing the job. Specifically, job enrichment gives employees tasks requiring higher levels of skill and responsibility and greater control over how to perform their jobs. Job enrichment has its roots in Frederick Herzberg’s (2009) two-factor theory of motivation.
The Job Characteristics Model How can jobs be enriched? What elements of a job need to be enriched for it to produce desired outcomes? J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham (1980) developed a job characteristics approach to job enrichment. The model is based on the assumption that jobs can be designed not only to help workers get enjoyment from their jobs but also to help workers feel that they are doing meaningful and valuable work. Specifically, the model identifies five core job characteristics that help create three critical psychological states, leading, in turn, to several personal and work outcomes (see Figure 1).
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION
Motivating by Enriching Jobs to Make Them More Interesting and Challenging
Fred C. Lunenburg
Sam Houston State University
ABSTRACT Job enrichment is a job-design strategy for enhancing job content by building into it more motivating potential. Expanding on the work of Frederick Herzberg, Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham provide an explicit framework for enriching jobs. Based on their own work and the work of others, they developed a job characteristics model. In particular, the model specifies that enriching certain elements of jobs alters people’s psychological states in a manner that enhances their work effectiveness.
Job enrichment is directed at improving the essential nature of the work performed. The idea behind job enrichment is that motivation can be enhanced by making the job so interesting and the worker so responsible that he or she is motivated simply by performing the job. Specifically, job enrichment gives employees tasks requiring higher levels of skill and responsibility and greater control over how to perform their jobs. Job enrichment has its roots in Frederick Herzberg’s (2009) two-factor theory of motivation.
The Job Characteristics Model How can jobs be enriched? What elements of a job need to be enriched for it to produce desired outcomes? J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham (1980) developed a job characteristics approach to job enrichment. The model is based on the assumption that jobs can be designed not only to help workers get enjoyment from their jobs but also to help workers feel that they are doing meaningful and valuable work. Specifically, the model identifies five core job characteristics that help create three critical psychological states, leading, in turn, to several personal and work outcomes (see Figure 1).
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS, AND ADMINISTRATION
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