Boosting facility managers’ personal and work outcomes through job design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to recommend strategies for designing facility management (FM) workers’ jobs so as to boost their work outcomes. FM operatives/workers form the backbone of the labour force in property maintenance. Work outcomes are determined by: internal work motivation; quality of work performance; job satisfaction; turnover; absenteeism; and stress level. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a questionnaire survey. Data were collected from FM workers via face-to-face interviews. The data were subjected to t-test and correlation analysis using SPSS software. Findings – It was found that FM workers have significantly high work outcomes, which are measured as internal work motivation, quality work performance and job satisfaction. They have significantly low absenteeism. FM workers whose jobs have the following characteristics – using a range of skills to execute a variety of challenging activities; freedom to carry out activities with discretion; and opportunities for doing interesting work, leadership, promotion, training and upgrading – are likely to have higher-quality work performance, internal work motivation and/or job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is relatively small. Additionally, given the diverse nature of the work that FM workers do, the job characteristics identified may not be exhaustive enough. Practical implications – Recommendations are made to improve the work outcomes of FM workers through job design. These include ways to increase FM workers’ sense of accomplishment and to provide them with job stability. This will help to ease the labour shortage, and address the low-productivity issues faced by employers in the FM industry. Originality/value – This paper contributes to knowledge by identifying the job characteristics that significantly affect the work outcomes of FM workers. Employers may use the findings to redesign their FM workers’ jobs so as to boost their work outcomes.

Background: Banks and financial institutions are vulnerable to money laundering (ML) as a result of crime proceeds infiltrating banks in the form of significant cash deposits. Improved financial crime compliance processes and systems enable anti-ML (AML) analysts to devote considerable time and effort to case investigation and process quality work, thereby lowering financial risks by reporting suspicious activity in a timely and effective manner. This study uses Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) to evaluate the AML system through the job satisfaction and motivation of its users. The purpose of this study is to determine how satisfied AML personnel are with their jobs and how motivated they are to work with the system. Methods: This cross-sectional study used JCT to investigate the important elements impacting employee satisfaction with the AML system. The five core dimensions of the job characteristics were measured using a job diagnostic survey. The respondents were employees working in the AML department of a Malaysian bank, and the sample group was chosen using a purposive sampling approach. A total of 100 acceptable replies were gathered and analysed using various statistical approaches. A motivating potential score was generated for each employee based on five main job characteristics. Results: Findings revealed that five core job characteristics, namely, skill diversity, task identity, task importance, autonomy and feedback, positively influence the AML system employees' job satisfaction. However, skill variety and autonomy are found to be low, which are reflected in the poor motivating potential score. Conclusion: This study examined the characteristics of the AML system and its users' job satisfaction. Findings revealed that task significance is the most widely recognised characteristic, followed by feedback and task identity. However, there is a lack of skill variety and autonomy, which must be addressed to improve employee satisfaction with the AML system.

Background: Banks and financial institutions are vulnerable to money laundering (ML) as a result of crime proceeds infiltrating banks in the form of significant cash deposits. Improved financial crime compliance processes and systems enable anti-ML (AML) analysts to devote considerable time and effort to case investigation and process quality work, thereby lowering financial risks by reporting suspicious activity in a timely and effective manner. This study uses Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) to evaluate the AML system through the job satisfaction and motivation of its users. The purpose of this study is to determine how satisfied AML personnel are with their jobs and how motivated they are to work with the system. Methods: This cross-sectional study used JCT to investigate the important elements impacting employee satisfaction with the AML system. The five core dimensions of the job characteristics were measured using a job diagnostic survey. The respondents were employees working in the AML department of a Malaysian bank, and the sample group was chosen using a purposive sampling approach. A total of 100 acceptable replies were gathered and analysed using various statistical approaches. A motivating potential score was generated for each employee based on five main job characteristics. Results: Findings revealed that five core job characteristics, namely, skill diversity, task identity, task importance, autonomy and feedback, positively influence the AML system employees' job satisfaction. However, skill variety and autonomy are found to be low, which are reflected in the poor motivating potential score. Conclusion: This study examined the characteristics of the AML system and its users' job satisfaction. Findings revealed that task significance is the most widely recognised characteristic, followed by feedback and task identity. However, there is a lack of skill variety and autonomy, which must be addressed to improve employee satisfaction with the AML system.

Background: Banks and financial institutions are vulnerable to money laundering (ML) as a result of crime proceeds infiltrating banks in the form of significant cash deposits. Improved financial crime compliance processes and systems enable anti-ML (AML) analysts to devote considerable time and effort to case investigation and process quality work, thereby lowering financial risks by reporting suspicious activity in a timely and effective manner. This study uses Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) to evaluate the AML system through the job satisfaction and motivation of its users. The purpose of this study is to determine how satisfied AML personnel are with their jobs and how motivated they are to work with the system. Methods: This cross-sectional study used JCT to investigate the important elements impacting employee satisfaction with the AML system. The five core dimensions of the job characteristics were measured using a job diagnostic survey. The respondents were employees working in the AML department of a Malaysian bank, and the sample group was chosen using a purposive sampling approach. A total of 100 acceptable replies were gathered and analysed using various statistical approaches. A motivating potential score was generated for each employee based on five main job characteristics. Results: Findings revealed that five core job characteristics, namely, skill diversity, task identity, task importance, autonomy and feedback, positively influence the AML system employees’ job satisfaction. However, skill variety and autonomy are found to be low, which are reflected in the poor motivating potential score. Conclusion: This study examined the characteristics of the AML system and its users’ job satisfaction. Findings revealed that task significance is the most widely recognised characteristic, followed by feedback and task identity. However, there is a lack of skill variety and autonomy, which must be addressed to improve employee satisfaction with the AML system.

Animal Health Services, Wyeth LaboratoriesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaThis study contrasted the original version of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS; Hackman & Oldham,1975) with the revised version recently proposed by Idaszak and Drasgow (1987). A total of 224dairy workers completed both versions of the JDS. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis showedthat the revised JDS job characteristics items conformed more closely to the hypothesized five-factorstructure than did the original JDS items. However, results of LISREL analyses indicated that therevised items did not improve the usefulness of the JDS in predicting several outcomes (e.g., satisfac-tion, internal motivation, and productivity).In its most general form, job characteristics theory (Hack-man & Oldham, 1980) posits that five job characteristics (au-tonomy, task identity, task significance, skill variety, and taskfeedback) prompt a number of personal and organizational out-comes. Nearly all of the research that has tested the theory hasused the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS; Hackman & Oldham,1975), an instrument designed to measure incumbents' percep-tions of the job characteristics, their satisfaction, and internalmotivation.Much of the research regarding the JDS has focused on thedimensionality of the job characteristics measures (cf. Dun-ham, 1976; Dunham, Aldag, & Brief, 1977). Although a fewstudies have confirmed the five hypothesized job dimensions(e.g., Katz, 1978; Lee & Klein, 1982), most have reported solu-tions inconsistent with the a priori five-factor structure (e.g.,Dunham, 1976; Pierce & Dunham, 1978).Recent research has examined the possibility that the JDSitself might be responsible for these factor structure inconsis-tencies. Idaszak and Drasgow (1987) conducted factor analysesof two samples of employees. Results revealed six-factor solu-tions for both samples—five factors corresponding to the hy-pothesized factor structure and the sixth representing the nega-tively worded, reverse-scored JDS items. Harvey, Billings, andNilan (1985) used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate thefactor structures suggested in past research. Their results sug-gested that the best fitting solution included the five a prioriThe authors thank Fritz Drasgow, Doug May, and Motohiro Mori-shima for their help with the data analyses. Robert Billings, JeanneBrett, Fritz Drasgow, and Motohiro Morishima provided helpful com-ments on earlier drafts of this article.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to CarolT. Kulik, Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mel-lon University, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213.dimensions plus one or two method factors (factors for the re-verse-scored items and the three-anchor scale items).In response to these criticisms, Idaszak and Drasgow (1987)revised the JDS by rewriting the reverse-scored job characteris-tics items. The factor structure of the revised JDS was theninvestigated for a sample of printing plant employees. The re-sulting factor structure conformed very closely to the a priorifive-dimension structure. As a result, Idaszak and Drasgow con-cluded that the new scales should be used in future researchconcerned with job characteristics.Two limitations of the research on the revised instrumentlead us to believe that this recommendation may be premature.First, the Idaszak and Drasgow (1987) study did not involve acomparison of the original JDS with its revised counterpartwithin the same sample. As demonstrated by Dunham et al.(1977), some samples display a five-factor structure when theoriginal JDS is used. Thus, it is possible that the five-factorstructure observed by Idaszak and Drasgow is a function of thecharacteristics of the sample they used to assess the instrument.Second, it is unknown what impact the JDS revisions mighthave on the criterion-related validity of the JDS. If the JDS revi-sions result in purer measures of the job characteristics, thereshould be stronger associations between the revised measuresand the personal and organizational outcomes than between theoriginal measures and the outcomes.The present research uses confirmatory factor analysis to ex-amine whether the revised JDS items conform more closely tothe a priori factor structure than do the original JDS itemswithin the same sample. We also use LISREL analyses to assessthe relative effectiveness of the two instruments in predictingseveral outcomes. LISREL is useful in examining the psychomet-ric properties of the original and revised JDS because it allowsus to separate the measurement model from the structuralmodel. Specifically, we expect that the structural model wouldnot differ across the two versions of the JDS, but there shouldbe improvements in the measurement model.462

The inefficiency and low morale of Immigration staff in Tanzania have led to significant concerns regarding their performance. Over 40% of Immigration Department staff report low job satisfaction, and employee productivity has declined by 25% over the past three years. The persistent issues of inefficiency and low morale threaten to undermine these functions, thereby justifying the need for this study. This study assesses the influence of job enrichment practices on the performance and job satisfaction of Immigration Department staff in Arusha. The study employed a descriptive research design guided by a pragmatism research philosophy, which balances both subjective and objective perspectives to address the complex issues related to job performance and satisfaction. The study also used Job Characteristics Theory (JCT), which posits that certain job characteristics such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback enhance employee motivation and performance. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews with a sample size of 52 respondents whereby 47 staff completed questionnaires and 5 leaders were interviewed. A purposive sampling technique was used to ensure that participants with direct experience in job enrichment practices were included. The questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that job characteristics significantly impact job performance. This study highlights the significant role that job enrichment and job satisfaction play in enhancing the performance of Immigration Department staff in Arusha. The findings suggest that focusing on improving job characteristics that contribute to job satisfaction can lead to a more motivated and productive workforce. It is recommended that the Immigration Department adopt strategies that promote job enrichment, such as providing opportunities for skill development, increasing employee autonomy, and ensuring a supportive work environment.

Introduction: Years ago there were an idea that pay is the most important cause of work motivation. Later, researchers found that the design and the characteristics of the job greatly affect the employee motivation. Aims: Identify the extent to which the nurse's job have skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback, assess the nurses internal work motivation, and find the effect of job characteristics on nurses internal work motivation. Study design: A descriptive correlational design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at Main Assuit University Hospital. Subject and Method: The subject of the study was all bedside nurses working in the Intensive Care Units at Main Assuit University Hospital (159). A self – administered questionnaire was used to collect data which includes: Personal data sheet, Work Design Questionnaire, and Multimethod Job Design Questionnaire. Results: Autonomy and Feedback correlated positively and significantly with motivation. Conclusion: Activities performed by nurses have high skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback and high internal work motivation, also the most effective core job characteristics on motivation were autonomy and feedback. Recommendations: organizations system should include information about the importance of job characteristics in improving nurses’ satisfaction, motivation and quality of care.

This study evaluated levels and risk factors of burnout in a sample of mental health professionals employed in nonhospital psychiatric residential facilities of northern Italy. Nurses, nurse assistants, and educators completed a questionnaire evaluating demographic variables, burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), job characteristics (Job Diagnostic Survey), workload, relationships with colleagues, and support from supervising coordinators. A total of 202 (83% response rate) questionnaires were analyzed. Logistic linear regressions were used to estimate predictors of burnout dimensions. Burnout risk was widespread. Low feedback about job performance, poor support from coordinators, and young age predicted emotional exhaustion. Low feedback about job performance predicted feelings of depersonalization. Low task identity and young age predicted reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. Interventions to prevent burnout among employees should be developed. These include providing feedback about performance, clearly identifying the tasks of the job, and providing support.

PurposePrevious studies on job characteristics have been performed mainly in Western contexts. More empirical evidence is needed to understand the important job characteristics of positive job outcomes in a non‐Western context. Therefore, this research has two objectives: to assess the impact of five job characteristics on work attitudes and behaviors in the UAE, and to test the mediating impact of distributive justice on the job characteristics‐work outcomes relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study reports responses of 350 employees from five large organizations operating in Dubai. Data were collected on a structured questionnaire containing standards scales of job characteristics, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, distributive justice, and some demographic variables. After testing scales reliability and validity, the proposed linear relationships were tested using a series of separate hierarchical regression analyses. Proposed mediation hypotheses were tested using Baron and Kenny's recommendations.FindingsConsistent with studies conducted in a Western context, the study showed that skill variety and feedback have functional impacts on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Contrary to Western studies, the study reported that task identity and task significance have functional effects on work attitudes and behaviors. Autonomy also showed unexpected positive relationship with turnover intentions. Additionally, distributive justice mediates some of the relationships between job characteristics and work outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of common method bias and cross‐sectional data are discussed in the light of implications for future research. Nevertheless, the results provide new insights on the influence of job characteristics on work outcomes in a non‐Western context of the UAE. Also, the study reported evidence for the mediating impact of distributive justice on the job characteristics‐work outcomes relationship.Practical implicationsThe study has implications for enhancing work behaviors and attitudes. In general, enhancing certain job characteristics can result in higher‐level employee outcomes. Also, managers should improve some of the contextual factor (i.e. distributive justice) in order to enhance the impact of job characteristics on work outcomes.Originality/valueThe study is considered to be one of the first to examine the job characteristics‐work outcomes relationship in a non‐western context of the UAE. Also, it is among the first studies to test the role of distributive justice as a mediator for the job characteristics‐work outcome relationship.

The fundamental purpose behind this research was to find out the association amongst job characteristics and personal outcomes of the representatives of Khairpur sugar factory. The quantitative and qualitative methods have been used to analyze the data and interpret the results. In this research personal outcome, such as satisfaction, internal work motivation and growth were the dependent factors and independent variables were job characteristics like skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback, policy practices and benefits. The present studies led to the laborers of Khairpur sugar mill and total workers were 394 and only 78 workers were randomly selected for this study. Essential information gathered through sample received from the employment indicative overview survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) . The secondary sources incorporate journals, annual reports and unpublished research works. Statistical software for social science (SPSS version 21) and descriptive survey was used to analyze data and multiple regressions were applied to establish the correlation between independent and dependent variables. After analyzing the results, it is concluded that job characteristics such as skill variety shows the significant relationship with personal outcomes which is at the level of .000 as well as task identity, task significance and benefits have a positive relationship with personal outcomes such as (internal work motivation, satisfaction and growth) but autonomy, feedback and policy & practices shows less significant impact on personal outcomes.

The purposes of this study were to analyze the relationships among perceived job characteristics, job satisfaction and turnover intention of sport managers and thus provide fundamental information that is conducive to facilitating the establishment of job redesign and personnel management strategies for sport organizations. In order to accomplish such study purposes, this study utilized a survey method with a total of 300 sport managers who were employed from 5 different types of sport organizations. The survey questionnaire consisted of 4 dimensions including subject`s general information, job characteristics(Hackman & Oldman, 1980), job satisfaction(Goo, 2003) and turnover intention(Jeong, 2001). Valid 258 questionnaires were finally analyzed through SPSS 14.0 using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, exploratory factor analysis and multiple and simple regression analysis. Then following findings were derived from aforementioned research. First, job characteristics had significant effects on job satisfaction of sport managers and among 5 sub factors, task significance, task identity and feedback factors had significant effects on job satisfaction. Second, job characteristics had significant negative effects on turnover intention and task significance, skill variety and feedback factors had significant effects on turnover intention in this study. Third, job satisfaction had a significant negative effect on turnover intention of sport managers. In conclusion, the relationships among study variables were verified in the field of sport industries and organizations and suggestions were provided to help establish personnel management for sport organizations and conduct studies related to sport managers` job characteristics.

This study started from the question that discussion on relationship between job characteristics in human resources management and organizational culture has not been much developed. The aim of this study is to explore relationship among organizational culture, job characteristics and organizational commitment. Additionally the study includes exploring if job characteristics can play a mediating role in between organizational culture and organizational commitment. Employees in multi-national companies are selected as proper targets. The multi-national companies have different organizational culture compared to the mother company as well as the local companies having employees from multi-cultural background, and even job designs are affected by the mother company, which can explain relationship of set variable effectively. With concept of an organizational culture coming from the five(5) cultural dimensions of Hofstede(1984), the three out of five cultural dimensions: high uncertainty avoidance, long term-short term orientation, and individualism-collectivism were used in this study, based on factor analysis results of a previous research. Most multi-cultural companies value positive relationship with the local members and organizational commitment. Rather than an external factor such as salary, whether employees are satisfied with the work itself or job characteristics is deemed as an important factor to increase organizational commitment. The job characteristics are classified into 5 sub-factors: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback with which the employees tend to experience motivation and job satisfaction, and consequently better organizational achievement. The multinational companies need to treat the job design in regards to job characteristics in a cultural point of view. Compared to a single organization, multinational companies require much more understanding about language barrier and employees’ culture. As major concepts of variables are presented above, the study was set out. By analyzing the responses of 283 employees of foreign multinational companies in Seoul, the following implications and limitations were found. First of all, the organizational culture multinational companies has a positive effect on organizational commitment and it was found that the bigger the uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and collectivism, the higher the organizational engagement. The long-term orientation affects on productivity indices such as organizational commitment, meaning that the eastern oriental value with the long-term point of view can work effectively in the multinational companies. This result also found that the Korean members do not prefer uncertain work environment, which the multi-national companies those seek for profit rather than stability and short term achievement rather than long term achievement should consider. It is shown that the collectivism affect more on organizational commitment than individualism, as in other previous researches. These results will provide practical implications to the executives as well as the managers of multinational companies in regards to organizational design and management within Korea. Second, among the organization culture of multinational companies uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation had a positive relationship with the five job characteristics. However, individualism-collectivism gave a positive effect on skill variety only out of the job characteristics while showing a negative effect on feedback, having no significant effect on other three.

This study examines the moderating role of gender between job characteristics and job satisfaction among Indian software employees which has received less attention in the Indian context. Additionally, it also examines difference in the job characteristics that affect male and female employee's job satisfaction. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and chi-square difference in multi group moderation analysis, used to test the hypothesized relationships. Chi-square difference test showed invariant moderation effect of gender on the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction. It has been also found that five job characteristics (skill variety, task significance, task identity, autonomy and feedback) have a significant positive impact on job satisfaction among male employees, whereas in case of female, only two job characteristics task significance and task identity were significant predictors of job satisfaction. Interestingly, task significance and task identity were common significant positive predictors of job satisfaction for both male and female software employees.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how the situational factors that facilities managers (FMs) in Singapore face in their jobs affect their work outcomes. Job situation factors such as types of tasks, interpersonal relationships in teams, supervisors’ actions and advancements opportunities are classified into job characteristics, social environment characteristics, leadership and organisational practices categories.Design/methodology/approachBased on a systematic literature review, a questionnaire was designed to collect data on work outcomes and job situational factors from FMs working in public housing estates in Singapore. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Science software, inferential statistical analyses were carried out.FindingsFMs reported that they used economical means and resources to carry out their work significantly frequently and achieved significantly high productivity. Complaints are received significantly frequently and maintenance defects are regularly encountered. Many of the job situational factors are present and found to be significantly correlated with work outcomes and some of these may be used to predict FMs’ work outcomes. Based on the correlation results, the frequency of complaints from residents may be reduced through the following ways: make FMs’ work tasks less challenging; reduce the variety of work tasks that FMs need to execute; reduce FMs’ work volume and speed of work.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to FMs managing public housing estates in Singapore. The work outcomes are self-reported, and thus susceptible to bias. However, as the respondents reported significantly frequent complaints and defects, this might indicate that the bias is not serious.Practical implicationsFMs’ jobs should be broken down into small parts/tasks and assigned to different FMs to specialise. This makes FMs’ tasks less challenging, and allows them to specialise to increase their productivity, improve their quality of work and overcome the problem of high work volume or demanding work speed. By adopting job specialisation, the frequency of receiving complaints from residents may be reduced.Originality/valueThis study discovered strategies to reduce the number of complaints from residents of public housing about facilities management. The contribution to knowledge is that complaints by residents on facilities management can be reduced by adopting job specialisation but not job enlargement. Decomposing work into different tasks and allowing FMs to focus on a few tasks would lead to a reduction in complaints. It also enables FMs to master the skill and complete the tasks without much oversight or supervision.

The potential consequences of affective experience at work prompt an examination of whether job characteristics are related to affect. Using two measurement models, we examined associations between perceptions of five job characteristics and self-reported mood. One model was based on traditional measures of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ affect. The second model utilized a more differentiated measurement scheme consisting of four unipolar mood scores. Using both approaches achieves both broad and specific assessments of the links between affective states and job characteristics. Regression analyses of the survey data from 370 managers in 26 organizations indicated that job characteristics explained an average of 19 per cent of the variance in activated pleasant affect and an average of 11 per cent of the variance in activated unpleasant affect. Task significance and task autonomy were positively associated with activated pleasant affect. Skill variety was positively related, and task identity and task feedback were negatively correlated with activated unpleasant affect. Finally, Growth Need Strength (GNS) moderated the relation between the Motivating Potential Score (MPS) from the combined job characteristics and both activated pleasant and activated unpleasant affect. Using a four-factor model of affect (enthusiasm, fatigue, nervousness, and relaxation), we discuss preliminary implications for the design of work. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.