The effects of lean organizational practices on employees' attitudes and workers' health: evidence from France

Abstract

Work organization has deeply changed during the last decade, in particular with the introduction of a new type of management production system in the industrial and service sectors – the lean production system. Few studies have considered the social outcomes of work organization forms. Using the high-performance work system (HPWS) theoretical framework, we first analyze the influence of these specific lean work organization practices and then study the effect of a lean practices bundle on job satisfaction, employees' intent to stay and health at work. The quantitative analysis that we carried out on a French national database (n = 24,486) gives ambiguous results. Our study highlights negative consequences of several lean work organization practices (delegation of responsibilities, problem-solving demand, standardization, job rotation) on job satisfaction, employees' intention to stay and health at work. However, quality management is positively linked to health at work. Lean work organization practices, as a bundle, have a deleterious effect on attitudes and health at work. To our knowledge, quantitative research has rarely been performed on the effects of a lean practices bundle on attitudes and health at work. Our study shows the contrasting effects and the risks associated with the development of lean production, which leads us to suggest some practical implications.