Job enlargement can be defined in human resource management as adding variety to the tasks an employee is responsible for when performing a job. Rather than having an employee routinely do the same task as in assembly line work, enlarging their job expands their duties with the intention of making the job more stimulating and meaningful. Job enlargement has been accepted in organisations of all sizes to stimulate motivation, diminish boredom and repetitiveness, and not necessarily change the overall responsibility of employees, while still having them be more productive in their duties.
Productivity increases benefit the organisation. As well as providing employees with satisfaction and development opportunities, they can make a positive contribution to the company. If properly used, job enlargement could result in a more stimulated employee with less chance of turnover, and more likely to cultivate a better organisational culture. Nonetheless, job enlargement does have limitations, a major limitation being the chance of work overload if it is not carefully appropriate.
Job enlargement's definition, importance, examples, advantages, and disadvantages, employers will have a better understanding of how to design their work effectively. Furthermore, it will eliminate ambiguity in terms of how job enlargement differs from job enrichment. Thus, the needs of the employee will be met while fulfilling the goals of the organisation.
Job enlargement represents the expansion of an employee's role by adding additional tasks of similar levels and types. Alternatively, it could also be seen as expanding the job to eliminate repetitiveness. It allows the employee to do a wider variety of work, vary the tasks to keep the job interesting, and hopefully improve job satisfaction, all while maintaining the same nature of work.
Job enlargement is about making the job less repetitive, typically allowing the employee to complete a larger set of activities in their existing role to keep the employee interested and motivated when conducting similar work for an extended period of time. It relates to the proposition that if work is varied, it creates a more interesting and challenging experience.
Job enlargement most often happens when the organisation assigns a related activity in one skill area. For example, an employee may be transferring data only to take on the associated task of preparing reports, checking records, and verifying the information; thus, the employee's role is enlarged with no change in title or authority.
The key goals of job enlargement are to increase employee interest in their work, decrease employee boredom, and increase productivity . It also helps to use employees' skills more effectively, and it creates a greater sense of employee engagement. Generally, organisations will use job enlargement to try to address productivity vs. employee satisfaction, and on the whole, by enlarging tasks, employees develop long-term satisfaction that promotes all employees in the workplace.
One common form of job enlargement is found across all sectors, which provides an employee with more opportunities to perform a wider range of daily activities. The idea is to minimise repetition and provide a little value to jobs while still maintaining the same job description and job level.
A data entry employee enters records and creates summary reports. This is less exhausting for the worker since they can see how their entered data will be used. It also helps to improve accuracy because the employee can see what the final output looks like.
When there is also a request to perform not only to do phone calls, but also emails, live chats, and report to the most basic troubleshooting on a ticket tracking program. This creates more than one job to perform, it brings variety, and skill development, one can be a customer service representative in multiple arenas.
A worker in an assembly line may still be able to do their function, on the machine, but in addition, many tasks, running quality tests, quality checks, quality packaging, quality labelling, etc. Each time there is a repetition of the same job, there are some limits on boredom.
Sales associates may have a variety of tasks, including customer interaction, processing transactions, managing inventory, and stocking shelves. This will give employees more responsibility. It helps employees develop a holistic understanding of the store's operation.
A teacher is expected to teach subjects but also organise extracurricular programs. This allows for creative involvement, builds deeper personal connections for the student/teacher relationship, and helps the teacher develop leadership/management skills.
To avoid overwhelming employees, it is important to be cautious when implementing job enlargement so that they remain motivated. Ideally, job enlargement takes place after changes to a position are planned and supported with training. Here are the steps to take:
Before adding a new job role and responsibilities. Decide which new tasks can be added to ensure variety and engagement but not stress for the employee. If done properly, planning will make job enlargement feel like a development opportunity, rather than additional work.
Employees require the right training to learn new responsibilities. Employees cannot do their best work without training, and training builds confidence in their work. If employees don't have adequate training in their new tasks and responsibilities may cause stress instead of growth.
Employees need to be trained formally or informally to help them feel confident that they can handle their enlarged jobs. Training can build competence and decrease the frustration that can be involved with employees making major changes within their jobs.
Do not assign all new tasks at once. Introduce the new responsibilities in stages and allow the employees time to absorb them. Adjusting to new tasks can be impacted by the workload on the employee, and it's important to help them feel at ease. Changing tasks progressively can help avoid confusion and excessive stress.
Ask employees for feedback after enlarging their job roles. Feedback from them will provide you with some indicators of whether they believe their workload is appropriately balanced, as well as whether the adjustments were appropriate. It will also indicate that further changes may need to be made to sustain or increase engagement.
Recognise and reward any employee who has gotten job enlargement right. Recognition is a great way of bolstering morale, facilitating acceptance of change, and creating a positive work environment . Recognition and rewarding performance also act as a motivator for other employees to view change positively.
Job enlargement has a positive effect on both employees and organisations when done effectively. Job enlargement reduces boredom, increases enjoyment, and leads to increases in efficiency and effectiveness when employees can apply and mix different jobs. The following are the three main benefits:
The same job over and over again can make work boring because the job is monotone and repetitive. By providing different jobs, employees stay engaged in work. This helps them maintain their focus and motivation throughout the day.
With a wider mix of jobs, there are different jobs where an employee will use skills and knowledge. Employees at an individual level can learn beyond their current skills and reach in their careers, as employers can create a better process by leveraging and developing an adaptable workforce.
With more tasks comes greater management responsibilities and value. Also, motivation was assisted with the pressure to get it right and the feeling of participation in the success of the organisation.
Employees become more effective at their jobs if they learn a new skill and perform a variety of tasks. This improves the productivity of both the employee and the team and the organisation as a whole. Having variety in the work keeps employees more active and engaged, which can increase output.
Managing and executing multiple assignments creates opportunities for employees to develop their skillset and gain practical experience. When employees take on new responsibilities and challenges, it builds confidence and grows their management skills.
Job enlargement can also have some of the same drawbacks as job enrichment. Without careful planning and execution, job enlargement can lead to stress, inefficiency, and decreased job satisfaction. The following are some of the disadvantages of job enlargement:
Job enlargement by adding several tasks without increasing the employee workload potential, ensuring that the employee has the capacity to handle them. When work feels unmanageable, it creates pressure and leads to stress.
Too many tasks can decrease efficiency in the areas of specialisation. The person is trying to maintain too many active tasks simultaneously, which will decrease overall work quality and sometimes affect performance for years to come.
Sometimes a first-day task is very enjoyable. However, if the task is not differentiated or support is not given, motivation often diminishes rapidly and can revert to boredom. If employees feel demotivated in the work, they were previously excited about, it affects their engagement and status in the workplace.
Organizations need to incur costs for initial and ongoing training of employees to support new responsibilities. After job enlargement implementation to the continued employee support and training costs may exceed if not planned.
Some employees may flat out reject an enlarged role, as they embrace the monotony of their routine tasks. The changes may also create feelings of dissatisfaction that erode motivation, rather than improve it.
Job enlargement and job enrichment are often used together; the two can be related, but they are not the same thing. Job enlargement is the process of increasing the number of tasks on a job of the same level, while job enrichment is adding more responsibility and decision-making to the job.
Here’s a simple comparison:
| Aspect | Job Enlargement | Job Enrichment |
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