Effects of job enlargement and job change on contiguous but nonmanipulated jobs as a function of workers' status

Abstract

Assigned 48 client-worker Ss in a sheltered workshop to 1 of 8 work groups. Ratings of group status, attitudes, and tension were obtained from each S before and after manipulation of the job content. The jobs of low-status Ss were either enlarged or changed without enlargement in the presence of high-status Ss whose jobs remained the same, and vice versa. Job enlargement was found generally to be of no greater influence than job change without enlargement so far as Ss' job satisfaction and tension were concerned. Low-status Ss tended to be favorably affected by job manipulation but responded unfavorably when their jobs were not manipulated. These opposing directions are attributed to a double Hawthorne effect. It is concluded that the effect of job enlargement in an organizational context involves a more complex combination of factors than has been previously considered. The utility of the S population for field studies of worker behavior is discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)