Positive aspects of motivation in repetitive work: effects of lot size upon spacing of voluntary work stoppages

Abstract

The hypothesis that the size of a lot or batch in a repetitive light task exerts a differential "traction" on the worker (urges the worker to complete the task) was tested on two machine operations. Workers were observed while working on large, medium-size, and small batches. The number of voluntary work stoppages per observation period decreased consistently with the size of the batch, and the number of minutes elapsed between stoppages increased. Small batches were not preferred, however, and no changes in production occurred. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)