Work-Unit Task Uncertainty, Design and Morale

Abstract

Unit morale is an important but little researched criterion of work-unit performance. Data from 382 employment security agency work-units were used to test a task-contingent model of work-unit design and morale. Universal and contingent effects of unit task and design on unit morale were examined. After controlling for the main effects of task uncertainty and individual dimensions of design, a multivariate measure of fit was found to be the only significant predictor of unit morale. These findings differ from previous research and show that a systems'approach to the examination of fit may be better at detecting contingency relationships than the pairwise approaches that have been attempted previously.