Suchergebnisse

The traditionally low level of expectancy of persons with moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation in industrial work settings is reviewed from a human factors viewpoint. A case is made for interfacing the retarded worker into the human machine system by evaluating performance in terms of information processing ability. Data are reviewed which suggest that there are many industrial tasks at which such a worker can perform well and earn a wage comparable to his nonretarded co-worker. The issue of training workers versus screening workers is discussed as an additional factor in maximizing the role of workers with retardation in industry. The view of the retarded worker as a communication channel and his ability to process information is regarded as a central issue when discussing the optimization of the person-machine interface. The importance of task analysis in breaking down the task into sub-tasks of acceptable information processing demand is also discussed.

The relationship between organizational performance and two dimensions of the 'high performance work system' – enriched job design and high involvement management (HIM) – is widely assumed to be mediated by worker well-being. We outline the basis for three models: mutual-gains, in which employee involvement increases well-being and this mediates its positive relationship with performance; conflicting outcomes, which associates involvement with increased stress for workers, accounting for its positive performance effects; and counteracting effects, which associates involvement with increased stress and dissatisfaction, reducing its positive performance effects. These are tested using the UK's Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004. Job satisfaction mediates the relationship between enriched job design and four performance indicators, supporting the mutual gains model; but HIM is negatively related to job satisfaction and this depresses a positive relationship between HIM and the economic performance measures, supporting a counteracting effects model. Finally, HIM is negatively related to job-related anxiety–comfort and enriched job design is unrelated to it.

As innovative employees become imperative for an organizations' success, research identified job design as a crucial variable in promoting innovative work behavior (IWB) (Hammond et al., 2011). Using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model of Bakker & Demerouti (2007), this article contributes to the literature as it uses recent insights on the distinction between job challenges and job hindrances (Van den Broeck et al., 2010) and distinguishes between blue- and white-collar employees. Using survey data of 893 employees of various organizations the findings generally confirm the JD-R model, although important differences were found between blue-collar and white-collar employees regarding the relation of organizing and routine tasks with IWB. Job content insecurity further was found to be very detrimental for blue-collar IWB. These findings have important HR and political implications as they show that there is no 'one size fits all' HR solution for innovation. ; W sytuacji, gdy innowacyjni pracownicy stają się niezbędnym elementem sukcesu firmy, badania identyfikują projekt stanowiska pracy jako kluczową zmienną w promowaniu innowacyjnego zachowania w pracy (Hammond et al., 2011). Stosując Model JD-R Bakkera i Demerouti'ego (2007), artykuł ten wnosi nowe spojrzenie na rozróżnienie między wyzwaniami i przeszkodami w pracy (Van den Broeck et al., 2010) i analizuje je dla pracowników umysłowych i fizycznych. Wykorzystując dane pochodzące od 893 pracowników rozmaitych organizacji, wyniki generalnie potwierdzają słuszność modelu JD-R, natomiast zauważono poważne różnice między pracownikami umysłowymi i fizycznymi dotyczące organizowania oraz rutynowych zadań w innowacyjnym zachowaniu w pracy. Niepewność co do treści stanowiska pracy wywiera negatywny wpływ na innowacyjne zachowanie pracowników fizycznych. Wyniki badań mają ważne implikacje polityczne jak i w zakresie ZZL, ponieważ dowodzą, że nie istnieje jedno standardowe rozwiązanie ZZL w zakresie innowacji.

AbstractBecause of increasing customer awareness and government regulations, apparel organisations are inclined to adopt social sustainability practices (SSPs) into their working environment. There is a lack of scientific literature examining the interaction between social and economic sustainability within the apparel industry from the employee perspective. This study aims to assess the preferences of blue and white‐collar employees in the apparel supply chain to implement SSPs. The SSPs were identified through a literature study and a deductive approach was taken to conduct a discrete choice experiment. The experiment revealed that blue‐collar employees prioritised maternity leaves and proper sanitary facilities, whereas white‐collar employees preferred corporate social responsibility initiatives and providing proper sanitary facilities when designing the jobs for blue‐collar employees. The study also identified willingness to pay for the identified practices highlighting the importance of providing maternity leaves and proper sanitary facilities to enhance economic and social sustainability. This research contributes to bridging the gap between the expectations of blue‐collar and white‐collar employees towards SSPs and provide an understanding of the interaction between the social and economic pillars of sustainability in the global apparel supply chain.