Reinventing work design theory and practice

Concerns have been expressed about the extent to which work design theory has kept pace with changes to the context and context of work over recent decades. This paper identifies areas in which improvements to work design theory need to be made, from both a theoretical and practical standpoint, and discusses recent attempts by researchers to make such improvements. It is argued that the reinvention of work design theory will involve the consideration of a wider set of psychologically salient job characteristics and their organisational antecedents, the specification of additional moderators and processes in accounting for observed work design outcomes, and an examination of psychological effects other than work motivation and job satisfaction.