Work organization and ergonomics

This paper examines the impact of sociotechnical and business trends on work organization and ergonomics. This analysis is performed with the use of Balance Theory (Smith and Carayon-Sainfort, Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 1989, 4, 67-79). The impact on work organization and the work system of the following sociotechnical and business trends is discussed: re-structuring and re-organizing of companies, new forms of work organization, workforce diversity, and information and communication technology. An expansion of Balance Theory, from the design of work systems to the design of organizations, is discussed. Finally, the issue of change is examined. Several elements and methods are discussed for the design of change processes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.