ABSTRACT
Assessing and improving job design and job quality have long been of interest to ergonomists, with the aim of reducing the adverse effects of work on health. More recently, consideration has been given to how work can be positively beneficial for health (Smith et al., 2011). There is much discussion about which features are most important in making a job ‘good’: Rose (2003) identifies pay and security as key, Lowe (2001) finds relationships to be a critical factor, and Clark (2005) highlights the importance of the actual work done. There are also concerns about the impact of sedentary work, and the need for ergonomics to move away from its ‘less is better’ paradigm (Straker & Mathiassen, 2009).
