ABSTRACT
The concept of job redesign has become a topic of considerable contemporary interest and controversy in Western societies. It has led to initiatives at a political level, has been the focus of enquiry among social scientists, and in a relatively few but widely publicised instances, has been translated into direct action. This chapter examines some of the evidence on the effects of alternative ways of organising work. In 1974, on the recommendation of a tripartite steering group of representatives from government, the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry, the same government department instituted the Work Research Unit. The chapter considers factors affecting the diffusion of job redesign. In order to draw some boundaries around the subject matter, the scene is set by a brief outline of what is meant by the term job redesign, and this is followed by an account of current interest in the concept where the emphasis is on recent political initiatives.
