ABSTRACT
The concept of job rotation is not new. Job rotation has been extensively studied and applied in
business organizations over the last five decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, job rotation was utilized
to motivate employees. The main objectives of job rotation were to provide task variability, enhance
socialization, assist in management and executive development, and enhance employee career develop-
ment. Job rotation can be defined as a systematic lateral transfer of employees between jobs, tasks,
assignments, or projects within an organization to achieve many different objectives of the organiz-
ation. These objectives include, but are not limited to, orienting new employees; preventing job
boredom or burnout; reducing stress, absenteeism, and turnover rates; preventing fatigue and exposure
to risks/hazards of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs); training employees; involving
managers in training; rewarding employees; enhancing career development; exposing employees to
various environments, etc. Specifically, job rotation has been generally recognized among practitioners
and researchers as one of the effective administrative controls for preventing WMSDs. Several studies
have reported that job rotation is a commonly used redesigning approach for improving an organiza-
tion’s health.
