Simplifying job design. Now we’re cooking

In an insightful albeit somewhat crassly titled online post, “Crap Design Household Appliances", writer, Matt Coughlin, lamented the deterioration of design between older appliances as compared to their modern counterparts (1).

A comparison of ovens and washing machines with their various design flaws shines a light on the importance of decisions about how parts are organised and work together. For example, we install delicate computer components placed right next to the rear vent—the hottest part of the oven. The modern washing machine is typically a front loader even though water more easily disperses from a top loader preventing mould and mildew.

Take a look around at other great gadgets in your car. If you are reversing, some cars ensure you cannot adjust the climate control or radio.However, this is a nuisance for your passenger who is locked out from the controls for no reason and so cannot do this task for you whilst you are busy handling the car.

The modern boot no longer needs physical manipulation. The click of a button will open it for you, like a Star Wars vehicle. But it may also refuse your request if you’ve pulled over to drop the kids off at school and the engine is still running. After all, you can’t be trusted to leave the car running whilst your ten-year-old grabs their bag from the car. Or you might come across the many individuals who don’t have automatic boot openers who still try to yank it open and force it closed manually, damaging the system altogether.  

Although appliances today have newer features, it seems at least some of the time that earlier, simpler designs were more effective. At one time the modern oven simplified cooking a meal. We no longer had to chop wood, start the fire, heat the oven, and maintain the fire, and then clean all the wood and ash at the end. Instead, the flick of a switch meant we could immediately start the process. The microwave further simplified and sped up the process; albeit with not the same level of quality.

However, with many appliances and modern technology, there’s a tendency to add more complexity to them as a means of selling new features and creating a point of difference with competitors. Similarly, we are overcomplicating our jobs and the way in which job tasks fora role are organised and fit within the broader organisational context — a concept known as job design.

Job design refers to the content and organisation of one’s work tasks, activities, relationships, and responsibilities (6). Given this, how jobs are designed represents a key target for simplification. By making jobs more streamlined and effective, complexity can be reduced, wellbeing enhanced, and creativity embraced to improve workflow (2,3).

Poor job design can have major impacts on motivation, job satisfaction, and commitment to an organization, absenteeism, and turnover (2, 3, 4).Consider this quote from an article about working conditions at Amazon:

"I couldn't talk to anyone, we were constantly hounded to go faster and push harder and to push out extra volume. I began to hate my day-to-day life because all I got to do was the same exact thing as yesterday. It was incredibly stressful worrying about losing your job every day…” (5)

A lack of autonomy, repetitive tasks, no room for creativity and a perceived lack of support and security are all indicators of poor job design. Or, consider a colleague of mine. She was juggling her own role and filling in for a person who had left the organisation. She also had no additional resources, and the dual role meant the reporting structure was unclear. Dual roles canal so lead to competing priorities and ultimately to increased stress, reduced motivation, and disengagement.

Much like the old ovens in the aforementioned article, doing things that work and doing them simply comes back to design. Once a job meets its design intent, further tinkering with the job adds very little value and can lead to complications as well as diluting individuals across many tasks.

Therefore, job design and simplification come together to streamline how people can work most effectively. This means doing the right work, at the right time, in the right way, to achieve the right outcomes.

This all sounds good in theory, but what is the primary purpose of good job design? In a nutshell, the aim is to optimise how work is done. There are many ways to design jobs effectively, and our model (see figure below) provides a useful way in which to approach the task of good job design.

‍

‍

At its foundation, job design involves ‘Simplify Purpose’, so being clear about what you are supposed to be doing and trying to achieve (i.e., the ‘what’). Yes, it sounds simple and easy but is often overlooked for the more glorifying opportunities, like leveraging strengths.  

Simplifying purpose involves having (or gaining) a clear understanding of job requirements and objectives and could include things like job specifications and organisational objectives. In addition, the ‘why’ involves identifying and aligning your personal values with the job to provide a sense of meaning and engagement. Together, these areas create purpose and potential and provide the base on which the other aspects of job design rest.In essence, they simplify direction and therefore how decisions are made on a day-to-day basis.

Once you have the foundations in place, ‘Strengthen Potential’ can help to simplify how tasks are achieved. For example, if someone in the team has a strength in report writing, it would be both efficient and simple if they were involved in reviewing documentation and helping to develop this capability in others. Autonomy allows people to exercise a level of choice and control over how they work and enables the freedom to choose and be responsible for how tasks are completed (i.e. who does what). With the right amount of autonomy, how you collaborate with others can also be simplified and agreed upon to streamline interactions and maximise efficiency. When these aspects of job design are implemented effectively, continuous learning can be used to enhance, improve, and maintain simplified practices and ensure the principles of good job design lead to ongoing benefit.

The final icing on the cake is to ‘Streamline Performance’, and this involves strengthening collaboration and optimising effectiveness. This is key to process improvement and minimises duplication of effort and unnecessary touch points in the way work is achieved. It means, working together like a well-oiled machine… or oven!

So, when it comes to workplace simplification, job design represents an important and effective factor to address. By having clear tasks aligned with values and strengths, the right amount of autonomy and collaboration, and continuous learning, it is possible to design good jobs that can aid simplification and enhance motivation, creativity, and engagement. Now, I best be off as I think my oven might be burning….

‍