Editing Work design (section)

== History ==
[[File:Ford assembly line - 1913.jpg|thumb|Ford Motor Company assembly line, 1913. An early work design based on scientific management principles.]]
Interest in the question of what makes good work was largely initiated during the industrial revolution, when machine-operated work in large factories replaced smaller, craft-based industries.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=Sharon K.|last2=Morgeson|first2=Frederick P.|last3=Johns|first3=Gary|date=2017|title=One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward|url=https://goal-lab.psych.umn.edu/orgPsych/readings/5.%20Motivation/Parker,%20Morgeson,%20&%20Johns%20(2017).pdf|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=102|issue=3|pages=403–420|doi=10.1037/apl0000106|pmid=28182465|hdl=20.500.11937/69907|s2cid=21566577}}</ref> In 1776, [[Adam Smith]] popularized the concept of [[Division of labour|division of labor]] in his book ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'', which states that dividing production processes into different stages would enable workers to focus on specific tasks, increasing overall [[productivity]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Oldham|first1=Greg R.|author1-link=Greg Oldham|last2=Hackman|first2=J. Richard|date=2010-01-22|title=Not what it was and not what it will be: The future of job design research|journal=Journal of Organizational Behavior|volume=31|issue=2–3|pages=463–479|doi=10.1002/job.678|issn=0894-3796|doi-access=free}}</ref> This idea was further developed by [[Frederick Winslow Taylor]] in the late 19th century with his highly influential theory of [[scientific management]] (sometimes referred to as Taylorism).<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=F. W.|title=The Principles of Scientific Management|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1911|location=New York}}</ref> Taylor argued that jobs should be broken down into the smallest possible parts and managers should specify the one best way that these tasks should be carried out.<ref name=":7" /> Additionally, Taylor believed that maximum efficiency could only be achieved when managers were responsible for planning work while workers were responsible for performing tasks.

Scientific management became highly influential during the early 20th century, as the narrow tasks reduced training times and allowed less skilled and therefore cheaper labor to be employed.<ref name=":6" /> In 1910, [[Henry Ford]] took the ideas of scientific management further, introducing the idea of the automotive [[assembly line]].<ref name=":6" /> In Ford's assembly lines, each worker was assigned a specific set of tasks, standing stationary while a mechanical conveyor belt brought the assemblies to the worker.<ref name=":6" /> While the assembly line made it possible to manufacture complex products at a fast rate, the jobs were extremely repetitive and workers were almost tied to the line.<ref name=":6" />

Researchers began to observe that simplified jobs were negatively affecting employees' mental and physical health, while other negative consequences for organizations such as [[Turnover (employment)|turnover]], [[Strike action|strikes]], and [[absenteeism]] began to be documented.<ref name=":6" /> Over time, a field of research within [[industrial and organizational psychology]] known as job design, and more recently work design, emerged. Empirical work in the field flourished from the 1960s, and has become ever more relevant with modern technological developments that have changed the fundamental nature of work, such as [[automation]], [[artificial intelligence]], and [[remote work]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Balliester |first1=T. |last2=Elsheikhi |first2=A. |title=The Future of Work: A Literature Review |url=http://englishbulletin.adapt.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wcms_625866.pdf |journal=ILO Research Department Working Paper |volume=29}}</ref>