DoE tackles boredom
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A WORK RESEARCH UNIT in the Department of Employment has been set up to help firms tackle problems of stress caused by boring or limited jobs.
According to Mr Michael Foot, Secretary of State for Employment, there are other opportunities for this kind of development in clerical jobs and in the service industries, provided that both managements and trade unions cooperate. The aim of the Work Research Unit would be to encourage participation at shpp level in line with the Government's industrial democracy programme, which places importance on involving people in organizing their work.
The unit will be staffed by behavioural scientists, engineers and industrial relations experts, and will provide information on how particular jobs can be redesigned to create greater satisfaction. Firms ,will be encouraged to set up joint groups to look at the principles of job design.
Projects already carried out in other parts of the world have reduced labour turnover, absenteeism, and have improved industrial relations and created higher productivity.