A review and reappraisal of electronic performance monitoring, performance standards and stress allowances

There is a growing trend toward electronic performance monitoring (EPM) to track the performance of workers engaged in computer-based tasks. Despite the possible productivity advantages of this approach to work management, the use of EPM may produce stress through work overload, negative computer feedback, loss of incentive pay and threat of job loss. These stress effects are most likely to occur among workers who have difficulty meeting work standards (eg, forms processed per hour) enforced through EPM. A stress allowance is proposed as a new category of work allowance for adjusting EPM work standards so as to minimize imbalances between task demands and the worker's resources to adapt.     

The effects of electronic performance monitoring on stress: Locus of control as a moderator variable

In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of companies using electronic performance monitoring (EPM) systems to evaluate their employees. Data from several case studies suggest that employees who are monitored using EPM experience more stress than employees who are monitored by other means. However, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from this research, because organizations tend to introduce other programs at the same time as EPM systems are installed. Additionally, little existing research examines the role that employee characteristics play in determinigg EPM's impact. The current study represents an attempt to address these issues. Laboratory subjects worked on two relatively simple computerized tasks and were told either that their work would be monitored via a supervisory computer networked to their terminal, or that their work would not be observed. All other work climate variables were held constant. After completing the tasks, subjects' locus of control and perceived stress were measured. Locus of control was found to moderate the relationship between EPM and stress. Internals felt more stress when their work was electronically monitored. In contrast, externals felt more stress when their work was not monitored. These findings are interpreted using a person-environment fit framework.     

Electronic performance monitoring: A review of research issues

The research literature on electronic performance monitoring (EPM) has attributed different outcomes to monitoring, including improved worker performance, reduced job satisfaction and increased job stress. A variety of research methods (case study, cross-sectional and laboratory designs) has been utilized to study these effects of EPM. In this paper, these methods are reviewed, and the results of several studies are summarized. The existing literature often does not clearly specify what is meant by monitoring. Future research on outcomes associated with monitoring should describe carefully the type of monitoring technology and system used - who does the monitoring, when it is done, and what aspect of performance is monitored. It is further suggested that future EPM research should describe in greater detail the work environment, the job tasks, and the organizational climate of monitored and non-monitored workers to determine whether these groups are comparable with respect to these factors, and that observed outcomes are not misattributed to EPM.     

Employee stress and health complaints in jobs with and without electronic performance monitoring

Current applications of electronic performance monitoring based on job design theories that consider worker performance rather than stress issues are likely to generate unsatisfying and stressful jobs (Smith et al, 1986). This study examines critical job design elements that could influence worker stress responses in an electronic monitoring context. A questionnaire survey of employees in telecommunications companies representative of each region in the United States examined job stress in directory assistance, service representative and clerical jobs with specific emphasis on the influence of electronic monitoring of job performance, satisfaction and employee health. Useable surveys were received from 745 employees representing seven operating companies and AT & T; a response rate of about 25%. The results of this survey indicated that employees who had their performance electronically monitored perceived their working conditions as more stressful, and reported higher levels of job boredom, psychological tension, anxiety, depression, anger, health complaints and fatigue. It is postulated that these effects may be related to changes in job design due to electronic performance monitoring.     

Lean tools promoting individual innovation in healthcare

Lean is a management concept that has been implemented in different sectors. This study expands upon lean tools and innovation enabling job resources. Three public sector entities in Sweden participated in a longitudinal quantitative study. Idea generation and idea implementation, as individual innovation, were analyzed. 5S and value stream mapping facilitated employee individual innovation. Hence, these lean tools are considered job resources for such innovation in the initial phase of implementing lean. After controlling for the lean context, job resources and job demands, visual follow‐up boards and standardized work had no significant influence upon individual innovation, while development resources and information as participation promoted individual innovation. These results add to the knowledge of methods and resources promoting individual innovation when initiating a lean implementation.     

A Review of Employee Well‐Being and Innovativeness: An Opportunity for a Mutual Benefit

By drawing on the Job Demands and Resources Model, this review article develops a conceptual framework to advance theoretical understanding of the relationship between job‐related demands and resources, employee well‐being and innovativeness. In conditions characterized by too high levels of demands, employees may suffer from burnout. When job resources are high, they are likely to feel engaged with their work. Burnout in turn can be seen as an inhibitor of innovativeness, and work engagement as an antecedent to innovativeness, mediating the effects of resources and demands at work on innovativeness. We further argue that innovativeness can function as a resource or a demand, depending on how it is managed. In addition to understanding the dual role of innovativeness, the identification of job‐specific demands and resources is central to supporting employee well‐being and, subsequently, innovativeness. The implications of the proposed conceptual framework for academic researchers and managers are discussed.     

Effects of electronic performance monitoring on job design and worker stress: Results of two studies

This article discusses empirical evidence regarding the effect of electronic performance monitoring on job design and stress. It was assumed that electronic performance monitoring would have both direct and indirect effects on worker stress (Carayon, 1993). Electronic performance monitoring could indirectly affect worker stress because of its influence on job design. Data from two studies show that electronic performance monitoring seems to affect job design and worker stress. In the first study, monitored employees reported different levels of job design, but not of worker stress, as compared to nonmonitored employees. In the second study, monitored employees reported more negative perceptions of their working conditions and more stress than nonmonitored employees. Specific characteristics of electronic performance monitoring, such as completeness and comparison of ratings among coworkers, were found to be related to job design and worker stress. The results tend to confirm that EPM has an indirect effect on worker stress via job design.     

Insights about mental health aspects at intralogistics workplaces – A field study

The present field study investigated mental health aspects at intralogistics workplaces, as cognitive and social demands have largely changed in this branch. Within a cross-sectional, mixed methods study design, forty-one intralogistics employees completed a survey about their working conditions and mental states. Further, nine workers participated in a systematic, qualitative group interview to obtain intralogistics specific job resources and job demands. The results were compared to known mechanisms from a long-established psychological model (the Job-Demands and Resources model, JD-R model) to evaluate if these general assumptions still apply at modern working conditions. As expected and in line with the JD-R model, regression analyzes supported that job resources predicted work engagement (p < .05) and job demands predicted burnout symptoms (p < .001) even at modern intralogistics workplaces. However, no interaction effects (Job Demands X Job Resources) were found. The qualitative interviews highlighted several job demands and job resources, which were reported as especially relevant for modern intralogistics workplaces by the participants. Based on the findings, practical recommendations were evolved for the improvement of mental health at intralogistics workplaces. Job resources, for example process transparency or respectful and esteeming leadership behavior, can be increased in order to improve work engagement. Job demands, for example task interruptions, excessive time pressure or profuse exposure to physical stress should be controlled to reduce burnout symptoms.     

Operator stress and monitoring practices

This study attempted to identify the major sources of work-related stress among telephone operators, with special emphasis on computer monitoring and telephone surveillance. A cross-sectional random sample of over 700 telephone operators participated in a questionnaire survey (response rate = 88%). The survey included items designed to measure perceived stress, management practices, specific job stressors and monitoring preferences. Call-time pressure items were most strongly linked to job stress by operators, with 70% reporting that difficulty in serving a customer well and still keeping call-time down contributed to their feelings of stress to a large or very large extent. About 55% of operators reported that telephone monitoring contributed to their feelings of job stress. If given the opportunity, 44% of operators stated they would prefer not to be monitored by telephone at all, while 23% stated they would prefer some monitoring; 33% had no preference. The setting of inappropriate individual-call-time objectives, which may be consistently unachievable for some operators and which create conflict between management demands for quantity and quality and also between workers values concerning quality and productivity demands, appears to be the most stress-inducing aspect of the job. In terms of telephone surveillance, the issues of timeliness and specificity of feedback appear to be less important than call-time pressure.     

The influence of performance standards and feedback on speed and accuracy in an electronically monitored data‐entry task

This study examined performance effects of using electronic performance monitoring (EPM) and feedback to induce compliance with speed and accuracy standards in a data entry task. The study focused on subjects who had difficulty meeting a preestablished data entry speed standard. Subjects performed a data‐entry task for 3 days. On the 1st (baseline) day, no performance standards were imposed, and all subjects were instructed to work at their normal speed and accuracy levels. For the 2nd and 3rd days of the experiment, subjects were assigned at random to one of two groups. In an experimental group, EPM and feedback were used to induce compliance with preestablished speed and accuracy standards. In a control group, subjects were unaware of EPM and received no feedback; they were instructed to continue working at their normal speed and accuracy levels. The introduction of EPM work management in the experimental group led to significant increases in data‐entry speed that were accompanied by significant increases in data‐entry errors. In addition, data‐entry errors produced by experimental subjects increased significantly over time during the workdays in which EPM work management was employed. These effects are discussed in terms of relevant research on goal setting and feedback utilization. The results suggest that when performance standards and feedback that emphasize speed more than accuracy are applied in EPM‐managed work settings, speed increments may be offset by decrements in work quality.     

Mutually complementary effects of cyberloafing and cyber-life-interruption on employee exhaustion

Currently, people are accustomed to cyberloafing, or nonwork-related cyber activities during working hours, and cyber-life-interruption, or work-related cyber activities during nonworking hours. Job or personal demands no longer rely on either work- or nonwork-related domain resources. We propose a dynamic demands-resources model regarding cyberloafing and cyber-life-interruption to elucidate their direct and interaction effects on work and nonwork exhaustion. By identifying these dynamics, this study can enable both employees and employers to utilize these activities for better management of employee experiences in the technology-enabled flexible working environment, which, in turn, would bring about significant implications for employee job performance.     

Are simple feedback interventions involving workplace data associated with better working environment and health? A cluster randomized controlled study among Swedish VDU workers

OBJECTIVE: To test whether feedback and discussion of ergonomic and psychosocial working environment data during 1 short session with individual, groups, or supervisors of VDU workers had effects on (1) the quality of implemented modifications in workplace design, working technique, or psychosocial aspects; (2) psychological demands, decision latitude, and social support; (3) comfort during computer work, emotional stress, and prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms or eye discomfort. METHODS: Thirty-six workgroups from 9 organizations were randomized to 3 feedback conditions (individual, workgroup, supervisor) or control. Follow-up was 6 months after intervention. Questionnaire data aggregated on the workgroup level were used. RESULTS: Effect (positive) on social support was indicated from feedback to supervisors. Conclusion: Feedback and discussion of ergonomic and psychosocial working environment data with supervisors of white-collar VDU workers may have positive effect on social support measured as a group characteristic. Sources of potential bias are discussed.     

Burnout among pilots: psychosocial factors related to happiness and performance at simulator training

Abstract

In this study among airline pilots, we aim to uncover the work characteristics (job demands and resources) and the outcomes (job crafting, happiness and simulator training performance) that are related to burnout for this occupational group. Using a large sample of airline pilots, we showed that 40% of the participating pilots experience high burnout. In line with Job Demands-Resources theory, job demands were detrimental for simulator training performance because they made pilots more exhausted and less able to craft their job, whereas job resources had a favourable effect because they reduced feelings of disengagement and increased job crafting. Moreover, burnout was negatively related to pilots’ happiness with life. These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors and health for valuable outcomes for both pilots and airlines.

Practitioner Summary: Using an online survey among the members of a European pilots’ professional association, we examined the relationship between psychosocial factors (work characteristics, burnout) and outcomes (simulator training performance, happiness). Forty per cent of the participating pilots experience high burnout. Job demands were detrimental, whereas job resources were favourable for simulator training performance/happiness.

Twitter text: 40% of airline pilots experience burnout and psychosocial work factors and burnout relate to performance at pilots’ simulator training.     

The role of human-at-work systems in business sustainability: perspectives based on expert and qualified production workers in a manufacturing enterprise

A community of highly qualified employees is desirable for the workforce to become a competitive business advantage, improving and sustaining corporate health. Currently, the scientific literature is limited on information comparing the assessment of expert and qualified workers for the employee–work environment interface. Such information would be valuable for industrial managers to obtain and act on the different perspectives of its workers for business improvement and survivability. A primary objective of this study is to explore the perspectives of expert and qualified workers on the quality of the employee–work environment interface in a manufacturing enterprise. This investigation was performed in a production department in a small manufacturing enterprise. Two expert workers participated in the study, with each being in the company for 30 years and having performed all jobs in the production department as well as supervisory and line management responsibilities. A total of 13 qualified workers from day and night shifts were used in the study, with the great majority of workers possessing 10 or more years of on-the-job experience but not acquiring the same specialised knowledge required for operating the technological resources in the department. The work compatibility methodology was used to assess the quality of employee–work environment interface for both expert and qualified workers. Both expert and qualified workers provided similar trends in terms of their compatibility assessment of experienced and acting work domains. In general, the compatibility levels for the day shift were poorer than those obtained for the night shift for acting work domains. The similarities in assessment between the expert and qualified workers were much closer for factors impacting job performance at the task and immediate surrounding levels (i.e. physical and mental task content, physical environment). There were greater differences at the macro level, that is, at the process and enterprise levels, in terms of organisational/social/technological environment. This is particularly noted for the organisational environment. The compatibility values obtained for the experienced domains mirror those obtained for acting domains. The overall workload was assessed as requiring major redesign during the day shift and needing added responsibilities for the night shift according to both expert and qualified workers. The assessment of qualified workers is comparable with that of expert workers for the job content and immediate surroundings. Differences are more observed for process- and enterprise-based factors; thereby, providing company management different perspectives in order to devise organisational strategies conducive for optimum human and corporate health and pointing to the probable interactions of the different systems impacting individual and enterprise performance.

Statement of Relevance: This research examines similarities and differences between qualified and expert workers in their assessment of the worker–work environment interface. The contribution to improved understanding of the complex interactions of human-at-work and enterprise systems should be beneficial to organisations in their quest to remain competitive in a global economy.     

Psychosocial aspects of working with video display terminals (VDTs) and employee physical and mental health

Psychosocial aspects of using video display terminals (VDTs) have been recognized as contributors to employees' mental and physical health problems for more than 15 years. Yet, little has been done by employers to change work organization conditions to improve the psychosocial work environment of VDT users. Thus, psychosocial aspects of work are emerging as one of the biggest problems for VDT users in the late 1990s. This paper explores how psychosocial aspects of VDT work are related to job stress, and their consequences for mental and physical health. Using the research literature, it defines various aspects of work organization and job design that have been shown to be related to VDT users' ill-health. Some of the important work design aspects uncovered include a lack of employee skill use, monotonous tasks, high job demands and work pressure, a lack of control over the job, poor supervisory relations, fear of job loss, and unreliable technology. These are the same job stressors that have been defined as problematic for a variety of blue collar jobs in previous research. Work organization improvements for healthier VDT jobs are proposed. These include organizational support, employee participation, improved task content, increased job control, reasonable production standards, career development, enhanced peer socialization, and improved workstation ergonomics. These organizational improvements are derived from a more detailed organizational strategy for job stress reduction. A model of job redesign through proper ‘balancing’ of work organization features is discussed.     

High-demand jobs: age-related diversity in work ability?

High-demand jobs include 'specific' job demands that are not preventable with state of the art ergonomics knowledge and may overburden the bodily capacities, safety or health of workers. An interesting question is whether the age of the worker is an important factor in explanations of diversity in work ability in the context of high-demand jobs. In this paper, the work ability of ageing workers is addressed according to aspects of diversity in specific job demands and the research methods that are needed to shed light upon the relevant associated questions. From the international literature, a body of evidence was elicited concerning rates of chronological ageing in distinct bodily systems and functions. Intra-age-cohort differences in capacities and work ability, however, require (not yet existing) valid estimates of functional age or biological age indices for the specific populations of workers in high-demand jobs. Many studies have drawn on the highly demanding work of fire-fighters, ambulance workers, police officers, medical specialists, pilots/astronauts and submarine officers. Specific job demands in these jobs can be physical, mental or psychosocial in origin but may cause combined task-level loadings. Therefore, the assessment of single demands probably will not reveal enough relevant information about work ability in high-demand jobs and there will be a call for more integrated measures. Existing studies have used a variety of methodologies to address parts of the issue: task analyses for quantifying physical work demands, observations of psychological and physiological parameters, measures of psychosocial work demands and health complaints. Specific details about the work ability of ageing workers in high-demand jobs are scarce. In general, specific demands are more likely to overtax the capacities of older workers than those of younger workers in high-demand jobs, implying greater repercussions for health, although these effects also vary considerably within age cohorts. Functional tests for job-specific work ability should be developed for high-demand jobs in order to monitor individual functional ageing and to facilitate well-timed intervention. It is concluded that a shift from 'no-diversity thinking' to 'diversity thinking' is needed in the context of deciding about the work ability of ageing workers in high-demand jobs.     

Dancing between theory and practice: Enhancing work engagement through work stress intervention

This quasi‐experimental and longitudinal study assesses the effectiveness of a work stress intervention (i.e., Team Redesign) to increase job and personal resources and to consequently reduce job strain and increase employee psychosocial well‐being in an enamel manufacturing company following the Resources‐Experiences‐Demands Model (RED Model) and within the Action‐Research approach. The sample consisted of 108 employees at Time 1 and 72 employees at Time 2. Repeated‐measures multivariable analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the Time × Intervention interaction had reliable, positive, and incremental effects on job resources (i.e., innovation climate), personal resources (i.e., professional self‐efficacy and perceived competence), and motivational outcomes (i.e., work engagement, vigor, and dedication) on the intervention group (laboratory team, n = 9) when compared with the control group (n = 63 employees from different departments). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications based on the RED Model, including the feedback from Intervention (Action) to Theory (Research). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A multi-level incentive model for service organizations

Incentive programmes for production employees have been used for many years. However, more recently, there has been an increasing desire to use incentive programmes in service applications, particularly with the advent of electronic performance monitoring. This paper summarizes the methodology for developing a model that incorporates the parameters of quality (customer and supervisor evaluations), quantity of production, sales and individual goals. The model was used to compute incentive bonus payments for customer service employees who performed above standard. Employees were motivated by the incentive bonus, and thus productivity was increased. The model could be applied to any service organization. The model was developed to assist a customer service department where performance standards, quality measures or customer feedback were not firmly established. It measured objectively employee performance and rewarded the employee with individually calculated incentive bonuses through an electronically monitored system. The internal working of the model is a combination of the above parameters. Customized software was used to collect and tabulate customer feedback regarding a recent inquiry to the customer service department. This made up the first part of the quality measure for the department. The second part of the quality parameter was a regular evaluation by the supervisor. The quantity of production was measured by the number of inquiries handled per unit time. Sales were also calculated on a per-unit-time basis. The individual goals were the result of regular employee-supervisor meetings where past and future employee performance was discussed and mutually agreed upon. The five model parameters of quality (customer and supervisor), quantity, sales and individual goals are combined through the use of a linear equation. It was found that this form of employee evaluation worked very well in an electronic monitoring environment and was accepted by the participating work group. Overall, monthly productivity gains exceeded 15%.     

Training and experience as predictors of job satisfaction and work motivation when using computers: a correlational study

This paper examines the extent to which the previous work experience and method of training to use computer systems augment the predictability of the motivation and satisfaction of computer users. A sample of 154 computer users are studied, utilizing a version of the Job Diagnostic Survey questionnaire (Hackman and Oldham 1975). The job characteristics model upon which the questionnaire is based contends that the internal work motivation and general job satisfaction of job holders can be predicted from core job characteristics (task identity, task significance, skill variety, autonomy, and feedback from the job itself)- Results show that type of training and previous experience add little more to the job-holder's job satisfaction and internal work motivation than is predicted by the job characteristics model. The implications of the results for the management and staffing of computer-based systems are noted. Limitations of the data are recognized.     

Women at Work—Preface

Abstract

A model to look at various job components that affect individual well-being and health was developed drawing from the job design and job stress literature. Briefly stated, the model proposes job control to be a primary causal determinant of the stress outcomes. The effects of perceived demands, job content, and career/future concerns were hypothesized to influence the stress outcomes only to the extent of their influence on job control. This was tested in a population of government office employees in various clerical, professional, and managerial jobs all of which involve the use of computers. Results indicated that job control was not a crucial determinant of the stress outcomes, that job demands and career/future concerns were consistent determinants of the stress outcomes, and that job content, demands, and career/future concerns did not influence the stress outcomes through job control as described by the proposed model. The differentiation of job control levels to define specific relationships with stress outcomes and other job elements was shown to be useful because different levels of job control were associated with different stress outcomes and job elements.