Human Factors

& Ergonomics
in
Organizational
Design and
Management
Research Proposal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY 3
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY 3
LITERATURE REVIEW 4
RATIONALE 6
RESEARCH QUESTION 6
RESEARCH DESIGN 7
Introduction
The study is being conducted to evaluate the significance of ergonomics in job design and its
impact on the reduction of employee stress levels. Certainly, one of the core objectives of the
management is to have their employees increased productivity because this helps the
organization be more effective and efficient. This can only be achieved in an ergonomically well
designed environment which should not overstress the employees. Ergonomics was previously
perceived to be only concerned with physical health and safety of employees. A different
dimension, however, relates it to the stress faced by employees and its psychological outcomes.
Ergonomics, therefore, should be a ey factor in organizational design and management. The
modern definition of ergonomics embeds it into the very core of job design. !t is indeed fitting
the job to the worer both physically and psychologically.
Objective of study
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship among ergonomics and job stress. "e
propose to identify different variables in ergonomic job design and ergonomic distress and build
a relationship between them. #tress cannot be covered in a single study, which has to be carried
by a lone researcher within the limitations of time and resources.
Significance of study
This study is designed to help the organizations realize the importance of ergonomics from the
perspective of employee stress levels. $usiness performance is dependent upon ergonomically
designed worplace hence maing it a ey factor in organizational design and management. %nly
then they can improve the productivity and retention level of their employees. %rganizations
today need to now and reduce the impact of factors that contribute to the employees degree of
wor and stress. The study will assist the management to now, how the job design is affecting
the outcome of their employees and how to get ma&imum satisfaction and efficiency in
employees after solving the associated ergonomic problems.
Literature Review
Ergonomics 'or human factors( is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of
interaction among humans and other elements of system, and the profession that applies theory,
principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well)being and overall system
performance '!nternational Ergonomics Association(.Ergonomics is concerned designing and
shaping jobs as per physical abilities and characteristics of individuals so that they perform their
job effectively.
The ergonomics or human factor societies have been established the superior approaches for the
changing worplaces.
A discipline which deals with fundamentals understanding of human behaviour in purposeful
interacting of socio)technical systems and application of understanding to job design in real
setting'*ohn +. "ilson,,---(. .aul /.. 0eow 1 +abindernath #en ',--2( studied ergonomics in
manual component insertion and concluded that there is significant increase in revenue and profit
when ergonomics was applied to production.
+ose ',--3( e&amined that over woring hours in wor environment reduces the willingness of
employees to perform better jobs. "ith the increasing level of wor intensity, the employees
efficiency decreases which causes less or poor 4uality wor. Thadan ',--5( wor load increases
due to large duties and additional wor given by management which leads worers towards
stress. 6ing 1 .hilips ',--2( considered increased woring hours a cause of wor stress and low
job performance.
Ergonomics helps to design tass and jobs to mae them compatible with the needs and abilities
and limitations of worers '"aldemar 7arowsi(. The environmental conditions lie heat, noise,
smell and humidity influence employees to demonstrate low level of job performance and
increased stress 'Emin 7ahya, ,--5(.
8anufacturing managers need to build up an understanding of interrelations between ergonomics
distress and negative indicators such as poor production 4uality and increased sic leave. This
understanding can be seen as a major condition in order to identify poorly designed worplaces
and start measures that improve woring conditions '*ohnson, 9::;(
ob stress
*ob stress is <the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the re4uirements of
the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worer= '>ational !nstitute for
%ccupational #afety and /ealth, 9:::(.
*ob stress is conceptualized as a condition where job related factors interact with the individual
to change his or her psychological or physiological conditions such that the person is forced to
deviate from normal functioning '$eehr 1 >ewman, 9:5;(. +ose ',--3( studied the results that
the stress in wor environment reduces the intention of employees to perform better in jobs with
the increasing level of stress the employees thining demoralize and his tendency to wor well
also decreases. $eehr '9::?( defined job stress as <a situation in which some characteristics of
the wor situation are thought to cause poor psychological or physical health, or to cause ris
factors maing poor health more liely.= #tress is acnowledged to be one of the main causes of
absence from wor '8ead, ,---(. Absenteeism has been defined as <non)attendance when an
employee is scheduled to wor@@ '.rice 1 8ueller, 9:;2(.
"or overloads and time constraints were significant contributors to wor stress among
community nurses '"iles, 9::;(. "orload stress can be defined as reluctance to come to wor
and a feeling of constant pressure 'i.e. no effort is enough( accompanied by the general
physiological, psychological, and behavioral stress symptoms 'Aivision of /uman +esource,
,---(. Al)Aameri ',--3( has mentioned in his studies that one of the si& factors of occupational
stress is pressure originating from worload.
+apidly changing global scene is increasing the pressure of worforce to perform ma&imum
output and enhance competitiveness. !ndeed, to perform better to their job, there is a re4uirement
for worers to perform multiple tass in the worplace to eep abreast of changing technologies
'Cascio, 9::?B Cuic, 9::5(. The ultimate results of this pressure have been found to one of the
important factors influencing job stress in their wor 'Cahn, ,---(. A study in D7 indicated that
the majority of the worers were unhappy with the current culture where they were re4uired to
wor e&tended hours and cope with large worloads while simultaneously meeting production
targets and deadlines 'Townley, ,---(.
$oth the business press and the organizational literature have identified a <time famine,= in
which people feel that there are never enough hours in the wor day '0ahaya, Tamyes, !smail 1
*aalam, ,-9-(. 7ruglansi and Ereund '9:;3( suggested that time pressure induces closing of the
mind. !n fact, under this condition people see cognitive closure, they stop considering multiple
alternatives, they use poor processing of information, and they refrain from critical probing of a
given seemingly ade4uate solution 'Ae Areu, ,--3(.
#tress is associated with impaired individual functioning in the worplace. >egative effects
include reduced efficiency, increase absence at worplace, decreased capacity to perform,
dampened initiative and reduced interest in woring, increased rigidity of thought, a lac of
concern for the organization and colleagues, and a loss of responsibility 'Freenberg 1 $aron,
9::?B 8atteson 1 !vancevich, 9:;,(.
"or stress may be caused by the four categories of organizational and individual factorsG
'9( Aecision related to task demandsB ',( work environment demands, including physical and
cognitive tas demands, as well as 4uality of the wor environment 'i.e., adjustment of tools and
machines to human characteristics and capabilities(B '3( role demands related to relations with
supervisor and co)worersB and 'H( interpersonal demands, which can cause conflict between
worers '"aldemar 7arwowsi(.
Rationa!e
This study will also add to the nowledge of the management about the effects of intensity of
time pressure and wor overload on their employees. That will mae them able to establish an
even stronger structure of the woring conditions in order to enhance the employees
productivity. The fact, that there are significant mean differences between high and low stress
groups. .atiraj et al. ',--:( suggests that high job stress could have a measurable impact on
mental health, job satisfaction and performance. The literature show that the relationship among
job design and ergonomic distress is not negligible and different relationships e&ist between both
of these variables. The intensity of variables 'job design and ergonomic distress( has also been
discussed in relation to organizational design and management. This research is being conducted
to find the intensity of employees stress caused by job design decisions.
Researc" #uestion
Aoes job design have an impact on ergonomic distressI
Researc" $esign
%nit of Ana!ysisG The focus of our study will be on services organizations 'baning, insurance,
cargo etc.(
Ti&e Fra&eG This will be cross sectional study. Aata will be collected just once or may be over
a period of days in order to answer research 4uestion.
Sa&'!ingG "e intend to collect responses from people woring at different hierarchical levels in
baning sector. Appropriate 4uestionnaires will be designed for top managerial, mid managerial
level and front line employees.
Study SettingG This particular study will be conducted in natural environment. Eield surveys to
organizations will help us to study the impact of job design on ergonomic distress.
$ata Co!!ection (et"odG Cuestionnaires will be used for primary data collection.