Perceived Task Characteristics and Employee Productivity and Satisfaction

This study tests the relationships among employee perceptions of task attributes and long-term productivity and job and overall satisfaction. Measures of perceived task attributes, individual growth need strength, and job and overall satisfaction were obtained by questionnaire from 100 randomly selected employees of a manufacturing firm. Productivity was computed as the average daily output (quantity adjustedfor quality) of each employee for a one-year period of time. Strong positive correlations were found between certain task attributes and productivity and job satisfaction. Overall satisfaction was unrelated to task attributes. Further, growth need strength was found to moderate the task attribute-job satisfaction relationships. This moderating effect was demonstrated by both subgroup and moderated regression analyses. No moderating effects were detected for either of the other two relationships. Finally, implications for future task design research are discussed.