Is adding more work to a boring job the secret to employee motivation? For decades, HR leaders have touted job enlargement, the practice of expanding the scope of an employee’s duties, as a solution for roles that become repetitive. But the evidence shows a more complex reality. While some programs unlock gains in productivity and engagement, many fail, or worse, backfire entirely.
The critical question is not if job enlargement works, but how to make it work. A comprehensive systematic review of 55 work redesign studies provides a stark reality check: while 71% of interventions reported a positive effect on performance, the remaining 29% yielded mixed or even negative results. This shows that adding more tasks is a gamble. The secret to success is a more detailed, evidence-based approach that transforms jobs instead of inflating them.
This article clarifies the confusion by translating decades of academic research into a practical guide for you. We will deconstruct the core principles of effective job design, explore evidence-backed strategies you can start, and provide a clear framework for avoiding the common pitfalls that doom so many well-intentioned programs.
Understanding Job Enlargement
Job enlargement involves horizontally expanding a role by adding more tasks and responsibilities at the same level of complexity. The primary goal is to introduce variety, reduce monotony, and give employees a broader understanding of the business. This approach can yield tangible benefits. The most robust evidence comes from a 2021 meta-analysis that synthesized data from 56 distinct studies covering over 284,000 employees. It found that job rotation, a close cousin of enlargement, has a statistically significant, positive relationship with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and individual performance.
However, the moderate strength of these connections hints at a crucial distinction that Frederick Herzberg first articulated in his seminal 1968 article, "One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?" Herzberg made a clear distinction between "horizontal job loading" (job enlargement) and "vertical job loading" (job enrichment).
● Job Enlargement (Horizontal Loading): This involves adding more tasks at the same level of responsibility. For example, you ask an assembly line worker who installs hubcaps to also install lug nuts. The number of tasks increases, but the level of challenge, autonomy, and meaning does not. Herzberg famously described this as "multiplying zero by zero," explaining it fails to address the core drivers of human motivation.
● Job Enrichment (Vertical Loading): This is about enhancing the depth of a job. It involves giving employees more control, autonomy, and responsibility over their work. You do not give the assembly line worker another repetitive task; instead, you train them in quality control, give them the authority to stop the line to fix a problem, and make them accountable for the final quality of the entire wheel assembly. This is where you create true motivation.
Modern research consistently validates Herzberg's foundational insight. Piling on more of the same work, which some employees call "job creep," can lead to burnout and stress. True engagement comes from enrichment, which provides opportunities for psychological growth, achievement, and recognition.
Implementing Job Enlargement Effectively
Transitioning from theory to practice requires a deliberate, multi-step process. Research shows that a successful program is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is a careful plan that considers the organization, the roles, and the people involved.
Assessing Organizational Readiness
Before adding a single task to a job description, you must assess the organizational climate. The Knight & Parker systematic review emphasizes that interventions are most effective when they align with other organizational systems, such as leadership support and existing HR practices. A classic case study of a job redesign program within an Air Force Program Control office illustrates this perfectly. Facing morale and retention issues, the leadership did not impose a top-down solution. Instead, they started a deep diagnostic process involving employee surveys and interviews, ensuring they grounded the eventual redesign in the specific challenges and needs of the workforce. This created the support and alignment needed for success.
Furthermore, a foundational 1968 literature review in the Psychological Bulletin made a point that remains highly relevant today: not all employees respond positively to enlarged jobs. The authors found that an employee's personal values affect the link between job size and satisfaction. The change is most effective for those who seek growth and challenge, while it may have little effect on employees who view their job purely as a means to an end. Therefore, your readiness assessment must include understanding employee attitudes and career aspirations through confidential surveys or one-on-one conversations.
Identifying Suitable Roles and Tasks
The goal is to enrich, not enlarge. Herzberg’s principles of vertical job loading provide a powerful framework for identifying the right kinds of tasks to add:
● Granting Autonomy: Give employees more freedom and authority in their work.
● Increasing Accountability: Make individuals responsible for their own outcomes and quality.
● Creating Complete Work Units: Assign a whole piece of work from start to finish, rather than a fragmented task.
● Providing Direct Feedback: Ensure workers receive performance reports directly, not filtered through a manager.
● Introducing New Challenges: Assign more difficult tasks that enable skill development and mastery.
Engaging and Supporting Employees
A cautionary tale comes from a three-year longitudinal study of a manufacturing firm starting a lean production system. The work redesign, which included elements of job enlargement, ultimately backfired. Employees experienced increased job depression and lower commitment because the company started the changes in a way that reduced their job autonomy and use of their skills. This powerful finding highlights the danger of redesigning work for efficiency without considering the human element.
To avoid this pitfall, you must invest heavily in communication and training. Employees need to understand the "why" behind the changes, and you must equip them with the skills to handle their new responsibilities. The program described in the Connors study succeeded in its diagnostic phase precisely because it was participative. It culminated in a "Job Redesign Team" of volunteers from the target group whom the company empowered to develop the final proposal.
Monitoring and Evaluating Outcomes
You should measure success against clear, predefined metrics. The Mlekus & Maier meta-analysis provides a useful set of potential measurements, including:
● Attitudinal Changes: Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment.
● Well-being: Stress/Burnout levels, Psychological Health.
● Performance: Individual Performance, Productivity.
By tracking these metrics before and after the program, you can measure the return on investment of the program and make data-driven adjustments as needed.
Overcoming Potential Challenges
Even with careful planning, job design programs can face obstacles. The research points to several common pitfalls and offers strategies to reduce them.
Managing Increased Workload and Stress
The most immediate risk is overwhelming employees. A field study of female assemblers whose jobs the company enlarged found mixed results. While satisfaction with work variety increased, so did the perceived effort of the work, and satisfaction with social interaction decreased. This highlights the multidimensional nature of job design; a gain in one area can create a loss in another.
To prevent this, you must ensure that adding responsibilities does not translate to an unsustainable workload. This means prioritizing tasks, optimizing workflows, and removing less valuable tasks. You can identify these tasks through a collaborative review with employees to make room for new, more meaningful ones.
Maintaining Job Satisfaction and Motivation
The biggest mistake is assuming universality. As the Hulin and Blood review showed decades ago, individual differences matter. A change that motivates one employee may frustrate another. The key is to offer flexibility and choice where possible and to ensure that enlargement is paired with genuine enrichment, which means more autonomy and control, not more work.
Addressing Resistance to Change
Resistance often comes from an unexpected source: first-line supervisors. Herzberg’s research noted that managers can feel threatened by job enrichment, as their traditional roles of checking work and controlling processes diminish. When you empower employees to manage their own work, supervisors must transition from checkers to coaches and developers. This requires specific training and support for managers to help them adapt to their new, more strategic role.
Advanced Strategies for Maximizing the Impact of Job Enlargement
For organizations ready to use more than basic methods, advanced strategies can link job design directly to long-term talent development and organizational performance.
Integrating Job Enlargement with Career Development
Effective job design is not a one-time fix; it is a powerful engine for career growth. A groundbreaking 2024 study by Nelson, Wilmers, and Zhang merged job posting data with administrative earnings records to analyze how specific task allocations impact pay and career trajectories. The findings are profound.
The researchers found that when companies redesigned frontline jobs to include more "high-autonomy" tasks (requiring discretion and problem-solving) or "craft" tasks (requiring tacit, on-the-job knowledge), new hires received a significant pay premium that was not due to hiring more qualified people. These workers earned more money for years. This provides compelling evidence that strategically enriching jobs with autonomy and learning opportunities is a direct investment in an employee's long-term value and career success.
Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Ultimately, you should not see job enlargement and enrichment as isolated HR projects but as integral components of a high-performance culture. When you empower employees with the autonomy to solve problems, the skills to take on new challenges, and a clear line of sight to how their work impacts the business, you create a virtuous cycle of learning, motivation, and innovation. This requires a strong belief from leadership that jobs are not static and that investing in the growth of employees is the most reliable path to organizational excellence.
When you misunderstand and poorly execute job enlargement, it becomes little more than a recipe for employee burnout. But when you approach it as a strategic exercise in job enrichment, grounded in decades of research, it becomes one of the most powerful tools available to you. By focusing on vertical loading, which infuses roles with autonomy, meaning, and mastery, you can stop making people busier and start building jobs that are better. This leads to a more engaged, capable, and productive workforce.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is job enlargement?
Job enlargement is a job design strategy that involves horizontally expanding an employee's role by adding more tasks and responsibilities at the same level of authority and complexity. The primary goal is to increase task variety and reduce the monotony of highly specialized jobs.
What are the benefits of job enlargement for employees?
When you do it correctly, job enlargement can offer several benefits. A major meta-analysis found positive connections with increased job satisfaction, higher organizational commitment, and reduced stress. It can also provide employees with a broader skill set and a better understanding of how different parts of the organization work together, which can help with career development.
How does job enlargement differ from job enrichment?
This is the most critical distinction. Job enlargement adds more tasks at the same level (horizontal loading), while job enrichment adds tasks that provide more responsibility, autonomy, and control (vertical loading). For example, enlarging a cashier's job might mean they also have to stock shelves. Enriching it would mean giving them the authority to resolve customer complaints or responsibility for managing cash balances. Research overwhelmingly shows that enrichment is the key to unlocking true motivation and performance gains.
What are the potential challenges of implementing job enlargement?
The primary challenges include overwhelming employees with an increased workload, which can lead to stress and burnout ("job creep"). Research also shows it can sometimes have unintended negative consequences, such as reducing social interaction or increasing perceived effort. Furthermore, not all employees respond positively to it, as its effectiveness depends on individual work values and career goals.
How can organizations ensure the success of job enlargement initiatives?
Success depends on treating it as a job enrichment project. Focus on adding tasks that increase autonomy, accountability, and skill variety. Ensure that leadership supports the initiative and that it aligns with other organizational systems. Crucially, provide adequate training and support, and avoid piling on more work without removing other duties or providing additional resources.
Can job enlargement be integrated with employee career development?
Absolutely. In fact, this is one of its most powerful applications. A recent large-scale study found that redesigning jobs to include more complex, on-the-job learning and higher autonomy not only increased starting pay but also put employees on a higher long-term earnings trajectory. By strategically adding tasks that build new skills, job enlargement becomes a direct pathway for career progression.
How can technology and automation support job enlargement efforts?
While not a primary focus of the foundational research, technology can play a key role. Automation can take over the most routine and repetitive parts of a job, freeing up employees to take on the more complex and challenging tasks that are part of a job enrichment plan. Technology can also provide employees with direct, real-time feedback on their performance, which is a key principle of effective job design.