Job enrichment involves:

Question

Accepted Answer

Increasing the depth of a job by adding planning and control responsibilities. Job enrichment involves increasing the depth of a job by adding higher-level responsibilities such as planning, decision-making, and control over how the work is performed. It gives employees more autonomy, meaningful tasks, and the opportunity to use a variety of skills, based on Herzberg's theory that true motivation comes from the work itself.

Adding more tasks at the same skill level describes job enlargement (horizontal loading), which increases the variety of tasks without adding higher-level responsibilities or decision-making authority. Rotating employees through different positions describes job rotation, which provides variety and cross-training but does not fundamentally change the depth or responsibility of any single position. Reducing tasks to increase specialization describes scientific management's approach to efficiency through simplification, which is the opposite of enrichment.

Job enrichment is a practical application of Herzberg's motivation theory that is frequently tested on the DSST exam. Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model identifies five core job dimensions that contribute to enrichment: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. These dimensions lead to psychological states that increase motivation, satisfaction, and performance.

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