Recently the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California conducted an evaluation of the American workplace; the study followed the approach of -- and was intended to be an update to -- a similarly focused 1972 study commissioned by Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Ellit Richardson. As we all know, the workplace has changed plenty since the 1970's.
One of the more recent study's findings was the continued underutilization of a number of workplace "best practices" which were identified, and their potential benefits documented, back in the early 70's research. These still unrealized and not widely pursued opportunities were documented in a recent Workspan article (November 2006 issue) about the two studies authored by Edward E. Lawler III and James O'Toole:
- Flexible working hours
- Company-sponsored tuition reimbursement
- Benefits for part-time workers
- Employee participation in decision-making and profit-sharing
- Redesigning jobs to make them more challenging
- Providing on-the-job development opportunities
Ann,
Interesting research. What issue of Workspan?
Frank
Posted by: Frank Giancola | November 03, 2006 at 03:23 PM