Job Enlargement Meaning
Job enlargement is a human resources and organizational management strategy. It involves expanding an employee’s responsibilities and tasks within the same job role; the aim here remains to provide employees with a more varied and diverse set of tasks, usually at the same skill level that they currently possess.
However, the major goal of job enlargement is to make the job for the employee more engaging and less monotonous, all by broadening the scope of tasks they perform.
Let’s explore:
Here are some of the key features of job enlargement you would want to notice:
- A broader range of tasks that require similar set of skills and abilities that your employee currently has.
- The main focus should be on adding tasks at the same level of complexity in various types of tasks instead of increasing the complexity of existing tasks.
- Employers often use this technique to use their employees’ existing skills and abilities in a more effective way by providing opportunities where they can apply their skills to.
- Plus, to reduce boredom.
Job Enlargement Advantages
Here are some of the major advantages of job enlargement. It can help:
- Reduce boredom and monotony
- Enhance employee skills
- Increase your employees’ job satisfaction
- Increase flexibility and adaptability for your employees.
- Strengthen their work relationships.
- Improve cross training opportunities.
- Increase your staff’s productivity
- Reduce employee turnover with a higher employee satisfaction rate.
- Empower employees by giving them ownership of their work.
Job Enlargement Drawbacks
Where there are advantages, there’s bound to be at least some of disadvantages. Here’s list of the drawbacks that you might face in your company due to job enlargement.
- It will increase your employees’ workload.
- Employees may get overwhelmed due to tasks that are too complex or require skills they haven’t developed yet.
- You may face resistance from some of your employees if you’re assigning them too many complex tasks or a high level of complexity.
- It may require you to train your existing workforce to help them develop the new skills.
- It may lead to fragmentation, making it more challenging for employees to see the overall impact of their work. That can backfire and may result in less employee satisfaction
- You can face difficulty in implementation as it requires careful planning, communication, and management. If these criteria aren’t met or executed well, it can lead to confusion and disruption in the overall workflow.
- You may have to compromise the quality in certain tasks due to less expertise of employees in those areas.
Job Enrichment vs. Job Enlargement
| Difference Based On | Job Enrichment | Job Enlargement |
| Definition | Job enlargement involves expanding an employee’s job horizontally by adding tasks at the same skill level. | Job enrichment involves redesigning a job vertically by adding tasks that require more skill, responsibility, and autonomy. |
| Focus | The primary focus is on increasing the variety of tasks within the same job position, often to alleviate monotony and boredom | The primary focus is on increasing the depth and complexity of the job to provide employees with a more fulfilling and challenging experience. |
| Scope | The additional tasks are usually similar in complexity to existing ones, and the goal is to make the job more interesting and challenging. | The added tasks are typically more complex, requiring higher-level skills, creativity, and decision-making. The goal is to provide employees with a sense of achievement and personal growth. |
| Training | Training requirements may be relatively straightforward, as the tasks are generally at the same skill level. | Training requirements may be more substantial, as the added tasks often require new skills and a higher level of expertise. |
| Example | If a data entry clerk is given additional responsibilities, such as basic data analysis or quality control checks, it would be considered job enlargement. | If a data entry clerk is given the responsibility to analyze data trends, create reports, and make recommendations based on the analysis, it would be considered job enrichment. |
| Horizontal vs. Vertical Expansion | It involves adding tasks at the same skill level horizontally | It involves adding tasks that require higher skills and responsibility vertically. |
| Depth of Tasks | It aims to provide variety and alleviate monotony. | It focuses on providing a more meaningful and challenging work experience. |
| Training Requirements | It may require minimal additional training. | It may require more substantial training due to the increased complexity of tasks. |
| Employee Experience | It aims to make the job more interesting by increasing variety. | It aims to make the job more fulfilling by increasing the depth of tasks and providing a sense of accomplishment. |
What is Job Enlargement in HRM
It’s a strategy to reduce monotony and boredom in employee’s work and enhance their skills level and job satisfaction.
What are the Goals and Objectives of Implementing Job Enlargement
- To Reduce monotony
- To make work more interesting
- To increase job satisfaction
- To improve employee morale
- To promote skills development
- To improve and enhance flexibility
- To encourage team collaboration and communication
- To balance workload among team members
- To increase productivity
- To promote employee retention
- To align organizational goals