New forms of work organistion "V.1, C.2"

The creation of jobs that correspond to human needs and aspirations is a complex task, but one that must be faced in the modern world as an increasingly educated and younger workforce demands better jobs. Good jobs have many features, including adequate pay, job security, and a safe, healthy and pleasant working environment. Some aspects of such jobs also relate to the content of the work itself: they allow self-expression, learning and communication; they involve the workers in the definition of their work; and they offer a good future. These characteristics of good jobs are closely related to the way in which work is orga nised. Long a management prerogative, directed essentially by concern for effi ciency, the organisation of work is now perceived in many quarters as offering significant opportunities for making work more human as well as more produc tive. On the basis of a variety of experiences in different countries, a consensus has emerged that more emphasis should be placed on the organisation of work as a key aspect of working conditions.

Over the past few years, numerous experiments have been made with new forms of work organisation, in some cases to test or apply the results of experi ence already acquired in that field. The experiments have confirmed that scientific and technical methodology is now so sophisticated and diversified that any par ticular goods or services can be produced in a variety of ways. Numerous publi cations bear witness to the relevance and range of these experiments and the feasibility of applying new methods of work organisation at most stages of production. To evaluate the results of these experiments, as well as their cost and benefits for employers and workers and their repercussions on conditions of work, a systematic study of new forms of work organisation was included in the programme of the International Labour Office for 1976-77. The study was carried out in three stages:

(a) an analysis of national experience on the basis of a common research design adopted at the outset;¹

(b) the subsequent preparation of a series of national monographs along the lines suggested in the research design, plus a general assessment of the economic costs and benefits of work re-structuring; and a comparative introduction to work organisation taking account of researc on and experiments with new methods. A practical guide to improvements in work organisation is also envisaged.