July 03, 2023

Does work have to be miserable?

28 minutes

How can employers in all sectors of the UK economy get the best out of their workers, retain experienced staff, improve productivity and increase profits at the same time?

The principles of "Job Design" seem to promise all of these benefits. It's a process of work innovation which focuses on people, their skills, their knowledge and how they interact with each other and technology, in every workplace, in every sector of the economy.

Proponents claim it gives workers a voice in their workplace, allows them to balance their work and home lives, stops burnout and could get more of the economically inactive back in employment. But what evidence is there that it works - and how difficult would it be to implement changes in the workplace?

Presenter: Pauline Mason

Producer: Ravi Naik

Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:

Patricia Findlay, Professor of Work and Employment Relations, University of Strathclyde and Director of the Scottish Centre for Employment Research.

Kate Bennett, Labour ward coordinator at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

Damian Grimshaw, Professor of Employment Studies, King's College London, and former head of research at the International Labour Organisation.

Dame Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor, University of Cambridge and a director of the Productivity Institute.

Rachel London, Deputy Chief People Officer at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

Jenna Brimble. Midwife in the continuity of care team at Liverpool Women's Hospital.

Heejung Chung, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Kent.

Emma Stewart, Flexible working consultant and co-founder, Timewise.

Dr Charlotte Gascoine independent researcher and consultant on flexible and part-time working

Paul Dennett, Mayor of the City of Salford

Jim Liptrot, Managing director, Howorth Air Tech.

Stacey Bridge, Financial accounting assistant, Howorth Air Tech.

...more

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By BBC Radio 4

4.6

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