This paper reviews ten studies dealing with the effects of social and information cues in the workplace on employee task perceptions, evaluations, and reactions. The review employs both judgmental and meta-analytic approaches to interpreting the findings. The two basic conclusions of the review are that social and information cues have been shown to consistently influence perceptions and affect, but that the area needs additional theoretical articulation and integration. Unanswered questions and suggestions for future research are identified. (Author)

This study investigated the long-term effects of work redesign on a number of perceptual, attitudinal, and behavioral variables. For the experimental group, 526 bank tellers, attitudinal variables initially improved, but then declined to previous levels. Performance showed no change after 6 months but significant improvements after 24 and 48 months.

The purpose of this study was to test the consequences of implementing quality circles in an industrial setting. Using a longitudinal and experimental research design, the study tracked 73 employees organized into eight circles over a three-year period. A matched-pairs comparison group was drawn from another plant within the same company. Results indicated that attitudes, behaviors, and effectiveness all improved initially for the experimental group but then dropped back to previous levels. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

This study investigated the stability of individual perceptions of task characteristics and the stability of individual reactions to these perceptions at two points in time. Results indicated that individual perceptions of task characteristics are relatively stable over a 3-month time interval. However, individual reactions to perceived task characteristics are less stable and somewhat more complex.

A model predicting relationships among individual, task design, and leader behavior variables was examined for 171 employees of a large manufacturing firm. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships among variables and facets of satisfaction, but not productivity. Cross-lagged correlational analysis also yielded some support for the model in terms of both satisfaction and productivity.

The theoretical and empirical research literature on task design and path-goal theory of leadership is reviewed. It is suggested that task design and individual variables interact to form a construct called individual-task congruence. A model is then developed which depicts leader behavior as a moderating variable between individual-task congruence and satisfaction and performance.

Health and well-being in the workplace have become common topics in the mainstream media, in practitioner-oriented magazines and journals and, increasingly, in scholarly research journals. In this article, we first review the literature that serves to define health and well-being. We then discuss the primary factors associated with health and well-being, the consequences of low levels of health and well-being, and common methods for improving health and well-being in the workplace. Finally, we highlight important future directions for future theory, research, and practice regarding health and well-being from an organizational perspective.

We review 13 studies dealing with empirical relationships between perceived task scope and employee performance. Results from these studies are contradictory and inconclusive. Most studies use less than adequate measures of employee performance. Moreover, although a causal relationship is assumed, reciprocal or reverse causality may exist. There is a clear need for further theoretical explication and improved laboratory and field research aimed at enhancing both construct validity and substantive considerations.

Three models with the potential to explain significant organizational research outcomes are described and evaluated. One model focuses on antecedent conditions, another on research processes, and the third on characteristics of research outcomes. Fifty-six organizational scholars reported about one of their significant and one of their not-so-significant research projects. Significance was operationally defined by ten attributes, including citations, awards, and positive responses from other researchers. The retrospective data identified several reported factors that occurred prior to and during research projects that were related to research outcomes. The model dealing with the research process itself differentiated significant from not-so-significant research better than either of the other models.