Reintegrating job design and career theory: Creating not just good jobs but smart jobs

• Published in: Journal of organizational behavior Vol. 31; no. 2-3; pp. 448 - 462
• Main Authors: Hall, Douglas T. (Tim), Heras, Mireia Las
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.02.2010; John Wiley & Sons
• Subjects: Advocacy services; Business management; Business schools; Business structures; Commentary; Educational administration; Employees; Exports; Heritage; Job design; Job performance evaluation; Learning; Motivation; Organizational behavior; Psychological distress; Psychological research; Research design
• ISSN: 0894-3796; 1099-1379
• DOI: 10.1002/job.613

The terms jobs and careers have recently been prominent in the headlines and everyday conversations during this time of economic distress conversations. However, now is an excellent moment to 'tighten the belt", to "press the reset button"; to find fundamentally new ways of working, to get the best return from all resources. The purpose of this paper is to generate new ideas for redesigning jobs and careers and to make them at once more productive, more fulfilling, and more learning-inducing to the holder. To do this, we will discuss both "import and exports" between job design and career theory. As one of our major suggestions, we introduce and advocate for smart jobs: jobs that can stimulate learning, growth, and employability on the part of the incumbent. This discussion is centered on two central questions: (a) what can job design contribute to our understanding of careers; and (b) what can career theory and research contribute to job design. Let us consider the nature of jobs and careers, and their common heritage in the management literature. [Copyright John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.]