Exhibit 8-1 presents the JCM. The JCM proposes that individuals obtain internal rewards when they learn (knowledge of results in the model) that they personally have performed well (experienced responsibility) on a task they care about (experienced meaningfulness). The more these three psychological states are present, the greater will be employees’ motivation, performance, and satisfaction, and the lower their absenteeism and likelihood of leaving. As Exhibit 8-1 indicates, individuals with a high growth need are more likely to experience the critical psychological states when their jobs are enriched—and respond to them more positively.

Much evidence supports the JCM concept that the presence of these job characteristics generates higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment through increased motivation.2 One study suggested that when employees were “other oriented” (concerned with the welfare of others at work), the relationship between intrinsic job characteristics and job satisfaction was weaker,3 meaning that our job satisfaction comes less from these characteristics when we care about others. Another study proposed that the degree of psychological ownership we feel toward our work enhances our motivation, particularly if the feelings of ownership are shared among a work group.4 Other research has explored the JCM in unique settings such as virtual work situations, finding that if individuals work together online but not in person, their experience of meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results can suffer. Thankfully, managers can mitigate these outcomes for employees by consciously developing personal relationships with them and increasing their sense of task significance, autonomy, and feedback.5

We can combine the core dimensions of the JCM into a single predictive index, called the motivating potential score (MPS) and calculated as follows:

To be high on motivating potential, jobs must be high in at least one of the three factors that lead to experienced meaningfulness and high in both autonomy and feedback. If jobs score high on motivating potential, the model predicts that motivation, performance, and satisfaction will improve, while absence and turnover will be reduced. But we can better calculate motivating potential by simply adding characteristics rather than using the formula. Think about your job. Do you have the opportunity to work on different tasks, or is your day routine? Are you able to work independently, or do you constantly have a supervisor or coworker looking over your shoulder? Your answers indicate your job’s motivating potential.

A few studies have tested the JCM in different cultures, but the results aren’t consistent. The fact that the model is relatively individualistic (it considers the relationship between the employee and his or her work) suggests job enrichment strategies may not have the same effects in collectivistic cultures as in individualistic cultures (such as the United States, see Chapter 4). Indeed, one study in Nigeria, which has a highly collectivistic culture, found that while the MPS was highly influenced by job dimensions, the correlations were different than the general data gathered from predominately individualistic countries.6 In contrast, another study suggested the degree to which jobs had intrinsic job motivators predicted job satisfaction and job involvement equally well for U.S., Japanese, and Hungarian employees.7 More research is needed in this area.