Why do some jobs and projects feel deeply satisfying while others lead to burnout or disengagement—even when the pay is good? The answer often lies not in external rewards such as salary and monetary bonuses, but in the internal structure of the work itself. Organizational psychology research, especially Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model (JCM), identify key motivational drivers, such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the work itself.
These five core job characteristics influence three critical psychological states—experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility, and knowledge of results—which in turn drive motivation, satisfaction, and performance.
This blog post breaks down each component, how they interrelate, and provides practical insights for project managers and team leads.
1. Skill Variety
Definition: The extent to which a job requires a range of different skills and talents.
Why It Matters:
Prevents boredom and monotony.
Encourages learning and professional development.
Increases engagement by using the employee’s full range of abilities.
Example: A marketing role that combines content creation, data analysis, and client interaction is more motivating than one limited to writing emails.
Design Strategy:
Combine tasks requiring different competencies.
Rotate roles or offer cross-training opportunities.
2. Task Identity
Definition: The degree to which a job requires completion of a whole, identifiable piece of work.
Why It Matters:
Helps employees see the tangible outcome of their efforts.
Builds pride in work and fosters ownership and individual accountability.
Example: A bench scientist running an entire experiment from design through to results interpretation experiences more task identity than one who only aliquots needed reagents or runs the assay on whatever is given to them by other scientists and hands back results without knowing the interpretation.
Design Strategy:
Assign complete projects to individuals or small teams.
Minimize fragmentation of work across too many roles.
3. Task Significance
Definition: The perceived impact of a job on others inside or outside the organization.
Why It Matters:
Enhances a sense of purpose and contribution.
Links personal effort to broader organizational or social outcomes.
Example: A nurse or clinician typically feels strong task significance because their work directly affects others' well-being.
Design Strategy:
Communicate the “why” behind roles.
Share testimonials, user stories, or patient outcomes to reinforce impact.
4. Autonomy
Definition: The degree of freedom, independence, and discretion employees have in scheduling their work and determining procedures.
Why It Matters:
Boosts ownership and intrinsic motivation.
Supports creativity and self-regulation.
Builds trust between employer and employee.
Example: A software engineer who decides how to implement a feature has more autonomy than one given step-by-step instructions.
Design Strategy:
Set clear goals but allow flexible execution.
Decentralize decision-making wherever possible.
5. Feedback from the Work Itself
Definition: The degree to which carrying out work activities provides direct, observable information about performance effectiveness.
Why It Matters:
Enables real-time learning and self-correction.
Reinforces competence and achievement.
Reduces reliance on external supervision for evaluation.
Example: A person creating a powerpoint slide for a meeting knows immediately if the slide is finished or not; a researcher may not know for months if their experiment worked or their work is impactful.
Design Strategy:
Redesign tasks to produce inherent feedback (e.g., dashboards, short term milestones and deliverables).
Decrease lag between action and consequence.
Psychological Outcomes
The five core job characteristics shape three critical psychological states, which mediate motivation and performance:
| Core Job Characteristic | Psychological State |
|---|---|
| Skill Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance | Experienced Meaningfulness of the work |
| Autonomy | Experienced Responsibility for outcomes |
| Feedback from the work | Knowledge of the actual results |
Intrinsic motivation
Job satisfaction
Work quality
Low absenteeism and turnover
Practical Implications for Project Managers and Program Leaders
| If You Want to Increase... | Then Focus On... |
|---|---|
| Motivation and engagement | Skill variety and task significance |
| Employee initiative and innovation | Autonomy |
| Accountability and ownership | Autonomy and task identity |
| Learning and improvement | Feedback from the work itself |
| Retention and morale | All five job characteristics |
Conduct a job diagnostic review to assess the current state of core characteristics.
Redesign roles that score low in key areas (especially autonomy or feedback).
Use enrichment, not enlargement—adding complexity and value, not just tasks.
Have functional area managers provide real feedback and reinforce task significance regularly.
In summary
Motivation isn't just about perks and bonuses—it’s embedded in the design of the work itself. Jobs that challenge people, allow them to see their impact, give them autonomy, and provide feedback naturally generate deeper engagement and satisfaction. By understanding and applying the principles of the Job Characteristics Model, project managers can build work environments that not only retain talent but help the team thrive.
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