The effect of lean manufacturing practices on employees’ well-being mediated by job characteristics
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the principles of positive psychology, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of job characteristics (task, knowledge, social and work context) in the connection between lean manufacturing (LM) practices and employee well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
Employee well-being, encompassing job satisfaction, organizational affective commitment and work involvement, is conceptualized as a second-order construct. Using a proposed model, an online survey was administered to 520 participants across 23 operational sectors categories of the Brazilian manufacturing industry. The data is processed using structural equation analysis.
Findings
The research shows that the relationship between LM practices and employee well-being is partially mediated through three out of the four work characteristics (task, knowledge and social). In addition, LM exerts a direct and significant influence on employee well-being.
Practical implications
This study contributes to practical insights by encouraging industrial managers to refine their managerial work design. It highlights the importance of appropriately dimensioning tasks, nurturing social skills to enhance interactions and task execution and optimizing physical facilities to counteract potential initial-stage work intensification during LM implementation.
Originality/value
Previous research about organizational behavior extensively examines happiness at work, focusing on constructs such as well-being, satisfaction, commitment, engagement and motivation, but there is a lack of studies assessing employee well-being in the lean context, particularly from a positive perspective.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding: This study was financed in part by the Foundation for Research and Innovation Support of Santa Catarina State – FAPESC under grant 03/2017 and by the National Research Council of Brazil – CNPq under Grant 09/2018.
Citation
Bento, G.d.S. and Tontini, G. (2024), "The effect of lean manufacturing practices on employees’ well-being mediated by job characteristics", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-11-2023-0192
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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