Job Characteristics Model

The job characteristics model, developed by J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham and formally presented in a 1976 paper, identifies five core job dimensions, skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback, that the model holds influence three critical psychological states in employees, which in turn shape work motivation, performance, and satisfaction. Hackman and Oldham proposed that jobs high in these characteristics are more likely to be experienced as meaningful, to give employees a sense of responsibility for outcomes, and to provide knowledge of the results of their work. The model has been influential in job design practice, informing techniques such as job enrichment aimed at increasing these core characteristics.