JOB ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Case Study: How Google Searches for the Right Job Requirements

Each year, around 2.5 million people apply to work at Google—about 60 résumés for every current employee. What makes the company so attractive? Google is famous for perks such as free food and onsite recreation, but these are just the most obvious signs of a philosophy of valuing employees. Google’s leaders are committed to designing jobs that are highly motivating—partly to do what is right but also to unleash creativity.
Decisions about job design, like other decisions at Google, are driven by data. The company conducts frequent surveys to measure whether employees are satisfied with a variety of personnel decisions, such as how compensation is structured or how they feel about a new workspace. It shares the results with employees and uses attitude and performance measures to identify decisions associated with high performance.
Jobs at Google are motivating for several reasons. First, the company defines its mission in exciting terms. Software engineers, for example, do not just create programs or systems; they help “develop the nextgeneration technologies that change how millions interact.” Employees have great control over their time: they can negotiate work hours with their supervisor or take breaks to work out, get a massage, or take a nap whenever they need to recharge. Every employee may devote up to 20 percent of each workweek to a project he or she chooses, within or beyond the employee’s job description. Google also offers flexibility related to the differences in how people do their best thinking and working. It creates workspaces for diversity, with areas to meet and talk as well as areas for quiet concentration and spaces for exercise. To support hiring of people who thrive with flexibility, job specifications include versatility, strong ambition, problem-solving skills, and ability to work on teams.  When Google applies data to managers’ jobs, it looks for the behaviors associated with motivated workers. Job descriptions may be as specific as detailing actions to take on an employee’s first day. These actions, according to Laszlo Bock, the head of People Operations at Google, are associated with 15 percent greater productivity months later.
Google applies its concern for employee well-being to ergonomics. The main concern in an office setting is that hours behind a desk can be unhealthy. The health risks increase further when employees are snacking and gaining weight. Here, as in other areas, solutions focus on choices, with the company nudging employees toward healthy options. While all snacks are free, the healthiest options are displayed most prominently. For ergonomics, employees may choose adjustable sit-stand desks or treadmill desks, so they can spend time out of their chairs. 

Questions 

1. What elements of motivating jobs has Google put into place, according to this description? Name a few other elements that might be appropriate at Google. 10 Marks
2. What are the ergonomic challenges of jobs at Google? How does the company give workers flexibility in meeting those challenges? 10 Marks