1. Can you use the job characteristics model (JCM) to redesign the job of the trash collector to be internally motivating? How? Glancing at the newspaper machine in the lobby, you are happy to see the headline proclaiming the end of the garbage collectors’ strike in a nearby city.76 That kind of strike tends to have a ripple effect on neighboring areas, and as the manager of a private waste collection company in the region, you breathe a sigh of relief.

Nonetheless, as you walk to your offi ce, you can’t help thinking about the job of your garbage collectors. It’s repetitive, hot (or cold, depending on the season), anonymous, and relatively thankless. Your employees work in pairs, so each truck has one driver and one “thrower”—not much variety for either worker. There’s not much on-the-job interaction either, as the driver is in the cab and the thrower rides on the back of the truck. And with the company looking into purchasing newer trucks that automatically lift and dump the garbage cans, you may even go to one person per truck.

In addition, to minimize the time it takes to collect the trash, you assign each team to the same neighborhood week after week. That ensures maximum effi ciency: drivers subconsciously time traffi c lights, pace themselves for starts and stops, and know the route without needing to consult a map. Even when collectors know the route, the work can be grueling. Each route has to be fi nished each day; no one will tolerate garbage left on the curb after the assigned pickup day. So even if a traffi c accident or construction brings traffi c to a standstill, the garbage has to be collected each day according to schedule.