, IOP2606 Assignment 2
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
QUESTION 1
Discuss how ‘job enlargement and job enrichment can be used to enhance
employee motivation in the workplace. Support your discussion with relevant
examples. [10]
Employee motivation is strongly linked to how meaningful and stimulating employees
perceive their jobs to be. Drawing on principles from organisational psychology and
individual differences, two common approaches to enhancing motivation are job
enlargement and job enrichment. While they sound similar, they address motivation
differently: enlargement broadens the scope of a job, and enrichment deepens the content
of a job.
Job Enlargement
Definition:
Job enlargement means increasing the variety of tasks an employee performs at the
same level of responsibility. It’s sometimes called ―horizontal loading.‖
How it enhances motivation:
Reduces monotony by giving employees more varied tasks.
Satisfies needs for stimulation and learning (important for people high in
openness or conscientiousness, as highlighted in personality research).
Can increase a sense of contribution to the organisation.
Example:
In a call centre, an employee who previously only answered inbound calls might
also handle email queries and social media messages. This expansion does not
increase decision-making authority but gives more variety and reduces boredom.
Employees with a preference for novelty or higher intrinsic motivation may
respond particularly well.
Semester 2 2025
DUE 17 September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
QUESTION 1
Discuss how ‘job enlargement and job enrichment can be used to enhance
employee motivation in the workplace. Support your discussion with relevant
examples. [10]
Employee motivation is strongly linked to how meaningful and stimulating employees
perceive their jobs to be. Drawing on principles from organisational psychology and
individual differences, two common approaches to enhancing motivation are job
enlargement and job enrichment. While they sound similar, they address motivation
differently: enlargement broadens the scope of a job, and enrichment deepens the content
of a job.
Job Enlargement
Definition:
Job enlargement means increasing the variety of tasks an employee performs at the
same level of responsibility. It’s sometimes called ―horizontal loading.‖
How it enhances motivation:
Reduces monotony by giving employees more varied tasks.
Satisfies needs for stimulation and learning (important for people high in
openness or conscientiousness, as highlighted in personality research).
Can increase a sense of contribution to the organisation.
Example:
In a call centre, an employee who previously only answered inbound calls might
also handle email queries and social media messages. This expansion does not
increase decision-making authority but gives more variety and reduces boredom.
Employees with a preference for novelty or higher intrinsic motivation may
respond particularly well.
