In my experience job descriptions are often easy to overlook given how they are usually not directly relevant to what any other given employee is doing. There is a baseline assumption that whatever someone else is doing is likely what they were hired on to do, or at least close enough to it. While this view is normally fine to hold it can engender a degree of neglect when it comes to keeping job descriptions up to date with the realities of the position. This might be particularly the case in positions which are deemed less important or in situations where job enlargement has been seen. Job enlargement, as discussed in the lecture Job Design, can be good when it serves to breathe more life into a dull or unchallenging position.
However, from what I have seen it can also have some serious downsides when it involves dumping the responsibilities of one position on to another in the name of expediency. While temporarily picking up the slack of another position due to the loss of an employee or any other reason is often necessary, it becomes problematic once it starts to dilute the effectiveness of other positions. This is why regularly reviewing job descriptions and checking to see if what is written on paper is lining up with the reality on the ground is critical. It ensures that work stays efficient, employees stay motivated due to them not being overwhelmed, and that your workforce planning can be done accurately as we learned in lecture 3 Workforce Planning.
This can even be taken a step further to closely involve employees in the process of reviewing job descriptions. They are often in the best position to explain what they actually do and being able to provide feedback can even help boost morale as described in the motivational approaches section of the lecture Job Design.
Citations:
Myers L., Lecture 2 Job Design https://canvas.oregonstate.edu/courses/1936538/pages/week-4-learning-materials?module_item_id=23510018
Myers L., Lecture 3 Workforce Planning https://canvas.oregonstate.edu/courses/1936538/pages/week-4-learning-materials?module_item_id=23510018
Got any book recommendations?