I think having job descriptions can both help and hurt an organization. They can be very beneficial for applicants because they serve as an initial introduction to the job and it’s typically after reading through the job description that they decide whether they’d like to apply. It also sets the foundation for their basic responsibilities and gives an idea of what they would be working on on a typical day in the job. They give insight into working conditions, reporting structure, requirements, and the evaluation process. Since the job description is written by the organization, it gives them the ability to update it as they open new jobs.

On the downside, they don’t always include the salary or benefits information because the market is constantly changing, and it would be very time-consuming to be updating it every time it changes. However, from my own experience with applying to jobs, I’m not always encouraged to take the time to apply to jobs that don’t have any salary or benefit information posted. For the industry I want to go into, I’m typically able to find a range, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the wage not being posted is enough for someone to not apply. Since the job descriptions list what an employee would be doing, they might be able to get away with arguing, “that wasn’t in the job description” if asked to do something they don’t want to do. At the same time, however, I think having them can prevent employees from being overloaded with work or assigned work that is above their capacities. Not having a job description at all can cause confusion among workers and if there are performance issues, there isn’t anything to reflect on to determine if an employee’s performance is meeting standards or not.