When I first graduated from High School, I began a job at the local partical board mill cleaning large machines and making sure they were clear of debris. When I first applied for this position, the description of the work was relatively vague, it was more general and things were described as general labor. I ensured the interviewee that I was perfectly capable of hard physical labor.
After starting this position, I soon realized just how many roles that I had, and how many responsibilties this entailed. I wasn’t just cleaning machines, I was walking around the mill cleaning up chemical hazards with hazmat suits and respirators on. This certainly wasn’t disclosed to me in the interview or the job description. Eventually my job had tens of more responsibilities than I was aware of when I first started, some of which made me feel unsafe or uncomfortable. I began to exhibit withdrawl behavior, calling in sick every couple of weeks and this led to me eventually putting in my two-week notice. This was not what I signed up for.
This experience showed me just how innaccurate job descriptions can affect employee morale. If I had known everything the job entailed I never would have accepted the poistion in the first place.
As demonstrated in the lecture, definining a job will ultimately set employee expectations. The accuracy and contents of this description can mitigate confusion, turnover and morale. I had experience role abiguity and was uncertain with expectations of my role. I had also experience role overload, as I continued to work there I progressively had more and more responsibilities that were not listed in the initial job description.
Citations-
Swift, Michele. Week 1 Ethics and HRM; Week 2 Lectures Turnover, Job Satisfaction & Managing Employee Engagement and Retention. 2021.
