Work-sharing, a workplace management approach used primarily in the auto- and apparel-manufacturing industries, may not be suitable for all types of employees, finds an ongoing Cornell University study. Work-sharing quite literally requires workers, such as those building cars on assembly lines or those filling orders for a large mail-order clothing firm, to share equipment and technology to complete their required tasks.

"We have found that the flexibility work-sharing affords employees in completing their tasks makes for a more efficient and effective way to manage a workplace," said L. Joseph Thomas, professor of manufacturing at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. "But understanding what type of employee can produce the best results, how the work situation affects the motivation of the employees, and the best ways to divide up the work are key to a successful work-sharing environment."

Thomas is running experiments in a simulated workplace to assess work-sharing's effectiveness.

An expert in inventory control, productivity and new technology, Thomas has conducted numerous studies on manufacturing and has done consulting for such corporations as IBM, AT&T, Boeing, Bethlehem Steel and Hershey.

In work-sharing, four employees may be using 10 machines to produce an inventory of shirts or skirts, for instance, and some machines are used by two or more employees at different times. Work-sharing differs from the other popular workplace management approach called "fixed assignments," where each employee has exclusive use of a particular set of machines and there is no sharing of technology.

The experiments conducted by Thomas and a team of researchers monitored the behavior of employees in a work-sharing setting. "Most work-sharing models assume that people work at a steady pace, regardless of the performance of other workers. They also assume that everyone responds the same way. We are measuring how people differ and how work-sharing affects their motivation. We will use that information to build better models, leading to better design of the workplace."

So far the study has found that work-sharing improves efficiency. "There is less idle time associated with work-sharing than fixed assignment," Thomas said. "Workers can keep busy by deciding 'on-the-fly' who should be using a machine at a given time. This way, you don't have a worker sitting around waiting for his or her neighbor to finish the next item."

Motivation also changes under different work arrangements. According to Thomas, "Employees don't want to have someone waiting for them and tend to work faster when this occurs. This is particularly evident in low-inventory lines, which are becoming more common with the advent of 'just-in-time' production."

However, the effectiveness of work-sharing can be linked to individual personalities of the employees involved. "Work-sharing benefits more from having employees who want to belong, who are more interested in helping out and solving problems, than from those who aren't," Thomas noted.

As the studies continue, Thomas said that what has emerged from their work is clear evidence that manufacturing systems should be designed around the fact that people are different. "People do respond to each other when provided the opportunity to do so," Thomas said. "It is essential that management know which people work best in these situations and how different work systems change motivation. With this knowledge, companies can best use the talent and flexibility that people bring to a work situation."