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The Effect of Job Rotation on employees in organizations in the UAE




Sasha Hodgson (1)
Maleeha Al Shehhi (2)
Eman Al-Marzouqi (2)

(1) Dr. Sasha Hodgson, Assistant Professor
Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
(2) Graduate student, Zayed University,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates


Correspondence:
Dr. Sasha Hodgson, Assistant Professor
Zayed University,
P.O. Box 144534
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Email: Sasha.Hodgson@zu.ac.ae



Abstract


Job rotation is a type of on-the-job knowledge acquiring where an employee is encouraged through a list of coursework planned to give them an extent of practical knowledge and coverage of different aspects of employment for that profession. Job rotation is a suitable
development method for employees who are focusing only on common job tasks rather than a specialized professional route. It is also a way of obtaining speedy coverage and experience to a large selection of positions within a company in order to boost certain capabilities. The basic purpose of this study is to find out the impact of job rotation on employees in UAE public and private (both) organizations. For this purpose, online survey technique was used and data was gathered from 100 employees including males and females from UAE organizations. Data was analyzed through reliability, descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. The findings of the study show that job rotation has a highly significant and positive impact on employees in both the public and private sector in United Arab Emirates organizations. Job rotation creates new opportunities for employees and develops high skills in them.




Introduction
Nowadays, "upgrading the knowledge and capabilities of personnel, equipping employees with the most up-to-date and unique capabilities, improving upon productiveness and worth-extra operations, blocking personnel skills from turning into obsolete and enhancing the coaching lifestyle." (Ortega, 2001). "Job rotation is a serious component of work layout and an industrial observe normally used along with the intention of lowering monotony and building substantial inspiration." (Huang, 1999)

According to Jorgensen (2005) "Rotation is usually described as performing at different tasks or in numerous positions for established intervals of time."

"In the planned way applying lateral transfers aiming to permit employees to gain a range of information, skills and competencies and can be noticed being an on-the-work training technique." (Gomez and Lorente, 2004). Therefore, it is thought to gain an effect on worker determination.

"Job rotation is a part of job system where the employees transfer from one position to another in a specific period of time to do different tasks compared to the previous positions. It can be defined as working in different positions and doing different tasks for a period of time in an organization in order to learn a different range of skills and knowledge." (Jorgensen et al, 2005). Also, according to Eriksson & Ortega (2006) "Job rotation is an effective way to develop employees' abilities". This research has been investigated in UAE organizations of how employees can benefit from job rotation. It could check with different types of rotations.

Job rotation certainly is a kind of on-the-career knowledge enhancing wherever an employee moves through a timetable of assignments intended to provide them with several career experiences. "Task rotations are appropriate progress remedies for employees who are in search of a general instead of technical job path, need to reach quick exposure to wide range of employment in an organization, or need to have to reinforce particular skills. Position rotations can be obtained for workers at all grades and levels within the organization, nonetheless are almost certainly to be useful for fresh new graduates or higher opportunity leaders." (Huang, 1999).

"In the United States of America they applied job rotation throughout the nineteenth century which was a regular exercise during the Business of labor in a very prominent American spiritual communal motion called the United Modern society of Believers, normally known as the Shakers, as discovered by the diaries and journals of many Shaker members." (Andrews, 1963). "In US firms, skilled employees who are predicted to be promoted as professionals are needed to use a broad perspective of your complete business. The personnel have seasoned many manufacturing segments by rotating through distinctive work opportunities, properly learning quite a few aspects of the company from the supervisor point of view." (Brewer, 1986).
Yet, job rotation in Japan is totally different from other countries as well as the UAE. For example, "the Japanese-style (is) shuffling the Japanese workers into new disciplines every few years. So, it is not necessary for them to specialize in specific areas because they know that Japanese companies implement frequent job rotation which is a practice that is rare in Western corporations. Also, it often occurs in large Japanese companies in order to give the company vitality and unity." (Lohr, 1982).

On the other hand, the UAE government started to plan and apply job rotation in 2012. This was suggested and agreed by H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (2012) "We seek to put an end to the culture of staying in the same post for a long time as rotating jobs allows the leading posts to be continuously provided with qualified national staff." This idea was followed according to UAE Federal Government Learning and Development Policy v1.0 -Article 62 (n.d) "Job rotations are available to employees at all grades and levels within the organization, however are most likely to be used for fresh graduates or high potential leaders."(P, 17)

Implementing job rotation has different impacts on employees. "Job rotation is an effective way to develop employees' abilities and they need to gain deeper understanding of more aspects of business." (Eriksson & Ortega, 2006)

Moreover, "job rotation is a suitable development solution for employees who are seeking a general rather than technical career path and who need to gain rapid exposure to a wide range of jobs within an organization (e.g. new employees or fresh graduates.)" (UAE Federal Government Learning and Development Policy, n.d). Besides, "job rotation would provide working environment flexibility to employees in order to exert their multi skilling in the working process" (Armache, 2012). Furthermore, as job rotation becomes an essential part of the workplace we are estimating that UAE organizations after 10 years would hugely increase the process of job rotation in different sectors (public and private) due to the optimistic effects on employees that would encourage them to reach a high standard level of knowledge where the productivity and motivation would raise in this case. It's beneficial for us to do this research to evaluate the effects of job rotation on employees who are currently working in UAE organizations.

Hypothesis

For our research we would like to investigate the following hypotheses related to job rotation in the UAE which are:

H1a: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employees of the UAE public and private sector.
H1b: There is a negative relationship between job rotation and employees of the UAE public private sector.
H2: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's social relationship of the UAE private and public sector.
H3: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's knowledge and skills of the UAE private and public sector.
H4: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's routine work of the UAE private and public sector.
H5: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's job opportunity of the UAE private and public sector.
H6: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's performance level of the UAE private and public sector.
H7: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's job stress of the UAE private and public sector.

We have chosen this topic because we want to find out the impact of job rotation on employees in UAE organizations. The basic purpose of choosing these hypotheses is to provide evidence of how job rotation can prove progression and enhancement alternatives for UAE Federal Government workforce in addition to comparing the public and the private sectors, to be certain that Government has the capability to meet their future prerequisites in each technical and management role. As a result, it would help to emphasise the top quality in scheduling and controlling as well as discovering and progress activities at all stages in each private and non-private sector of United Arab Emirates organizations.

In this research, we estimate that job rotation may positively affect employees more who are in UAE private sector rather than who job rotated in the public sector. This estimation was built on the International Journal of Human Resource Management, where a Human Resource manager stated that "Employees are more attracted to private sector offers of career development and learning opportunities." (Al-Hamadi et al, 2007). This means that the career development is a part of developing more skills which will be applied through job rotation.

In this case, we will evaluate our hypotheses by comparing the responses of each employee, for different gender, in the private sector and public sector in UAE, which depends on the employee's gender, age, skills enhancement, improving social relationships and which sector they work in, and are they satisfied with job rotation application or are they stressful about this process. Therefore, we will be able to classify their opinions for both sectors.


Methodology

In this particular study, we have chosen online survey approach as a primary method to gather our data. The basic purpose and advantages of choosing online survey method are:

• Low costs. "Resulting from greatly lower overheads, collecting knowledge does not have to cost you in a large number." (Evan & Mathur, 2005).
• Automation and real-time access. "Respondents enter their own individual data, and it is really immediately saved electronically. Analysis, results therefore in being easier and will be streamlined, and is available straight away." (Evans & Mathur, 2005)
• Less time. "Fast deployment and returning of questionnaire are feasible with online surveys that can't be attained by traditional procedures. If you have negative contact information and facts for some respondents, you will realize it virtually appropriate once you have dispatched your surveys." (Evans & Mathur, 2005)
• Convenience for respondents. "They might respond to questions on their agenda, at their speed, and may even begin a study at a single time, postponed, and finish it later on." (Evans & Mathur, 2005)
• Design flexibility. "Surveys can be programmed even when they are quite elaborate. Intricate skip styles and logic might be utilized seamlessly. You can even require that respondents offer just one response to solitary-alternative thoughts, which cuts down on error." (Evans & Mathur, 2005)

In order to measure the statement given by respondents in the survey, a 5 point Likert scale was used:

1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Neutral
4. Agree
5. Strongly Agree

In this way, we can identify the responses of each employee who works in the Private and Public sector, linked with the effects of job rotation system.

Population
The desired and actual population for this particular study is all employees who practice job rotation in their departments of public and private sector of United Arab Emirates organizations.

Sample Size
The sample size for this particular study is 100 employees including males and females. The sample size has been chosen through simple random sampling.

In statistics, a simple random sample is a subset of people taken from a bigger population. Just about every individual is decided on randomly and entirely based on random selection, so that each person has the exact probability of remaining preferred at any phase through the sampling system, and every subset of k men and women has the same likelihood of remaining picked out for sample as every other subset of k individuals. "This process and procedure is named simple random sampling. A simple random sample is undoubtedly an unbiased surveying method." (Yates et al, 2008).

Data analysis
To see the relationship between independent and dependent variables, the sample was employed as well as correlation and multiple regressions. The data was analyzed for the descriptive portion related to job rotation effects. The first step required the application of correlation model development of social relationship, increased knowledge and skills, decreased routine work, decreased stress, increased job opportunity, improved performance level and employees' job satisfaction. This meant that there were six independent variables. All of them had the multiple regression model applied to them.

Y= b0 +b1X1+ b2X2+ b3X3+ b4X4+ b5X5+ b6X6+e

Y= employee's job performance/satisfaction (dependent variable)
b0= Constant
X1= Build social relationship
X2= Broaden job knowledge and skills
X3= Decreased routine work
X4= Decreased stress
X5= Increased job opportunity
X6= Improved performance level

With the help of the above given equation, the effects of independent variables on the dependent variable of job employees' satisfaction/performance were measured.

Findings of the study

Reliability for both sectors (Public and private)

Table 1

Table 1 shows that instrument used in this study was reliable with Cronbach's alpha value of 1st independent variable (Build social relationship) 0.715, with Cronbach's alpha value of 2nd independent variable (broaden job knowledge and skills) 0.873, with Cronbach's alpha value of 3rd independent variable (decreased routine work) 0.863, with Cronbach's alpha value of 4th independent variable (decreased stress) 0.932, with Cronbach's alpha value of 5th independent variable (increased job opportunity) 0.838 and with Cronbach's alpha value of 6th independent variable (improved performance level) 0.901.

Descriptive statistics for (Private sector )


Table 2




Table 3


Table 2 & Table 3 show that there were 56.56% males and 43.43% females participated in the particular study. Out of them, 22% respondents were of 18-24 age groups. 33% respondents were of 25-34 age group, 29% respondents were of 35-44 age group and 16% respondents were of 45+ age group.



Table 4




Table 5




Table 6





Table 7




Correlation

Table 8


Table 8 shows that association between all variables is positive. Significant relationship is also found among many variables. Employee's performance/satisfaction has a positive and strong correlation with all variables at 0.01 significant levels. All independent variables are highly significant and positively correlated with each other at 0.01 significant levels.

Regression
Regression table measures the amount of total variation in dependent variable due to independent variable. Table 9 shows the value of Adjusted R2 is 0.922. This value indicates that there is almost 73.4% variation in dependent variable (employee's performance/satisfaction) due to one unit change in independent variables. The F value is 85.525 at 0.000 significant levels, which shows that the model is good as its value is less than 0.01 significant levels.

Table 9


Table 9 shows that with a significant level of 0.000 and t value 6.493 build social relationship (the beta value of independent variable) is 0.130. Similarly, the increased job knowledge & skills (beta value of independent variable) is 0.169 with significant variable and t value of 0.001 and 2.857 respectively. For decreased routine work (the beta value of independent variable), the beta value is 0.457 with 0.001 significant level and 3.607 t value. These values illustrate how much the dependent variables such as employees' performance/satisfaction, are being affected by independent variables.

Results

The results of this study show that job rotation has a significant effect on employee's performance/satisfaction in UAE organizations and all the dimensions that were taken to measure job rotation are showing significant and positive results with employees except "decreased stress". It is very obvious that any new job or task that is known to an employee can give him/her stress, for that reason moving between job tasks should have a proper time length where the employees of private and public sector have time to adapt to that change and start feeling comfortable. The rest of all the dimensions, including development of social relationship, decreased routine, increased job performance, increased knowledge & skills and increased job opportunity are highly positively related to employees. On the basis of these results, we can say that some of our hypotheses are being accepted which are:

H1a: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employees of the UAE public and private sector. accepted
H2: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's social relationship of the UAE private and public sector. accepted
H3: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's knowledge and skills of the UAE private and public sector. accepted
H4: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's routine work of the UAE private and public sector. accepted
H5: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's job opportunity of the UAE private and public sector. accepted
H6: There is a positive relationship between job rotation and employee's performance level of the UAE private and public sector. accepted

However, two of our hypothesis had an opposite results which are:

H1b: There is a negative relationship between job rotation and employees of the UAE public private sector.
H7: There is positive relationship between job rotation and employee's job stress of the UAE private and public sector.

Conclusion

The research was about evaluating the effect of job rotation on employees in organizations in the UAE. Where this process has great positive effects on employees depends on their career and how they act toward the rotation technique. We measured different factors that may enhance employees' job accomplishment while job rotating. Finally, job rotation can serve both employees and their organization goals where they will be able to create optimistic productiveness to reach high standard levels since they have an employee who is featured with multiple experiences and skills.

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