Academics from a variety of disciplines have recently begun to consider the role that
public policy might play in developing better forms of work organization that expand
employees’ opportunities to exercise skill and discretion in their jobs.
The article explores these questions through an examination of the Finnish Workplace
Development Programme, often regarded as a form of public policy intervention, par
excellence, explicitly aimed at improving work organization. Drawing upon interviews
with key stakeholders and experts involved with the programme, together with two
case studies of development projects in the municipal sector, it considers how
successful the programme has been in its attempt to develop ‘the better job’.
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