Can illegitimate job tasks be reduced by a participatory organizational-level workplace intervention? Results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Danish pre-schools

The study investigates whether a measure, aimed at improving the working environment in kindergartens by focusing on the core tasks of staff, contributes to reducing unnecessary, unreasonable and illegitimate work tasks. The authors test the hypothesis: The participants in the intervention group will report a greater reduction in unnecessary, unreasonable and illegitimate tasks than the participants in the control group. 

The scores regarding unnecessary, unreasonable and illegitimate tasks remained unchanged in the intervention group, while they increased in the control group. The results were statistically significant both in terms of unreasonable and illegitimate work tasks, but not for unnecessary work tasks. The researchers believe the results show that extensive interventions, which focus on core work tasks and where the employees are allowed to participate and design the measures themselves, can have a protective effect against an increase in illegitimate tasks in Danish kindergartens. 

The empirical data were collected using a cluster-randomised control study in which 71 kindergartens in Copenhagen participated (41 kindergartens with a total of 404 employees in the intervention group and 30 kindergartens with a total of 230 employees in the control group). After seminars, consultancy support and work groups, a number of interventions were introduced among the staff from the kindergartens in the intervention group. The goal was to improve the psychosocial working environment by focusing on the employees’ core tasks. The degree of unnecessary, unreasonable and illegitimate tasks was measured in both groups, both before the intervention began and two years later. Differences within the groups and between the groups were analysed. 

Framke, E., Sørensen, O. H., Pedersen, J. & Rugulies, R. (2018). «Can illegitimate job tasks be reduced by a participatory organizational-level workplace intervention? Results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Danish pre-schools”. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 44(2):219–223.