Self-Managing Teams, Quality of Work Life, and Productivity: A Field Study

The impact of participation in a self-managed teams program on employee quality of work life attitudes, and on productivity and quality was studied among employees in a manufacturing firm located in the mid-western United States. Employee productivity and quality changes were measured by collecting and analyzing actual organizational data, for a thirty-six month period. The attitudinal results indicate that self-managed teams improved participantsÕ quality of work life. The performance results document a positive and substantial impact of self-managed teams program on employee productivity, efficiency and quality. However, implementation of self-managing teams is a complex task that requires time and commitment of resources to reap potential rewards.