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 participants’ 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.