§ Mr. Raisonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what he is doing to stimulate action to improve the satisfaction workers derive from their jobs.
§ Mr. Maurice MacmillanI am glad to be able to announce that the TUC and CBI have accepted my invitation to join with the Government in a tripartite steering group to consider ideas for improving satisfaction which people derive from their work.
I have asked the Minister of State, Department of Employment, to take responsibility for co-ordinating Government action in this field.
I hope that it may be possible through this group to initiate work that, with the support of both sides of industry, will draw on and extend the experience already gained in this field and thus stimulate a wider understanding of what can and should be done to improve the quality of working life in our industrial society.
My Department has today published a report "On the Quality of Working Life" which it commissioned from Dr. N. A. B. Wilson, a senior occupational psychologist. Dr. Wilson's report describes schemes that have raised productivity and improved job satisfaction by changes in the content of work. He proposes a programme of development in industry and commerce which would include the carrying out of experiments under controlled conditions. This is an important proposal which I would expect the steering group to study.