The relationship between work organization and workforce agility in small manufacturing enterprises

• Employees' autonomy is one of the most important determinants of workforce agility.
• Job demands and job uncertainty have significant effect on workforce agility.
• Cooperative relationships promote workforce agility in small manufacturing enterprises.

Organizational agility requires development of an adaptable workforce that is able to deal with unexpected and dynamic changes in the business environment. However, little research has been done on the attributes and characteristics of workforce agility. Even less is known about what organization characteristics are conducive to the agile performance of employees. The main goal of this study was to explore the effect of agile strategies on work organization and employees' performance. A total of 41 managers, 82 office workers, and 52 production workers from six small manufacturing companies participated in the study. Three questionnaires, including Agility Strategy Scale, Work Organization Scale, and Workforce Agility Scale, were used for the purpose of data collection. The results support a hypothesized relationship between management strategies focused on agility development, work characteristics, and workforce agility. The results also reveal that autonomy at work is one of the most important predictors of workforce agility. A combination of job demands and job uncertainty had a significant effect on workforce agility. The study also suggests that developing strong cooperative relationships within an organization and with customers and suppliers promotes workforce agility in small manufacturing enterprises.Relevance to industryThis paper investigated organizational practices that were conducive to implementing agile management and strategies in small manufacturing enterprises. The study results can be used for optimizing work demands and conditions in the workplace environments that require constant change and adaptation.

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