The End of Jobs? Paradoxes of Job Deconstruction in Organizations

As organizations seek more adaptive workforces, they are increasingly embracing “deconstructed” jobs as an alternative to traditional jobs. In these emerging work structures, jobs are broken down into tasks and projects, and matched with the knowledge, skills, and abilities of workers in the internal labor market. Despite the burgeoning popularity of job deconstruction as a new organizing paradigm—a supposed panacea for rigid organizations and their entrenched employees—our article challenges this oversimplified view. We identify several interdependent, persistent paradoxes inherent in deconstructed jobs, and examine how organizations can navigate their consequences. In balancing the human side of job deconstruction, we propose a way forward that brings workers’ experiences into the discussion, advocating guardrails that can shield workers while facilitating productive outcomes and mitigating potential adverse impacts. We conclude by suggesting key directions for future research on job deconstruction as an important new frontier in the study of work and organizations.