Question

Tommy is from a small town and quit high school to get married. He and his wife have five kids, and his wife stays home with the children. Tommy is a hard worker and strives to provide for his family, although his skills are limited. Tommy has been a butcher for his entire career. He has been with his present company, a large retail grocer, for the past six years performing the same job. There are twelve people in the meat department, and each one specializes in cutting certain types of meat. Tommy's job is to cut ribeye steaks. Cutting ribeye steaks is very precise and requires holding and using a knife in the same way every day. This requirement has started to cause Tommy pain in his right hand. Although Tommy still likes his work, he is getting a little bored of the repetition and is bothered by the pain.
The quality of Tommy’s work has not suffered, but the store managers can tell that he is getting bored. What could they do to keep him better engaged?

a. Purchase special ergonomic mats to help with the pain associated with standing on the hard floor every day.
b. Motivate Tommy by giving him feedback about how skilled he is in cutting ribeye and explain that customers visit the store for his custom steaks.
c. Offer Tommy more money because he is so good at cutting meat.
d. Cross train the employees in the meat department, so beef cutters can learn how to cut pork and vice versa.
e. Administer a work personality quiz to Tommy to see if there is another area in the store where he could move to, such as the produce department.

Answer 1

Answer: d. Cross train the employees in the meat department, so beef cutters can learn how to cut pork and vice versa.

Explanation:

Since the quality of Tommy’s work has not suffered, but the store managers can tell that he is getting bored, the thing that could be done to keep him better engaged is to cross train the employees in the meat department, so beef cutters can learn how to cut pork and vice versa. Cross training helps the workers in the company appreciate the workers of others in other department and shows workers flexibility.