Changing Job Tasks as Risk or Chance for Employees’ Perceived Job Quality? A Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract In recent decades, job tasks have changed significantly, driven primarily by technological change, with some tasks being automated and others gaining in importance. This may affect employees in two ways: On the one hand, changing tasks might decrease perceived job quality through, e.g., cognitive overload. On the other hand, task changes could be a chance, e.g., by automating undesirable tasks such as hard physical work. This study analyses how individual-level task changes influence job satisfaction as a measure of perceived job quality, using data from the German National Educational Panel Study. Fixed-effects models revealed that performing fewer manual and more analytic and autonomy tasks significantly improved job satisfaction, suggesting generally positive effects of recent task changes. However, we also observed age-related differences, with older employees reporting lower satisfaction when performing fewer routine tasks. These results provide valuable insights into the impact of evolving job tasks and highlight areas where further research and policy interventions are needed.