The Effect of Working Environment and Motivation towards Labors’ Performance: A Case Study in Aceh at PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda

This study aims to analyze the effect of the working environment and motivation towards the performance of labors at the packaging department of urea fertilizer in PT. Pupuk Iskandar Muda, Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia. This study employs the census sample selection method and involves 35 labors at the packaging department in the company. The research variables consist of independent variables (i.e. physical and psychosocial working environment, work motivation, and supporting working tools) and dependent variables (i.e. labors’ performance). Based on data analysis that uses double regression (linear), it shows that the relationship between the independent variables towards the dependent variable is with R square value 46.8%. This circumstance proves that proper physical working environment that provides comfortable and safety procedures to the labors increases their performance. Moreover, the results from the regression coefficient also show a significant effect of the physical working environment, psychosocial working environment, work motivation, and supporting working tools towards the labors’ performance.

Management and Employee Control in Current Industrial Work

This article examines how employee control is affected by the ongoing erosion of boundaries in work organization and established boundaries in the relationship between employees and management. One assumption is that the erosion of boundaries offers potential for increased employee control, meaning increased autonomy or self-determination at work (employee control how and when to do what). This assumption is supported by theories on the psychosocial working environment. Another assumption is that the erosion of boundaries threatens the frontiers from where employees can defend their interests, and consequently reduces employees’ control of their work (what and how much to do). This assumption is supported by “labor process theory.” This article studies control and the erosion of boundaries in two case factories in the food industry. Two perspectives are applied: the psychosocial working environment and “labor process theory.”