Final answer:
The concept of 'skill variety' refers to the degree to which a job requires a worker to use a wide range of knowledge and abilities. Skill variety can increase job satisfaction due to the complex and diverse nature of tasks that employees are engaged with, underscoring its significance in occupational design and evaluation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The extent to which a job requires the worker to use a wide range of knowledge and abilities is known as skill variety. When we consider task design and job satisfaction, skill variety is an important factor because it can influence how engaged and motivated an employee feels. Jobs that require a high level of skill variety usually mean that the worker needs to apply a diverse set of talents and knowledge, which can lead to greater satisfaction in work.
According to Davis and Moore, the degree of skill required for a job determines that job's importance in society. They emphasize that more complex jobs, which require a greater variety of skills, are less common due to the limited number of individuals qualified to perform such tasks. This perspective correlates with the understanding that an increase in skill variety can enhance an employee's perception of their job's significance and, by extension, job satisfaction.
Occupational prestige is another aspect related to the degree of skill required for a job and ties into how society values certain types of work over others. Transferable skills are highly sought after by employers because they indicate an employee's ability to take on various tasks and apply their knowledge broadly, further adding to the role of skill variety in the workplace.