KNOWLEDGE WORK DIFFICULTY FACTORS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY BASED ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS

The determination of the difficulty factor in knowledge work can be important for improving the performance of knowledge workers. In this article a regression model for investigating the difficulty of knowledge based activities (KBAs) is proposed. Four factors are considered in the model: Uncertainty, Variability of information, Amount of information and Level of skill and expertise. An empirical study based on 119 jobs from three different groups of knowledge workers (i.e. managerial, professional and clerical) shows that there are significant differences between the difficulty of the KBAs in managerial, clerical and professional jobs, and that managerial KBAs are more difficult than the KBAs of the other two groups. Furthermore, regression models indicate that Level of skill and expertise is the most influential factor in the difficulty of the KBAs in each of the three groups. Key words: knowledge work, difficulty index, knowledge based activities (KBAs), variability of information, amount of information, uncertainty, level of skill and expertise JEL: J24, C12 2 first people to define the knowledge work concep