The Working Anthroengineer

Abstract—Labor gap response theory is an interdisciplinary theory developed within anthroengineering that provides a framework for future research in assignment problems, policy effects on hiring, employee burnout mechanisms, and organizational stress. This paper outlines the major components of the theory and how together they can provide new methods for understanding contemporary issues in organizations. Within the context of manufacturing, the applications of industrial engineering and anthropology are explored in order to show how both fields approach discreteness and ambiguity and how they can be combined to propose novel methods. The paper goes on to discuss the analogy of materials engineering phase diagrams with their physical properties to that of organizational networks and properties related to stress. The paper ends with an example of a certain issue that raises questions with the perspective of the theory and what future work needs to be done in order to provide adequate models and solutions.