Job Crafting (JC)
How is Job Crafting defined?
"the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in the task or relational boundaries of their work." More specifically, JC involves:- Task Crafting Cognitive crafting Relational crafting
General (Distal) effects of JC
Changes the meaning of the work Changes or shapes employee's work identity
Need for human connection with others
Employees build relationships with others at work to reframe the meaning of work and their work identities (e.g., janitors as healers)
Consequences of JC
Enhanced view of the meaning of work and employees identity at work Experiences of achievement and enjoyment Higher performance Increased ability to cope with adversity Can be harmful to organisational goals Affects managers even if they don't know about it
Need for positive self-image
By changing the tasks and relationships that compose their jobs, employees enable a more positive sense of self to be expressed and confirmed by others.
Changes or shapes employee's work identity (general effects)
By shaping the form and amount of interaction with others at work, employees participate in the creation of their work identity with others and enable the creation of desirable identities that fulfil a need for positive self-assessment.
Need for personal control over job & work meaning
By taking control of or reframing work tasks, work conditions or defining overall purpose of the work even in small ways, employees make (craft) the job into their own.
Specific (proximal) effects
Increased: engagement, job satisfaction, task performance, OCB Decreased: Cynicism, Burnout
Changes the meaning of the work (general effects)
Job crafting changes the meaning of the work by changing job tasks or relationships in ways that allow employees to reframe the purpose of the job and experience the work differently
Motivations for JC
Need for personal control over job & work meaning Need for positive self-image Need for human connections with others
Moderators of JC
Perceived opportunity to job craft Job feature: Task interdependence Job feature: Level discretion permitted by supervision Work orientation (immediate results, advancement, calling) Motivational orientation (intrinsic, extrinsic)