Cast your mind back to your first day at work. As you took those tentative first steps into your new office (or logged onto that first Zoom meeting) how did you feel? Many of us may perhaps find it difficult to accurately articulate the unique combination of trepidation, uncertainty, and excitement we experience when first immersing ourselves within a new working environment, or the unbridled sense of optimism that accompanies us as we embark on a new professional challenge.
Unfortunately, many of us can also appreciate just how quickly this initial enthusiasm and excitement can turn into disenchantment and demotivation.
The Reality
In truth, it is difficult to maintain that ‘new job’ feeling. Overtime, we become accustomed to our assigned roles and responsibilities, and can easily fall into a comfortable (and somewhat repetitive) routine. In turn, this puts us at a greater risk of stagnation and ultimately professional disengagement.
With employee disengagement representing a continual and significant threat to UK organisations, the value of interventions which can help our business retain its top talent, whilst keeping our working teams happy and engaged within their roles cannot be underestimated. But how exactly can we best help facilitate continued employee engagement? The answer may well lie in a process known as ‘job crafting’.
What is Job Crafting?
As an extension of the concept of job redesign (i.e. working with your supervisor to adjust the remit of one’s work tasks, activities, relationships, and responsibilities) job crafting is an employee led process which affords members of our working teams to progressively push the boundaries and conditions of their jobs, whilst also customising their roles in order to improve professional relationships and foster a greater sense of meaning in their working practices. If employed correctly, job crafting not only impacts positively upon levels of employee engagement and retention, it also promotes enhanced perceptions of job satisfaction, fosters resilience, and helps create a thriving workplace culture. Should we wish to reap these rewards however, it’s important we take time to explore and dissect the job crafting process from a task, cognitive, and relational perspective.
The Task Perspective
Before we go any further, let’s make one thing clear. The crafting process is not about completely changing the remit of one’s job, but rather actively modifying or reshaping aspects of one’s professional roles and responsibilities. Task crafting encourages us to explore ways in which we can potentially add, adjust or if appropriate, even remove aspects of our official job description, to ensure what we are doing within our role is more closely reflective of our personal interests and professional skill set. If choosing to engage in task crafting, you may seek to:
i) Change the quantity of work: Conduct a personal audit and take stock of your current workload. What are you doing and more importantly, what impact is it having on the organisation? From here, you may identify opportunities in which to alter your workload so that you can dedicate time and energy to tasks which are more aligned with your unique interests, skills, and preferences.
ii) Change the type of work: Whilst a complete overhaul of your role and its associated responsibilities may unfortunately be somewhat unrealistic, you may well be able to change the way in which you complete tasks, to help you foster a greater sense of enjoyment, whilst also fulfilling your professional objectives. To help stimulate thinking, consider the role of a chef. Whilst their primary objective may be to provide high quality food, they may also harbour a passion for art, and as such, may choose to decorate the plate in a unique way before serving. Think outside the box to help uncover your own chef’s plate.
iii) Change the time of work: In line with the ever-increasing emphasis on flexible working, task crafting may also extend to selecting the time in which you perform certain tasks. For example, you may realise you are very much a morning person, and therefore decide to tackle more cognitively demanding, complex, or creative tasks at the start of your working day, whilst leaving duties which require less energy or are considered perhaps more mundane for the afternoon.
The Cognitive Perspective
Picture two employees. When asked to describe their role, the first employee states “My job is to get rid of rubbish, make sure surfaces are free from dust and germs, and ensure everything is sanitized in accordance with health and safety regulations.” Upon being asked the same question, the second employee responds “My role is to create an environment which induces a feeling of calm, comfort, tranquility, and wellbeing. I also play an active role aiding the recovery and healing of those who engage with our services”. As you may have deduced, both these employees work as hospital cleaners, however, both perceive their roles in very different ways. This highlights the cognitive perspective of job crafting and emphasises the transformative power which can come from changing our attitudes, perceptions, or the way we ultimately think about our professional roles.
Research within the field of cognitive psychology demonstrates that our perceptions largely impact upon our subsequent behaviours and emotions. Consequently, try and find a connection to your work by thinking how you can define your role beyond a standardised job description. Ask yourself “ How can I change the way in which I define or think about my role, so it more deeply reflects my personal values, wider life goals and signature strengths?” To further aid this process, think about how you would write your role if you were trying to appeal to an employee who shared similar passions, values and strengths to yourself. What language would you use in an attempt to entice them to the role and allow them to feel like they would be truly making a difference?
The Relational Perspective
We cannot afford to underestimate the impact positive working relationships have on employee performance and wellbeing. As such, it’s pivotal we craft our professional roles in a manner which enables us continued opportunities in which to form strong social bonds and productive working alliances. From a relational perspective, employees may strive to feel a sense of control over who they interact with in the workplace. For example, they may wish to spend more time with colleagues they perceive as supportive and when possible, avoid those they perceive as difficult. In addition, it’s also necessary to consider the context in which an employee chooses to communicate with others, or the specific times in which they choose to spend with them (e.g. spend time with them in a social context outside of work).
To promote greater working relationships, you may choose to craft your role, so it affords you greater opportunities to get to know your colleagues on a deeper and more meaningful level. This may extend to going the extra mile to arrange social events, taking opportunities to work across organisational boundaries and differing working teams, or even offering mentorship opportunities to colleagues who may benefit from your specific knowledge or expertise.
Final Thought
Whilst job crafting is an employee led process, don’t be mistaken in thinking that leaders and managers don’t have an important role to play. The success of job crafting is largely dependent on an employee having access to the resources required to successfully meet the requirements of the professional demands placed upon them. Those in positions of power and influence, must demonstrate a clear commitment to the crafting process, through working to help minimise employees’ hindering job demands (i.e. limiting exposure to highly stressful tasks). Additionally, they must learn to harness their transformative capabilities in an effort to instil confidence and promote autonomy amongst members of their working teams. Only then will businesses reap the rewards associated with embracing a culture of crafting.
For more information on how you can boost your working teams’ crafting capabilities, get in touch.
Sources
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Demerouti, E. (2014). Design your own job through job crafting. European Psychologist.
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