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Job crafting in schools for special education: A qualitative analysis
Abstract
In this article we discuss the design and qualitative (process) evaluation of a job crafting intervention among employees at three Dutch schools for special education. In a period of 1.5 months, fifty employees participated in a group-based training intervention that addressed individual's job crafting activities aimed at improving individual's person-job fit by either lowering job demands or adding job resources and challenges. Through self-evaluations of the success of their job crafting actions and in-depth interviews, successful job crafters reported that they gained a better sense of control over their work and experienced reduced workload. Participants that were unsuccessful in crafting their job, emphasized the importance of the school's support to deal with the effects of unsuccessful job crafting actions. The article ends with a discussion and recommendations for future research on job crafting interventions.
... More specifically, when people perceive supportive personal factors (e.g., increased self-confidence, personality traits), approach crafting is associated with positive experiences, such as meaningfulness, esteem-enhanced occupational identity, and job satisfaction (Buonocore et al., 2018;Fuller & Unwin, 2017;Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017). When people encounter constraining personal factors along the job crafting process, such as a lack of personal resources or a lack of self-confidence, even approach crafting may result in negative experiences (Gascoigne & Kelliher, 2018;Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017;Van Wingerden et al., 2013), or people decided to craft in other domains ( Berg et al., 2010a;Buonocore et al., 2018;Sturges, 2012) because they were unable to cope with such constraining personal characteristics. Figure 1 summarizes the sequence of events characterizing the job crafting process. ...
... Interestingly, our results suggest that approach crafting can result in either positive or negative experiences depending on factors that indicated whether the crafting was the right strategy (i.e., consistent with personal characteristics and realistic motivations that can be achieved with the crafting; supportive personal factors) or whether it was constrained by factors such as problems during the job crafting attempt (e.g., interference by other people; Gascoigne & Kelliher, 2018). Indeed, the frustration resulting from not being able to meet proactive goals generates negative experiences ( Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017;Van Wingerden et al., 2013) or a shift towards an interest in crafting in other domains ( Berg et al., 2010a;Buonocore et al., 2018;Sturges, 2012). ...
... Social support and organizational culture play an important role in the implementation of these practices, which often represent an under-the-radar type of self-training (Lyons, 2008) that is difficult to identify but strongly affects organizational outcomes. Organizations can offer more latitude at both an individual (Lyons, 2008) and collective (Mattarelli & Tagliaventi, 2015) level, also seeking out appropriate and innovative solutions with employees (Van Wingerden et al., 2013). ...
Two different research streams are encountered in the job crafting literature. The first, defined as task, cognitive, and relational job crafting by Wrzesniewski and Dutton (2001), has predominantly applied qualitative research designs to explore how employees craft their jobs to better align them with their preferences, abilities, and motivations to enhance work meaning and identity. The second stream, characterized by crafting job demands and job resources (Tims & Bakker, 2010), focuses mostly on quantitative research designs and examines the antecedents of job crafting and whether those antecedents are related to work-related well-being and performance. Although the quantitative studies have recently been meta-analyzed (Lichtenthaler & Fischbach, 2018; Rudolph, Katz, Lavigne, & Zacher, 2017), the knowledge that is captured in the qualitative studies has not been formally integrated. We contribute to a better understanding of job crafting by conducting a meta–synthesis of the qualitative research. Analyzing 24 qualitative studies, we developed a process model of job crafting that enhances an in-depth understanding of the processes associated with job crafting. More specifically, we highlight the motives for job crafting (i.e., proactive or reactive) and how the specific context may influence the form of job crafting in which individuals engage. Next, the process model shows that personal factors connect job crafting forms to the experienced job crafting consequences. The process model enables a better understanding of the conditions under which job crafting is most likely to generate positive or negative experiences.
... More specifically, when people perceive supportive personal factors (e.g., increased self-confidence, personality traits), approach crafting is associated with positive experiences, such as meaningfulness, esteem-enhanced occupational identity, and job satisfaction (Buonocore et al., 2018;Fuller & Unwin, 2017;Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017). When people encounter constraining personal factors along the job crafting process, such as a lack of personal resources or a lack of self-confidence, even approach crafting may result in negative experiences (Gascoigne & Kelliher, 2018;Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017;Van Wingerden et al., 2013), or people decided to craft in other domains ( Berg et al., 2010a;Buonocore et al., 2018;Sturges, 2012) because they were unable to cope with such constraining personal characteristics. Figure 1 summarizes the sequence of events characterizing the job crafting process. ...
... Interestingly, our results suggest that approach crafting can result in either positive or negative experiences depending on factors that indicated whether the crafting was the right strategy (i.e., consistent with personal characteristics and realistic motivations that can be achieved with the crafting; supportive personal factors) or whether it was constrained by factors such as problems during the job crafting attempt (e.g., interference by other people; Gascoigne & Kelliher, 2018). Indeed, the frustration resulting from not being able to meet proactive goals generates negative experiences ( Kossek et al., 2016;Meged, 2017;Van Wingerden et al., 2013) or a shift towards an interest in crafting in other domains ( Berg et al., 2010a;Buonocore et al., 2018;Sturges, 2012). ...
... Social support and organizational culture play an important role in the implementation of these practices, which often represent an under-the-radar type of self-training (Lyons, 2008) that is difficult to identify but strongly affects organizational outcomes. Organizations can offer more latitude at both an individual (Lyons, 2008) and collective (Mattarelli & Tagliaventi, 2015) level, also seeking out appropriate and innovative solutions with employees (Van Wingerden et al., 2013). ...
... Literature suggests that employees' actual job crafting behavior in the workplace may depend on their perceived opportunities to do so ( Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001;Wrzesniewski, 2003;Van Wingerden et al., 2013;Van Wingerden, 2016;Van Wingerden and Niks, 2017). Insights in this proposed relation between employees' job crafting perceptions and behavior may offer opportunities to organizations that want to create optimal conditions for employee well-being and performance. ...
... The perception of (not) having opportunities to craft by itself may also directly affect work attitudes (Van Wingerden and Niks, 2017). A qualitative study among teachers who participated in a job crafting training ( Van Wingerden et al., 2013) confirmed the assumption that employees' perceived opportunities to craft may determine whether they will craft their jobs. Teachers who participated in the job crafting training and reported they did not succeed crafting their job stated that they did not perceive opportunities to do so. ...
... A first contribution of this article is that it offers evidence for a positive relation between employees' perceived opportunities to craft and their job crafting behavior. Literature suggests that employees' actual job crafting behavior may depend on their perceived opportunities to craft their jobs ( Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001;Wrzesniewski, 2003;Van Wingerden et al., 2013;Van Wingerden and Niks, 2017), however, until now no study had empirically examined this proposed relation among employees in several occupational groups. Therefore, this study may help researchers to gain more insight into the relations between job crafting perception and behaviors, as well as its consequences. ...
The present study was designed to gain knowledge of the relationship between employees’ perceived opportunities to craft, their actual job crafting behavior and, in line with JD-R theory, subsequently their work engagement and performance. Although scholars have suggested that employees’ perceived opportunities to craft their job may predict their actual job crafting behavior, which may have consequences for their well-being and performance, no study has examined the relationships between these variables. We collected data among a heterogeneous group of Dutch employees (N = 2090). Participants of the study reported their perceived opportunities to craft, job crafting behavior, work engagement and performance. Results indicated that individuals who experience a high level of opportunities to craft reported higher levels of job crafting behavior. In turn, perceived opportunities to craft and job crafting behavior related to higher levels of work engagement and subsequently performance. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.
... Because research has revealed that employees' job crafting behavior is positively related to their well-being (Bakker et al., 2012) and work performance (Leana et al., 2009), researchers and organizations are interested in ways to stimulate job crafting. Literature suggests that employees' actual job crafting behavior may depend on the opportunities they perceive to do so (Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001;Wrzesniewski, 2003;van Wingerden et al., 2013). To empirically examine the suggested relation between employees' perceived opportunities to craft and their job crafting behavior, a validated perceived opportunity to craft scale (POCS) is essential. ...
... For instance, job crafting has been shown to be positively related with proactive personality (Bakker et al., 2012) and approach temperament (Bipp and Demerouti, 2015) (both internal factors). A recent qualitative job crafting intervention study (vanWingerden et al., 2013) among teachers confirmed the assumption that employees' perceived opportunities to craft may determine whether they will proactively craft their job. Participants of the job crafting intervention who reported that they did not succeed in crafting their job stated that they did not perceive opportunities to do so. ...
... Literature suggests that employees' actual job crafting behavior may depend on their perceived opportunities to craft their jobs (Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001;Wrzesniewski, 2003;van Wingerden et al., 2013). However, until now no valid measure has been available to empirically examine the concept of POC. ...
We developed and validated a scale to measure employees’ perceived opportunity to craft (POC) in two separate studies conducted in the Netherlands (total N = 2329). POC is defined as employees’ perception of their opportunity to craft their job. In Study 1, the perceived opportunity to craft scale (POCS) was developed and tested for its factor structure and reliability in an explorative way. Study 2 consisted of confirmatory analyses of the factor structure and reliability of the scale as well as examination of the discriminant and criterion-related validity of the POCS. The results indicated that the scale consists of one dimension and could be reliably measured with five items. Evidence was found for the discriminant validity of the POCS. The scale also showed criterion-related validity when correlated with job crafting (+), job resources (autonomy +; opportunities for professional development +), work engagement (+), and the inactive construct cynicism (-). We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.
... The feedback employees receive on their job crafting actions may either create more possibilities for job crafting or may inhibit job crafting to occur in the future (Wrzesniewski, 2003). Job crafting behavior can also be supported through interventions ; Van den Heuvel, Van Wingerden, Derks, & Bakker, 2017;Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, & Dorenbosch, 2013). Van den Heuvel et al. (2012) showed that a job crafting intervention could successfully stimulate police officers to proactively adapt their level of job demands and job resources. ...
... Although the intervention evaluated by Van den Heuvel et al. (2012) did not affect all proposed outcomes, their study illustrated that job crafting can be a promising tool to optimize employees' work environment. In addition, a qualitative intervention study among teachers by Van Wingerden et al. (2013) revealed that participants indicated that they became aware of the importance of proactively crafting their job. Further, an intervention study among teachers testing three different positive organizational interventions (of which one was a job crafting intervention), revealed participants' job crafting behavior significantly increased after the intervention (Van Wingerden et al., 2017). ...
... A first contribution of this study is that it offers evidence that employees' job crafting behavior can be increased through a job crafting training. This study expands earlier findings that job crafting behavior in organizations can be facilitated via interventions (Van den Heuvel et al., 2012;Van Wingerden et al., 2013). In contrast to the studies by Van den Heuvel et al. (2012) and Van Wingerden et al. (2013), this study revealed a significant increase of participants' job crafting behavior after a job crafting intervention compared to a control group. ...
This study examined the impact of an intervention based on Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory. We hypothesized that the intervention would influence participants' job crafting behaviors, as well as their basic need satisfaction. Further, we hypothesized a positive impact on participants work engagement. In addition to the proposed intervention effects, we expected that job crafting would have a positive relationship with work engagement, through basic need satisfaction. The study used a quasi-experimental design with an experimental group and a control group. Teachers completed measures pre- and post-intervention. Results of analyses of variance were largely in line with our predictions. In the intervention group, job crafting, basic need satisfaction, and work engagement increased over time. In the control group, no significant changes were found on all variables. In addition, the results of the analysis confirmed the hypothesized mediation. We discuss the implications of these findings for both JD-R theory and practice.
... Van den Heuvel et al. (2012) showed that a job crafting intervention could successfully encourage employees to adapt their job demands and job resources. Further, in a qualitative job crafting intervention study among teachers by Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, and Dorenbosch (2013), participants indicated that they became more aware of the importance of continuously crafting their job. These studies suggest that a job crafting intervention (i.e., a training) can indeed increase employees' job crafting behaviours. ...
... These studies suggest that a job crafting intervention (i.e., a training) can indeed increase employees' job crafting behaviours. The intervention designs used in the studies by Van den Heuvel et al. (2012) andVan Wingerden et al. (2013) were based on JD-R theory ( Bakker & Demerouti, 2014). One of the core assumptions of the JD-R theory is that every job is characterized by a set of job demands and (job and personal) resources. ...
... A negative job crafting experience may feel as failure and in turn may contribute to cynicism. A study by Van Wingerden et al. (2013) revealed that it is not easy for teachers to decrease their hindering job demands. In their study, 34 teachers tried to decrease their hindering job demands, and 12 of them (35%) indicated that they did not manage to succeed. ...
This study examined the impact of a job crafting intervention based on job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. We hypothesized that the intervention would influence participants’ job crafting behaviours, as well as their job demands, job resources, and personal resources. In addition, we hypothesized a positive impact of the intervention on work engagement and self-rated job performance. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group. Teachers (N = 75) participated in the job crafting intervention on three occasions with 9 weeks in-between the first and second measurement, and 1 year in-between the second and third measurement. Results showed that the intervention had a significant impact on participants’ job crafting behaviours, both at time 2 and time 3. In addition, the results showed a significant increase of performance feedback, opportunities for professional development, self-efficacy, and job performance 1 year after the job crafting intervention. Participants’ levels of job demands, resilience, and work engagement did not change. We discuss the implications of these findings for JD-R theory and practice.
... At a school level, interventions described in prior studies provide promising directions for contemporary interventions involving teachers. Van Wingerden et al. (2013), for instance, designed an intervention to increase special education teachers' personal and job resources and stimulate job crafting behaviours. The intervention consisted of targeted exercises and goal-setting activities, and took place over a four week period. ...
... Although there is considerable evidence to support the implementation of JD-R theory-driven interventions as a means to enhance teachers' wellbeing, such programs must be implemented with caution. Participating in such interventions may increase teachers' stress for example, as such interventions add to teachers' workloads (Van Wingerden et al. 2013). Additionally, some teachers may be resistant to participating in such interventions, given that they are often organised by the same administrators who may be seen as the source of teachers' initial high workloads. ...
Job demands-resources (JD-R) theory has emerged as one of the most influential conceptual frameworks for interpreting and explaining factors affecting employees’ wellbeing in the workplace. The present chapter provides a broad overview of JD-R theory, and discusses how the theory can be harnessed to further understand the factors influencing teachers’ wellbeing. The chapter also reviews prior research employing JD-R theory in teaching populations, and explores the job demands (e.g., workload, disciplinary issues, time pressure) and job resources (e.g. perceived autonomy support, opportunities for professional learning, and relationships with colleagues) that influence teacher engagement, burnout, and organisational outcomes. Theoretical extensions of the model, such as the inclusion of personal resources (e.g. adaptability, cognitive and behavioural coping, self-efficacy), are further considered to extend knowledge of how teacher wellbeing can be promoted at both an individual and broader organisational level. Finally, the chapter considers the practical implications of how JD-R theory can guide interventions, comprising whole-school efforts, as well as approaches that support individual teachers to maximise their wellbeing.
... In the literature, interventions on job crafting are workouts or methods intended to stimulate or develop work redefinition behaviors of employees and they are intended to achieve as a result an improvement in the ability of workers to optimize their working environment [162,163]. It is therefore important to use the data about job crafting research to impact on organizational design to encourage employees to adapt their job demands and job resources [164]. ...
Job satisfaction and affective commitment are key factors for individual and organizational well-being. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of job crafting, a behavior capable of generating positive results and innovation in the workplace. Using the JD-R model as the theoretical framework, the present study investigated the relationship between resources and demands, derived from both the work and family domains, and job satisfaction and affective commitment, hypothesizing the mediating role of job crafting. The sample consisted of 413 employees. Results showed that job crafting fully mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job Satisfaction and partially mediated the relationship between supervisor support and job satisfaction. These results confirm the importance of social support, a good balance between work and family and job crafting in generating job satisfaction and influencing positive outcomes at individual, work and organizational levels.
... Van Wingerden et al. 2013 One way to give employees insight into how they can influence the way their work aligns with their strengths, preferences, motives and passions. ...
Purpose: The aim of this paper is to form a comprehensive definition to describe the term “job crafting”.
Design/methodology/approach: Through a systematic review of the literature found in databases, such as Web of Science, Scopus, Emerald and ABI, articles containing the words “job crafting” in the title and abstract were identified. After following several criteria applied by previous similar analyses, the resulting final sample was 47 articles.
Findings: In this research paper on the term “job crafting”, 76 different definitions of its meaning were identified. After a systematic analysis of these definitions, with the aim of extracting the common elements that characterise job crafting, a definition is proposed, which makes it possible to include any typology, based on three key elements: the employee’s proactivity, the impact on the environment and the context in which the activity is carried out.
Research limitations/implications: The analysis is based on a review of extant literature, which previously has not considered the impact of such definitions of job crafting on hybrid (physical and remote) and virtual (metaverse) environments.
Practical implications: The paper aims to provide a simple and all-inclusive definition of job crafting that serves as a basis for identifying attitudes and behavior that will help in talent attraction, selection and development processes.
Social implications: This integrated definition will help individuals to develop the attitudes and behavior which will enable them to adapt their professional activities in a context where, according to the World Economic Forum (2020 study), 50% of the jobs we know today will disappear by 2030.
Originality/value: This article attempts to provide a succinct and all-inclusive definition of the term job crafting; something which has not previously been achieved.
... Traditionally, avoidance cognitive crafting is a form where workers accept their situation as given (van Wingerden et al. 2013). Contrary to an approach to cognitive crafting that can emphasize the positive qualities surrounding one's work (Piekkari and Annina 2015), a special form of avoidance crafting is withdrawal crafting (Vuori et al. 2012), which means withdrawing from a person or situation either physically or mentally (Bruning and Campion 2018). ...
Recently, businesses are introducing low-code development platforms (LCDP) that enable employees with little to no development expertise to develop their own systems to improve their work. These so-called business unit developers (BUDs) possess necessary domain knowledge to understand how to use LCDPs to create useful (self-) services. Using job resource demand theory and the job crafting model, we conceptualize that BUDs use of LCDPs can be framed using the theoretical lens of job crafting. Job crafting stems from vocational psychology and provides well-researched positive consequences, such as wellbeing and meaningfulness. Thus, our research objective is to understand how BUDs can use LCDPs to job craft to gain access to positive job crafting consequences. We interviewed 17 experts across three organizations that employ an LDCP for chatbots. Our results suggest that job crafting is a suitable framework for understanding the effects of LCDP use.
... Coworkers play an important role to employees' work experiences (Chiaburu & Harrison, 2008). If employees are not content with the support they receive from their coworkers at work, they may resource craft to intentionally create and foster relationships with coworkers to promote this support (van Wingerden et al., 2013). ...
Social resource crafting is a job crafting strategy in which employees proactively increase their social resources (e.g., feedback from coworkers, coaching from supervisor). We examined social resource crafting’s relationships with work‐related social support (perceived supervisor and coworker support) and work engagement. Specifically, as there has been growing interest in understanding resource crafting and work engagement, we investigated the directionality of this relationship. Using a two‐wave study and structural equation modeling, we tested the dual pathways between resource crafting and work engagement as well as resource crafting’s relationship with each type of support. The results suggested social resource crafting was associated with higher levels of coworker support – but not supervisor support ‐ over time and supported a unidirectional path from social resource crafting to work engagement. Our findings provide valuable insight into the power employees have to craft their own positive experiences at work. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... In this framework, authors proposed several training interventions among which the job crafting behavior intervention resulted to be widely effective. This model aims to help employees to customize their jobs by actively changing their tasks and interactions with others at work (i.e., JD-R) ( Van den Heuvel et al., 2015;Van Wingerden et al., 2016Wingerden et al., 2013). Such interventions aim to affect psychological positive outcomes such as organizational commitment , work engagement Hakanen et al., 2006), job performance (e.g., Bakker et al., 2004Bakker et al., , 2008, and the tackling of burnout and exhaustion (e.g., Bakker et al., 2005Bakker et al., , 2008Demerouti et al., 2001). ...
In the framework of positive psychology approach, the present study reports the effect of a mixed human resources (HR) intervention program. We developed an intervention by the integration of the classic resource-based intervention with the specific strength training program named FAMILY. Then, we examined the extent to which such a combined intervention enhanced commitment, work engagement, job performance, and decreasing exhaustion of the participants. N = 69 sales consultants operating in an Italian pharmaceutical company participated in our study. To monitor the interventions used, participants had to complete a diary with self-report measures on the dimensions considered for four weeks. Data were analyzed by using growth models to study the variability of the dimensions considered overtime. Afterward, we used multilevel model analyses to test the associations between them. Our results showed that our combined training intervention increased in-role and extra-role performance, emotional commitment, and decreased the reported exhaustion level of the employees. Moreover, relationships among such dimensions have been explored in relation to antecedents that affect them (i.e., negative and positive emotions experienced, and job demands, and resources).
... This might lead to significant difficulties, since job-crafting interventions, in which teachers are asked to set goals to change their work environment and relationships to colleagues, showed that teachers oftentimes do not try to (or experience difficulties to) decrease job demands and increase social support. Therefore, teachers might need ideas and help that are more external to change their work environment [45][46][47]. Iancu et al. [48] concluded that most intervention studies aiming to reduce teachers' exhaustion levels do not address teacher-specific stressors. However, there are some approaches and interventions to foster stress management abilities, mental distancing, or well-being in teachers. ...
Background
Teachers often face high job demands that might elicit strong stress responses. This can increase risks of adverse strain outcomes such as mental and physical health impairment. Psychological detachment has been suggested as a recovery experience that counteracts the stressor-strain relationship. However, psychological detachment is often difficult when job demands are high. The aims of this study were, first, to gain information on the prevalence of difficulties detaching from work among German teachers, second, to identify potential person-related/individual (i.e., age, sex), occupational (e.g., tenure, leadership position), and work-related (e.g., overload, cognitive, emotional, and physical demands) risk factors and, third, to examine relationships with mental and physical health impairment and sickness absence.
Methods
A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from a national and representative survey of German employees was conducted (BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018). For the analyses data from two groups of teachers (primary/secondary school teachers: n = 901, other teachers: n = 641) were used and compared with prevalence estimates of employees from other occupations ( n = 16,266).
Results
Primary/secondary school teachers (41.5%) and other teachers (30.3%) reported more difficulties detaching from work than employees from other occupations (21.3%). Emotional demands and deadline/performance pressure were the most severe risk factors in both groups of teachers. In the group of primary/secondary school teachers multitasking demands were further risk factors for difficulties to detach from work whereas support from colleagues reduced risks. In both groups of teachers detachment difficulties can be linked to an increase in psychosomatic and musculoskeletal complaints and, additionally, to a higher risk of sickness absence among primary/secondary school teachers.
Conclusions
Difficulties detaching from work are highly prevalent among German teachers. In order to protect them from related risks of health impairment, interventions are needed which aim at optimizing job demands and contextual resources (i.e., work-directed approaches) or at improving coping strategies (i.e., person-directed approaches).
... Job crafting is a framework with potential to facilitate continuous learning (Van Wingerden et al., 2017). Research has suggested how teachers who are in a demanding work environment and may not have control over significant portions of their workload, can use and increase their personal capabilities to deal with their job demands (Van Wingerden et al., 2013). Finally, an applied practitioner could support the job design process within the performance team whereby core roles are identified, and the responsibilities of these roles are clearly defined. ...
The organizational environment and role delivery of support personnel have been identified as increasingly important to elite athletes’ preparation for, and performance at, pinnacle competitions. As a result, performance management has been identified as a salient research topic within the field of organizational sport psychology. The purpose of this study was to identify the performance management processes used within Olympic sport programmes and explore how these processes interact in an organizational context. Thirteen participants working in senior positions within Olympic sport organizations (e.g., national performance director) across a range of countries were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified performance management processes existing across strategic, operational, and individual levels in Olympic sport programmes. The findings also suggested that these socially dynamic processes are interrelated and influenced by the delivery of the performance leader’s role. A preliminary conceptual framework was developed to highlight these processes and illustrate their interrelated nature. Overall, the findings advance our knowledge and understanding of performance management as an organizational concept within elite sport. Practical implications are provided for sport psychology practitioners to assess and optimize how performance management processes are used within elite sport programmes.
Lay Summary: While performance management of personnel in traditional workplaces has been researched heavily, there are limited studies exploring the topic in elite sport. Given the importance of the organizational context for performance and well-being in sport, we explore performance management processes within Olympic sport programmes and discuss their potential practical application.
• Implications for Practice:
• The proposed conceptual framework (and the findings it represents) identifies the key performance management processes in Olympic sport programmes which can help practitioners evaluate current processes in place at individual, operational, and strategic levels and better understand the broader organizational context affecting athletes.
• The findings may help practitioners to more optimally support those operating in senior organizational roles in sports organizations in developing effective performance management processes across their system. Specifically, the training and expertise of sport psychologists can help position them to support those implementing performance management processes at the organizational (e.g., developing codes of conduct), operational (e.g., supporting cultural change), and individual (e.g., providing an optimal balance of challenge and support) levels.
... This can also require them to provide targeted consulting and training activities on organisational issues, as well as support and opportunities for learning to improve work engagement and reduce burnout (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). It may be important for professional associations to help their affiliates discover ways to redesign their job in ways that align more with their perceptions and to search for innovative solutions with them (Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, & Dorenbosch, 2013). Organisations can also leverage the benefits of job crafting to mitigate the adverse consequences of stress by providing workers with the resources necessary to be able to address these situations in more appropriate ways (Lichtenthaler & Fischbach, 2019). ...
Recent research has shown that job crafting, which describes individuals' attempts to craft a job to make it correspond more to personal inclinations, skills, and abilities, can generate significant work and nonwork benefits for individuals. Using the theoretical lens of activation theory, we examined whether professionals are prompted to cognitively craft their jobs in response to the increasing perception of precarisation of their profession, measured in terms of job insecurity and perceived external prestige. We adopted a mixed methods approach among professional accountants operating in Southern Italy and the results indicated the presence of two curvilinear relationships. More specifically, we found that accountants were more likely to engage in cognitive crafting when experiencing moderate levels of job insecurity (rather than high or low) and in the presence of both low and high levels of perceived external prestige (rather than a moderate level). Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Job crafting is about proactively shaping, modelling, and redefining a job Research on job crafting has grown exponentially in recent years The analysis of the antecedents of job crafting is still overlooked Little scholarly attention has been given to the cognitive dimension of job crafting The perception of a threatening and a changing context can affect job crafting behaviors The relationships between antecedents and job crafting can be curvilinear Cognitive job crafting is an important individual strategy to deal with adverse situations Job crafting efforts can be simultaneously oriented to approach and avoid overtures Organizations should launch a series of initiatives aimed at raising the awareness of job crafting Organizations and professional associations should stimulate favorable contextual conditions for job crafting It is important to study HR practices for managing cognitive job crafting behaviors in organizations
... Job crafting has been identified as a key factor behind child care educators continued professional development (Matthias, 2014). Teachers who crafted jobs successfully report greater control over work and reduced workload while teachers unsuccessful in crafting jobs emphasize the importance of school's support for the success of crafting endeavours (Wingerden et al., 2013). Alienation among teachers increases turnover intention (Shoho and Martin, 1999) and hinders their creativity, professional development, self-efficacy and collaboration with management and colleagues (Çetinkanat and Kösterelioglu, 2016). ...
Purpose
The mechanisms through which superiors’ leadership styles and subordinates’ internal cognitions affect subordinates’ actual behaviour and attitudes are relatively unexplored in most contexts. This paper aims to bridge the gap by exploring the mediating effect of teachers’ cognitions (psychological empowerment) in the relationship between principals’ leadership style (empowering leadership) and teachers’ behaviour (job crafting) and attitudes (work alienation and organizational commitment).
Design/methodology/approach
Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used on data obtained from 624 teachers of primary classes in Indian private schools.
Findings
Psychological empowerment partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and job crafting and job crafting partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and work alienation and affective commitment. Work alienation partially mediates the relationship between job crafting and affective commitment. Empowering leadership has a direct effect on job crafting.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the lack of longitudinal data, causality cannot be established. Also, there are concerns about the factor structure of scales.
Practical implications
Principals demonstrating empowering leadership can help teachers become more proactive and feel more empowered, less alienated and more committed. More proactive teachers and less alienated teachers are more likely to engage in self-initiated professional development and collaboration, thereby improving the teaching-learning process. Though this study was done in the school context, it is believed that the findings can plausibly apply to managers/leaders who work with complex, ambiguous work and knowledge workers.
Originality/value
First, the study extends the research on job crafting by studying the relationship between leadership style (empowering leadership) and job crafting. Second, the identification of the mechanisms through which leaders (principals) can help subordinates (teachers) find meaning in work (reduction in alienation) and develop commitment is an original contribution.
... This can also require them to provide targeted consulting and training activities on organisational issues, as well as support and opportunities for learning to improve work engagement and reduce burnout (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). It may be important for professional associations to help their affiliates discover ways to redesign their job in ways that align more with their perceptions and to search for innovative solutions with them (Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, & Dorenbosch, 2013). Organisations can also leverage the benefits of job crafting to mitigate the adverse consequences of stress by providing workers with the resources necessary to be able to address these situations in more appropriate ways (Lichtenthaler & Fischbach, 2019). ...
Drawing on the job crafting and activation theories, in this study we examine how accountants react to the precarization of their profession to maintain their motivation. More specifically, we examine whether job insecurity and perceived external prestige are significantly associated to professionals’ tendency to engage in job crafting behaviors. A two–wave study was conducted among 321 accountants operating in Southern Italy, a region hit by a harsh economic recession. The results indicate that the relations between job insecurity and perceived external prestige are curvilinear, inverted U–shaped for job insecurity and U–shaped for perceived external prestige Accountants were more likely to engage in job crafting behaviors when they perceived moderate levels of job insecurity; whereas they were more likely to craft their job in presence of low and high perceived external prestige. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
... Work engagement is part of the motivational process of the JD-R model, mainly driven by resources. This can explain why decreasing demands has no motivational potential and thus is not or is ambiguously related to engagement (Tims, Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, & Dorenbosch, 2013). The three other job crafting strategies (increasing social and structural job resources and challenging job demands) may be more effective in fostering work engagement. ...
This study examined the impact of organizational interventions on work engagement and performance. Based on the job demands-resources model, we hypothesized that a personal resources intervention and a job crafting intervention would have a positive impact on work engagement and performance. We used a quasi-experimental design with a control group. Primary school teachers participated in the study at two time points with six weeks between the measurements ( N = 102). The results showed that the personal resources intervention had a positive causal effect on work engagement. Additionally, the joint personal resources and job crafting intervention had a positive impact on self-ratings of job performance. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.
... This form of job crafting is central to the current study as it specifically focuses on decreasing hindering job demands. A recent study by Van Wingerden, Derks, Bakker, and Dorenbosch (2013) indicated that decreasing hindering job demands was the most frequently chosen job crafting type among special education teachers who participated in a job crafting intervention. It is therefore important to examine how this type of job crafting is related to others in the work environment. ...
Individuals engage in job crafting to create a better fit between their job and their preferences, skills, and abilities. However, the individual focus may overlook the impact of job crafting on the job context or well-being of colleagues. Therefore, an important question that is addressed in this study is whether the crafting of one person is related to the job characteristics and well-being of a colleague. This study explores the potential negative effects of a seemingly positive strategy for the individual on a colleague. Namely, we predict that when employees decrease their hindering job demands, their colleagues will be more likely to report a higher workload and more conflict. In turn, we hypothesise that colleague reports of workload and conflict are related to colleague burnout. Data were collected among 103 dyads and analyzed with the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model. The results largely supported the hypothesised relationships: Decreasing hindering job demands was positively related to colleague workload and conflict, which, in turn, related positively to colleague burnout. These findings suggest that proactively decreasing hindering job demands not only relates to personal job experiences, but also to colleague job characteristics and well-being.
Responding to recent calls in literature, this article aims at investigating the effect of digitalization and information and communication technologies (ICT) on job crafting, a proactive behavior defined as work personalization or individual job redesign. More specifically, through a qualitative pilot study, we examine the attitudes toward technology – namely the individual’s collection of beliefs which determines whether or not to engage in certain related behaviors – leading to these “do it yourself”, unstructured, and self-targeted practices in a working context that is increasingly digitalized. The inductive qualitative research with 28 interviews suggests the mediating role of two variables in the smartphone and general social media usage. Implications for theory and practice, suggesting optimal behaviors and functioning within organizations arising from positive and proactive attitudes and traits of individuals, are discussed.
The central aim of this study is to investigate whether the proactive personality (PP) of frontline service employees moderates the impact of perceived opportunity to craft (POC) on actual job crafting (JC) behaviour. We also examine the consequent effect of JC on employee work engagement (WE) and perceived service recovery performance (SRP). Primary data collected from 624 dyads of Indian frontline banking employees and their immediate colleagues (peers) formed the basis of empirical analysis. Data on JC perception, WE and JC behaviour was self-reported by the employees. On the other hand, peer-rating was invited for frontline employees’ PP and recovery performance. Empirical results indicated that the likelihood of POC resulting in actual JC is significantly higher for proactive employees in comparison to their reactive counterparts. The results also suggest that JC nurtures WE which, in turn, enhances SRP.
“Job pressure” is the number one cause of stress according to The American Psychological Association. However, there has been no systematic transformation in business practice to intentionally establish stress-reducing psychosocial work environments and to stop the “churn and burn” of employment. Such stress is compounded and becomes a sort of combat stress for employees in high-risk, high-emotion professions. Healing Comes First is an analysis of the critical impact of work stress on the individual employee and organizational productivity. Using the Jobs Demand-Resource Model as a foundational framework, this chapter provides leaders a pathway forward from identifying symptoms of a “stressed out” work environment to enacting mitigating strategies to reduce work stress consequences. Furthermore, the chapter recommends the incorporation of trauma-sensitive practices and the creation of a positive psychosocial work environment to help mitigate the effects of work stress on productivity.
Le militantisme syndical dans les TPE : proposition d’une typologie de la participation syndicale des conseillers du salarié. La littérature s’est jusqu’ici largement intéressée au militantisme syndical dans les grandes entreprises. Cette étude cherche l’enrichir en tentant de comprendre la construction du militantisme syndical des conseillers du salarié dans les très petites entreprises en France, une analyse jusqu’ici absente à notre connaissance. Pour cela, elle s’appuie sur 132 entretiens semi-directifs réalisés auprès de conseillers du salarié, de représentants des cinq principales organisations syndicales représentatives (CGT, CFDT, FO, CFECGC et CFTC), des organisations patronales ainsi que de l’Etat. En mobilisant la littérature sur la participation syndicale et sur le job crafting, l’étude dégage trois profils de militantisme dans le contexte des très petites entreprises : le « bon soldat », le « défenseur des droits » et le « combattant sociétal ». L’étude met en exergue la mobilisation du processus de job crafting par les conseillers du salarié pour construire leur militantisme syndical dans les très petites entreprises. Ils gèrent les ressources et les demandes pour construire une nouvelle participation syndicale et prolongent leur militantisme dans de nouveaux environnements. L’étude montre également que le militantisme syndical dans les très petites entreprises évolue vers des relations plus individualisées avec les salariés, une plus grande autonomie et une professionnalisation croissante des activités.
Job crafting refers to self-initiated, proactive strategies to change work characteristics to better align one's job with personal needs, goals, and skills. This study evaluated the conditions under which job crafting interventions are effective for increasing job crafting behaviours. We assessed the impact of initial workload on the effectiveness of two interventions – a less intense, knowledge-reflection intervention (N = 39), and a more intense, knowledge-reflection-action intervention that involved completing Job Crafting Boosts over 4 weeks (N = 50). Irrespective of intervention, longitudinal growth modelling analyses revealed that those with high initial workload engaged in more crafting behaviours to decrease hindering demands, whereas those with low initial workload engaged in more crafting behaviours to increase structural resources. No significant differences were observed between intervention groups in any job crafting behaviours. A further goal of the study was to examine, for those in the knowledge-reflection-action intervention, how much the participants actively participated in Job Crafting Boosts. Engagement varied considerably, with the average participation being below the target of three Job Crafting Boosts per week. Content analysis of open-ended responses to questions revealed that, for those who did engage in the Job Crafting Boosts, there were positive experiences, including insights about making positive changes at work, increased vigour and motivation, increased productivity, and resolved problems. This research shows that: interventions to reduce hindering demands should be targeted at those high in initial workload; interventions to increase job resources should be targeted at those low in initial workload; and intervention intensity does not impact intervention effectiveness.
This study investigates whether the perceived opportunity to craft (POC) is related to job crafting (JC) strategies and whether these strategies are related to thriving at work, in terms of both vitality and learning. It aims to verify the mediating role of JC between POC and thriving. Data were collected from 424 accounting professionals in Canada. The structural equation modeling based on bootstrap analysis was used to test mediation. The results indicate that POC is positively related to increasing structural and social resources and challenging job demands and negatively to decreasing hindering job demands. They reveal that increasing structural and social resources enhances learning and mediates the relation between POC and vitality and learning, as do challenging job demands, whereas decreasing hindering job demands does not. This study is one of the first to confirm that POC influences vitality and learning via JC behaviors as mediators.
ResumenLos estudios han puesto de relieve que es posible potenciar el engagement en el trabajo mediante intervenciones que buscan aumentar los recursos que el empleado posee y disminuir sus demandas laborales. El objetivo es evaluar la eficacia de un programa de intervención basado en los comportamientos de rediseño del trabajo en el engagement laboral de profesores. La muestra estaba integrada por 82 profesores brasileños de educación pública dividida en dos grupos. El grupo de intervención se realizó con 41 profesores de ambos sexos (81 % femenino) y el grupo de comparación también con 41 profesores de ambos sexos (79.1 % del sexo femenino). Al final de la intervención, las puntuaciones de los participantes del grupo de intervención, en las escalas de engagament en el trabajo y de comportamientos de rediseño, excedieron significativamente las puntuaciones del grupo de comparación. Los hallazgos encontrados recomiendan la implementación de programas de intervención basados en los comportamientos de rediseño que concienticen los docentes más de sus demandas y de sus recursos como forma de aumentar su engagament con el trabajo.AbstractResearch has evidenced that interventions to increase employees’ resources and decrease their work demands can enhance their work engagement. Objective assess the efficacy of an intervention program based on job crafting behaviors on the job crafting behaviors and work engagement of teachers. The sample consisted of 82 public education teachers divided in two groups. The intervention group consisted of 41 male and female teachers (81 % female), while the comparison group also consisted of 41 male and female teachers (79.1 % female). At the end of the intervention, the scores of the participants in the intervention group on the work engagement and job crafting behaviors scales were significantly higher than the scores in the comparison group. The findings recommend the implementation of intervention programs based on the job crafting behaviors, enhancing the teachers’ awareness of their demands and resources as a way to increase their work engagement.
This special issue pays attention to a relatively new research topic in work and organizational psychology: job crafting. Job crafting refers to the modifications employees apply to their jobs in order to better fit this job to their needs and abilities. In this introductory article, we first explain the most important characteristics of job crafting. Next, we take a historical view of the concept of job crafting, describing how this concept and its measurement has developed over time. Then, we provide an introduction to the articles in this special issue. Finally, we outline several questions and topics for future research.
Given the proliferation of training transfer studies in various disciplines, we provide an integrative and analytical review of factors impacting transfer of training. Relevant empirical research for transfer across the management, human resource development (HRD), training, adult learning, performance improvement, and psychology literatures is integrated into the review. We synthesize the developing knowledge regarding the primary factors influencing transfer—learner characteristics, intervention design and delivery, and work environment influences—to identify variables with substantive support and to discern the most pressing gaps. Ultimately, a critique of the state of the transfer literature is provided and targeted suggestions are outlined to guide future empirical and theoretical work in a meaningful direction.
Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one's work environment, improving the organization's internal functioning, or enhancing the organization's strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify "can do," "reason to," and "energized to" motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future research.
In this quasi-experimental study among staff of 29 oncology wards, the authors evaluated the effects of a team-based burnout intervention program combining a staff support group with a participatory action research approach. Nine wards were randomly selected to participate in the program. Before the program started (Time 1), directly after the program ended (Time 2), and 6 months later (Time 3), study participants filled out a questionnaire on their work situation and well-being. Results of multilevel analyses showed that staff in the experimental wards experienced significantly less emotional exhaustion at both Time 2 and Time 3 and less depersonalization at Time 2, compared with the control wards. Moreover, changes in burnout levels were significantly related to changes in the perception of job characteristics over time.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a short-term participatory intervention in health care institutions in Norway on workers' control, other job characteristics, job stress, subjective health and job satisfaction. Participants (including managers and supervisors) were randomly allocated to intervention groups and to a control group. Actions to solve problems based on the employees' own perceptions of the main problems were seen as the key motivators for organizational improvement and increased control at the task and office level in the work situation. The main stressors identified by the participants in this study were lack of information, communication and respect between professions, as well as the need for professional and personal development. The participatory intervention had a positive, but limited effect on work-related stress, job characteristics, learning climate and management style, and seemed to have started a beneficial change process. There were no negative short-term effects on work-related stress and job demands. Organizational interventions may be a potential training ground for acquiring participatory skills and resources, and if sustained after the intervention period, they can have long-term effects on problem solving, job stress and employee satisfaction.
This paper applies the conceptual work of K. Kraiger, J. K. Ford, and E. Salas (1993) to the evaluation of two training programs. A method known as structural assessment (SA) was described and adapted for use in the evaluation of a training program for computer programming and a PC-based simulation of a naval decision-making task. SA represents and evaluates pairwise judgments of relatedness of concepts drawn from the training content domain. In the first study, SA scores of students (determined by similarity to an expert solution) were significantly higher after training than before but did not predict performance on a take-home exam 12 weeks later. In the second study, we manipulated training content by providing half the students with the goals and objectives of the transfer task (an advance organizer) before training and providing the other half with the same information after training. As hypothesized, SA scores were higher for those receiving the organizers before training; SA scores were also more strongly related to performance on the criterion task for this group. Implications of the results for training evaluation are discussed.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to give a state‐of‐the art overview of the Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model
Design/methodology/approach
– The strengths and weaknesses of the demand‐control model and the effort‐reward imbalance model regarding their predictive value for employee well being are discussed. The paper then introduces the more flexible JD‐R model and discusses its basic premises.
Findings
– The paper provides an overview of the studies that have been conducted with the JD‐R model. It discusses evidence for each of the model's main propositions. The JD‐R model can be used as a tool for human resource management. A two‐stage approach can highlight the strengths and weaknesses of individuals, work groups, departments, and organizations at large.
Originality/value
– This paper challenges existing stress models, and focuses on both negative and positive indicators of employee well being. In addition, it outlines how the JD‐R model can be applied to a wide range of occupations, and be used to improve employee well being and performance.
This article reviews some major studies that were conducted in the past decade (1989-1998) on the transfer of what employees learned from training programmes back to their jobs. A conceptual framework is developed for this article to better present the “popular” constructs that have been tested empirically. The achievement is twofold. First, this review paper highlights that some individual, motivational and environmental factors are related to transfer of training. Second, some directions for further studies have been suggested. For example, longitudinal study was highly recommended for measuring transfer outcomes. Some new individual (e.g. achievement striving), motivational (e.g. trainee-control-over-training) and environmental (e.g. transfer climate) constructs are recommended to be incorporated in newly created models. These models can then be examined using structural equation modelling. After extensive testing and refinement of these models, a set of critical constructs can be distilled. By that time, convergence of research efforts focusing on major themes can be achieved.
This article presents a comprehensive definition and conceptual model of person-organization fit that incorporates supplementary as well as complementary perspectives on fit. To increase the precision of the construct's definition, it is also distinguished from other forms of environmental compatibility, silch as person-group and person-vocation fit. Once defined, commensurate measurement as it relates to supplementary and complementary fit is discussed and recommendations are offered regarding the necessity of its use. A distinction is made between the direct measurement of perceived fit and the indirect measurement of actual person-organization fit, using both cross- and individual-level techniques, and the debate regarding differences scores is reviewed. These definitional and measurement issues frame a review of the existing literature, as well as provide the basis for specific research propositions and suggestions for managerial applications.
This study addressed the questions of whether selected teacher and organizational variables contributed to (a) significant amounts of variance in teachers' scores on three components of burnout, and (b) teachers' intentions to leave special education teaching. Study participants (N =490) included a sample of respondents to a survey of all of the 1096 special education teachers in Hawaii. Instruments used in this study included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Porter Need Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Special Education Teacher Survey. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that for the burnout components, Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization, relatively large and significant amounts of variance could be accounted for by a set of predictor variables. For the third burnout component, Personal Accomplishment, the variance accounted for by a set of predictor variables was significant but small. Stepwise discriminant function analysis was used to distinguish between teachers who stated they did or did not intend to leave special education teaching. Eight variables were identified as predictors of Intention to leave special education teaching, correctly classifying 73% of teachers into the appropriate Yes-Leaving and No-Leaving groups.
The Job Demands–Resources Model was used as the basis of the proposal that there are two parallel processes involved in work-related well-being among teachers, namely an energetical process (i.e., job demands → burnout → ill health) and a motivational process (i.e., job resources → engagement → organizational commitment). In addition, some cross-links between both processes were hypothesized. Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously test the hypotheses in a sample of Finnish teachers (N = 2038). The results confirmed the existence of both processes, although the energetical process seems to be more prominent. More specifically, (1) burnout mediated the effect of high job demands on ill health, (2) work engagement mediated the effects of job resources on organizational commitment, and (3) burnout mediated the effects of lacking resources on poor engagement. The robustness of these findings is underscored by the fact that they were obtained in one half of the sample (using random selection) and cross-validated in the other half.