Job crafting: towards a new model of individual job redesign

Abstract

ORIENTATION: For a long time, employees have been viewed as passive performers of their assigned job tasks. Recently, several scholars have argued that job design theory needs to address the influence of employees on their job designs. RESEARCH PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to fit job crafting in job design theory. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: The study was an attempt to shed more light on the types of proactive behaviours of individual employees at work. Moreover, we explored the concept of job crafting and its antecedents and consequences. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A literature study was conducted in which the focus was first on proactive behaviour of the employee and then on job crafting. MAIN FINDINGS: Job crafting can be seen as a specific form of proactive behaviour in which the employee initiates changes in the level of job demands and job resources. Job crafting may be facilitated by job and individual characteristics and may enable employees to fit their jobs to their personal knowledge, skills and abilities on the one hand and to their preferences and needs on the other hand. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Job crafting may be a good way for employees to improve their work motivation and other positive work outcomes. Employees could be encouraged to exert more influence on their job characteristics. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: This article describes a relatively new perspective on active job redesign by the individual, called job crafting, which has important implications for job design theories.