Appearing in the United States in the 2000s, the job-crafting trend has spread widely in many European countries. Rarely, this practice was first observed in situ before being theorized by researchers from theUniversity of Michigan in 2010.
Did you say job crafting?
Fundamentally, there is nothing innovative about this practice. It’s about modeling your job in possible areas (working conditions, human relations, environment, missions, etc.) so that it is more satisfying, or even downright fulfilling. The employee’s objective is to increase his motivationits commitment and its effectiveness on a daily basis.
Many employees are already doing this by adjusting their schedules, requesting teleworking days, adding green plants to their office or eating lunch outside from time to time.
Of course, job crafting implies that management grants its teams a high degree of autonomy and a great deal of trust, on the principle that this freedom will lead to more creativity and a better productivity.
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But for these changes to work, you have to commit to a long-term process, because you can’t change all the parameters of a position at once.
How to practice job crafting?
There are no rules regarding the possible fields of action, since each profession has its specificities and each worker has its aspirations. But you can focus on five key areas:
Your tasks and missions: you can change their nature, modify your way of working, your way of manage your timeor even add or abandon certain responsibilities. It’s not about changing your job, but rather personalizing your routines.
Your relationships: this may concern the quality and quantity of your interactions with your colleagues, superiors, customers, suppliers, etc. You may wish to work alone as well as increase your collaborations.
Your state of mind: this point seems less concrete, but can also be effective in giving meaning to your daily work. It’s about changing your perspective on your assignments to approach them in a way that suits you better.
Your work environment: This is an easy point to improve that can give you a feeling of well-being. By adding a plant, changing the location of the printer or requesting a desk near the window, your mood is bound to improve.
Your optimization ideas : You can certainly combine business with pleasure by developing your skills, through training for example, or by requesting new resources or new tools to improve the team’s performance.
4 steps to craft your job
1. Analyze your job in detail
Before you change anything, take a step back. Analyze your job and identify the little things that, on a daily basis, can make it less interesting or more difficult, and look for ways to find solutions. What would need to change to transform your job into the ideal job for you?
2. Consider your underexploited strengths
What more could you bring to your business? What assets that are still unknown to your hierarchy could you use to enrich your position and how can you benefit your team? In short, personalize your role in the company so that it allows you to take advantage of your experiences, your values and your abilities.
3. Adopt the right mindset
Think about the right way to view your position: what is its purpose? What positive effects does it have on your professional environment? What benefits does it bring to your company’s customers? Look for the prism that will allow you to find meaning in it and do it with pleasure.
4. Exchange with your hierarchy
Before changing your prerogatives, you must communicate so that your initiative is well understood, accepted and supported. Indeed, if certain modifications such as the perception of the tasks that you carry out or the quality of the interpersonal relationships that you create at work concern you alone, other elements require the agreement of your hierarchy to be modified. This is the case for the tasks to be carried out or the working methods used.
Your ideal job is the one that you will tailor-make for yourself, so think about what needs to change. Think about what you lack to be fulfilled in your work and take the initiative to change things.