Outcomes and Effectiveness of Job Crafting .The relationship between job crafting, career competencies and positive work outcomes

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between job crafting, work outcomes work engagement, performance, perceived employability, and career competencies. Job crafting was conceptualized as “increasing structural resources and challenging demands” and “increasing social resources”. Data were gathered using an online survey among candidates from a consultancy bureau active in life science organizations and among social media networks (N = 353). It appeared that especially crafting structural resources and challenging demands had a positive relation with work engagement, performance and perceived employability. Increasing social resources had a modest positive relation with work engagement and perceived employability. Furthermore, it appeared that the effect of increasing structural resources and challenging demands on performance and employability was higher for employees with high network competencies. The present study shows the beneficial outcomes of job crafting for employees and organizations, and points to the significance for managers to stimulate employees to increase their structural resources, challenging demands and using their ‘network’ competency.