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Optimizing the relationship between job autonomy and knowledge workers’ satisfaction: The roles of crafting and value congruence
Abstract
This paper proposes a moderated mediation model to explain how job autonomy affects knowledge workers’ job and leisure satisfaction through crafting activities. Using a large‐scale survey of 836 Chinese knowledge workers, we confirm the role of job crafting in mediating the relation between job autonomy and job satisfaction, and further reveal that leisure crafting mediates the relation between job autonomy and leisure satisfaction. Our results also reveal the moderating effects of person‐organization value congruence on the relation between job autonomy and job/leisure crafting and, in turn, on the indirect effect of job autonomy on knowledge workers’ satisfaction. These findings indicate that knowledge‐intensive organizations should apply interventions conducive to leisure crafting to elevate their employees’ well‐being. The findings also highlight the worth of fostering a culture of ‘crafting’ to facilitate person‐organization value congruence and strengthen the positive relations between job autonomy and crafting activities. Job autonomy not only increases knowledge workers’ job satisfaction through job crafting, but also increases their leisure satisfaction through leisure crafting. Person‐organization value congruence moderates the relation between job autonomy and job crafting. With high value congruence, knowledge workers perform more job crafting, and become more satisfied with their jobs. Person‐organization value congruence moderates the relation between job autonomy and leisure crafting. With high value congruence, knowledge workers perform more leisure crafting, and become more satisfied with their leisure experiences.
... Integrating the concept of Islamic well-being into the study of leisure crafting and life satisfaction addresses a vital research problem: how can leisure activities be optimally designed to support spiritual well-being in ways that are culturally consonant and spiritually enriching? Current literature highlights the effectiveness of leisure crafting in improving emotional exhaustion, promoting job satisfaction, and enhancing life meaning under stressful conditions (Hadi et al., 2021;Zhao et al., 2022). Yet, there is limited understanding of how these benefits translate into contexts where spiritual well-being is paramount. ...
... Leisure has been identified as a significant factor influencing subjective wellbeing (van Praag et al., 2003), supporting the hypothesis that leisure crafting, when viewed through the lens of Islamic well-being, could impact overall life satisfaction. Zhao et al. (2022) demonstrated that leisure crafting enhances satisfaction, particularly in job contexts, by contributing to goal setting, human connection, learning, and personal development. This highlights the multifaceted benefits of leisure crafting, suggesting a potential pathway for Islamic wellbeing to mediate its impact on life satisfaction. ...
... Fisher's (2011) Four Domains Model supports the notion that spiritual health is intertwined with overall well-being. Zhao et al. (2022) emphasized the importance of fostering leisure crafting to enhance satisfaction and well-being. By integrating leisure crafting with Islamic well-being, our research advances the understanding of how recreational activities can support spiritual and emotional health in an Islamic context. ...
This study examines the relationship between leisure crafting and life satisfaction among Muslim young adults, focusing on the mediating role of Islamic well-being. While leisure crafting's benefits for psychological well-being are known, its intersection with spiritual well-being in Islamic contexts is underexplored. The study involved 328 participants aged 18-24 from Turkey. Data were collected through online and face-to-face surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and multiple regression were used. Results indicated significant positive effects of leisure crafting on life satisfaction and Islamic well-being. Islamic well-being was found to mediate the relationship between leisure crafting and life satisfaction, highlighting the importance of integrating spiritual dimensions into leisure activities. The study highlights the importance of integrating spiritual dimensions into leisure activities for enhancing life satisfaction. It provides insights for designing culturally and spiritually sensitive leisure programs to promote overall well-being in Islamic contexts.
... It can also reduce employees' mental burnout, emotional exhaustion, and desire to change jobs (Zhou, 2020). More importantly, it has long been considered an effective management tool to increase job satisfaction (Humphrey et al., 2007;Thompson & Prottas, 2006;Zhao et al., 2020). ...
... Fourth, future studies should investigate what kind of psychological mechanisms related to job autonomy regulate the relationship between working hours and job satisfaction, such as job crafting (Zhao et al., 2020) and thriving at work (Spreitzer et al., 2005). Previous studies have found that job crafting could mediate the effect of job autonomy on employees' satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2020). ...
... Fourth, future studies should investigate what kind of psychological mechanisms related to job autonomy regulate the relationship between working hours and job satisfaction, such as job crafting (Zhao et al., 2020) and thriving at work (Spreitzer et al., 2005). Previous studies have found that job crafting could mediate the effect of job autonomy on employees' satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2020). Employees who have more freedom in their job are more likely to craft their jobs (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001), which allows them to fulfil their personal needs and leads to positive work experiences (Berg et al., 2010). ...
Overwork is a common phenomenon worldwide. Although previous studies have found that long working hours can cause physical and mental health problems in employees, the nature of the relationship between working hours and job satisfaction remains little understood. We have theorised that there is a curvilinear association between working hours and job satisfaction, and tested this hypothesis. A total of 771 adult Chinese employees submitted self-reported measures of working hours, job satisfaction, and job autonomy. The results show that working hours have an inverted U-shaped association with job satisfaction. Work scheduling autonomy and decision-making autonomy moderate this relationship. Here we present our data and discuss their theoretical and practical implications.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02463-3.
... From the point of view of knowledge workers' task activity, it is crucial to seek and increase resources and also to receive them in the organization. Research confirms that providing for knowledge workers different types of resources in the organization leads to job crafting, which translates into positive outcomes, such as job satisfaction (Zhao, Li, & Shields, 2022), sustainable employability (Irfan et al., 2023), knowledge sharing (Mansour & Mohanna, 2024), innovative behavior (Song & Jo, 2023), intention to stay with the organization (Malik & Malik, 2024). ...
... Other studies also confirm its importance for knowledge workers (e.g. Zhao et al., 2022). This is in line with Kinnear and Sutherland (2000), who indicate that traditional retention practices such as pension schemes and health care benefits will not significantly influence knowledge workers' decision to remain with an organization. ...
Purpose
The article aims to discuss relationships between human resource management (HRM) and organizational commitment (OC). Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study investigates the mediating role of job crafting in the relationship between HRM and organizational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on data from 450 knowledge workers representing companies of various sizes from the knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) sector in Poland. Respondents completed the questionnaires using the computer-assisted telephone interview. I conducted the statistical verification of the mediation analyses using SEM with Amos ver. 28.
Findings
The findings show that HRM practices are positively related to organizational commitment. Statistical analysis confirmed that job crafting mediates relationships between HRM practices and organizational commitment.
Research limitations/implications
This study has two limitations, i.e. its cross-sectional design and the use of self-reported questionnaire data.
Originality/value
The study is the first to explore the mediating mechanism (through job crafting) between HRM and organizational commitment in the context of KIBS companies in Poland. According to the results, HRM is an important antecedent of job crafting and organizational commitment.
... The authors found that workers who crafted by seeking resources at work were more likely to seek resources for crafting at home, but only when they experienced high autonomy at home. Zhao et al. (2022) also found a connection between job and non-work crafting. The authors found a relationship between job autonomy and leisure satisfaction, with leisure crafting mediating this relationship. ...
... Albert & Highhouse, 2021;Bakker & Oerlemans, 2019;Bizzi, 2017;Chang et al., 2020;Debus et al., 2019;Liao, 2022;Chang et al., 2021aChang et al., , 2021bGhazzawi et al., 2021;Jindal et al., 2022;Petrou et al., 2012;Pimenta de Devotto et al., 2022;Slemp et al., 2015;Vanbelle et al., 2017;Wu et al., 2022;Xie, 2022;Zhao et al., 2022;. ...
Crafting is the intentional and proactive behavioural or cognitive changes people make to satisfy their psychological needs. This can take place across life domains, including at work, at home, and in broader life goals, though little research exists comprehensively integrating the different crafting types. Psychological needs are one way that these various crafting types are related. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review of the literature on crafting and the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and meaning in life to better understand how these psychological needs relate to or impact the crafting process. We systematically searched four databases and found 134 papers that met the inclusion criteria. We found that autonomy and meaning in life were two psychological needs that were frequently related to the process of crafting and that competence and relatedness were important but less researched. The satisfaction of psychological needs were often an outcome of crafting, though only job crafting consistently measured psychological needs as the antecedent to crafting. We conclude with recommendations for future research and questions to be addressed. This review may be useful for future basic and applied crafting research by better understanding how specific psychological needs relate to the process of crafting and how individuals may proactively shape their needs.
... There is a clear link between job crafting and satisfaction, with employees feeling more satisfied in having an exciting and meaningful job that they have helped to shape (Zhao, Li and Shields, 2022;Siddiqi, 2015). Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza (2000) demonstrated in their research that the most critical aspects of being satisfied with one's job were enthusiasm, solid relationships with superiors and colleagues, good income and autonomy (Deci and Ryan, 2000). ...
... This observation was inconsistent with prior studies (Wrzesniwski and Dutton, 2001). Salanova and Schaufeli (2008), Hakanen, Perhoniemi and Toppinen-Tanner (2008) and Zhao, Li and Shields (2022) reported that job crafting factors were positively linked with the level of job satisfaction. The faculty members in our study prioritize schooling, and the degree of interchange and the shape of the relationship might be constrained to the relationship between the students and teachers in the research sample. ...
Purpose - This article explores academic job crafting's significant conditions (antecedents and consequences). The impact of encouraging learning environments and the leadership that fortifies learning was studied. Knowledge management and job crafting are closely related in their ability to empower employees and enhance organizational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach –217 academics serving in a Jordanian University, in Jordan, took part in this study. Statistical parameters endorsed the significant impact of two learning organization building blocks on job crafting. Findings - It was shown that supportive learning environments and leadership reinforces learning; and positively impacts job crafting, which consequently reflects upon job satisfaction levels among academics. The results imply that strategies conducive to learning provide the most rewarding approach to enhancing academic job crafting and job satisfaction. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, no prior study has examined job crafting and linked it to the study dimensions within the Arab context generally and particularly in the academic field. We propose this model as a system crafting theory and end our research with suggestions for further research on these issues. Keywords: Job crafting, job satisfaction, learning organization, academic organization, supportive learning environment, leadership support, Jordan.
... JS is a widely studied element in organizational research and is defined as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from an appraisal of one's job (Döbler et al., 2021;Zhao et al., 2022). Scholars hold it as an ancillary measure of employee well-being (Nguyen & Borteyrou, 2016), and consider it to denote an overall sense of satisfaction associated with the work (Madigan & Kim, 2021). ...
... Knowledge workers have the scope to develop with their job (De Sordi et al., 2021), which may generate a feeling of ownership. The opportunity to create and co-create their job resources often lends flexibility to exercise their autonomy (Zhao et al., 2022) to schedule and prioritize their job to certain extents. This autonomy can lead to a feeling of ownership towards the task at hand and JS (Su et al., 2021). ...
The coronavirus pandemic has put the spotlight on employee happiness and well-being. Employees’ job satisfaction in a post-COVID-19 scenario is a vital concern for academics and organizations. It is a crucial research question to decipher if employees can proactively rise to challenging job demands and achieve job satisfaction. Also, though the role of job crafting has been studied as an antecedent of job satisfaction, it has not been examined in alliance with job-based psychological ownership (PO). Taking note of this, this study examines the mediating role of job-based PO between seeking challenging job demands (SCJD) and job satisfaction (JS). The study contributes to the growing understanding of post-pandemic employee JS. It provides preliminary empirical evidence of the enabling roles of job-based PO and proactive job crafting in achieving JS. Data for the study were collected from Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled Services (ITeS) sector employees in India using online questionnaires. One hundred eighty-four solicited responses were included in the data analysis and analysed using SPSS and AMOS. Results establish that employees SCJD experience higher job satisfaction. The mediating effect of PO on the association between SCJD and JS has been found. The results have both practical and theoretical implications. This study provides evidence of the beneficiary aspect of proactive employee behaviour. Managers can adopt mechanisms to enable job crafting and ownership. JS can be enhanced by raising the levels of PO and proactive crafting undertaken by SCJD to further learning opportunities at work. Limitations of the study have been discussed.
... Students facing lockdown must have faced social distancing as an SOP and isolation as a precautionary measure. In this way, their leisure satisfaction gained through leisure activities is not ignorable Zhao, Li, & Shields, 2020). The individuals best shape leisure activities according to their situational needs and leisure time available. ...
... At the same time, the latter indicates a proactive approach to making leisure activities purposeful, gaining specific targets (Berg, Grant, & Johnson, 2010) such as socialization, chatting, research, learning, support, or fulfilling desires. Prevailing research on leisure crafting has proven it as a potential mediator for several positive outcomes such as employee satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2020) and career development (I.-S. Chen, 2020), thus lending support to studying this variable as a mediator between COVID-19 related experiences and academic performance. ...
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linkage between COVID-19 related experiences and the academic performance of university students. COVID-19, in general, has impacted the whole world financially, socially, and psychologically through its adverse effects in the form of closure of business, financial crisis, downsizing, psychological distress, etc. Evidence suggests the prevalence of COVID-19 related issues among university students who faced stressful conditions due to lockdown and isolation. Methodology: Drawing on the behavioral theory of plasticity, the present study adopted a two-wave methodology for data collection. We collected data with the help of structured questionnaires from students (n=1473) of an international university in Australia. We used the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to test the moderated mediation model in Smart PLS3. Findings: Results indicated that COVID-19 related experiences were negatively associated with students’ academic performance and positively with online leisure crafting. Whereas online leisure crafting was positively associated with academic performance and partially mediated the COVID-19 related experiences and academic performance. Uncertainty avoidance significantly buffered the effect of COVID-19 related experiences on online leisure crafting. The findings supported the research framework of the study. Conclusion: This study helps make clear the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the impact of COVID-19 related experiences on university students’ academic performance through the mediation of online leisure crafting and moderation of uncertainty avoidance. The implications for university management and policymakers are discussed.
... Students facing lockdown must have faced social distancing as an SOP and isolation as a precautionary measure. In this way, their leisure satisfaction gained through leisure activities is not ignorable Zhao, Li, & Shields, 2020). The individuals best shape leisure activities according to their situational needs and leisure time available. ...
... At the same time, the latter indicates a proactive approach to making leisure activities purposeful, gaining specific targets (Berg, Grant, & Johnson, 2010) such as socialization, chatting, research, learning, support, or fulfilling desires. Prevailing research on leisure crafting has proven it as a potential mediator for several positive outcomes such as employee satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2020) and career development (I.-S. Chen, 2020), thus lending support to studying this variable as a mediator between COVID-19 related experiences and academic performance. ...
History Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linkage between COVID-19 related experiences and the academic performance of university students. COVID-19, in general, has impacted the whole world financially, socially, and psychologically through its adverse effects in the form of closure of business, financial crisis, downsizing, psychological distress, etc. Evidence suggests the prevalence of COVID-19 related issues among university students who faced stressful conditions due to lockdown and isolation. Methodology: Drawing on the behavioral theory of plasticity, the present study adopted a two-wave methodology for data collection. We collected data with the help of structured questionnaires from students (n=1473) of an international university in Australia. We used the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to test the moderated mediation model in Smart PLS3. Findings: Results indicated that COVID-19 related experiences were negatively associated with students' academic performance and positively with online leisure crafting. Whereas online leisure crafting was positively associated with academic performance and partially mediated the COVID-19 related experiences and academic performance. Uncertainty avoidance significantly buffered the effect of COVID-19 related experiences on online leisure crafting. The f indings supported the research framework of the study. Conclusion: This study helps make clear the 'how' and 'why' of the impact of COVID-19 related experiences on university students' academic performance through the mediation of online leisure crafting and moderation of uncertainty avoidance. The implications for university management and policymakers are discussed.
... In order to understand its positive impact on job performance outcomes, this study was further explored. Abundant literature demonstrates that when employees experience high levels of work pressure and possess greater autonomy in their job context, it tends to trigger them to engage in job crafting [23,67]. Positive work redesign behaviors have been shown to positively influence work performance [29,30]. ...
With the leapfrog development of information and communication technology and the intensification of external competition among enterprises, after-hours work connectivity through communication devices has become a new norm in the workplace. While it offers certain conveniences, the constant connectivity it entails also imposes significant pressure on employees. How to comprehensively understand and rationally treat after-hours work connectivity has become an issue that organizations need to pay great attention to. Based on conservation of resources theory, this study analyzed 407 questionnaires to explore the “double-edged sword” effect of after-hours work connectivity on employee performance and analyzed the moderating effect of the psychological contract. The results indicate the following: (1) Proactive pathway: after-hours work connectivity promotes employees’ job crafting behaviors toward approach-oriented adjustments, thereby enhancing job performance. (2) Passive pathway: after-hours work connectivity encourages employees’ job crafting behaviors toward avoidance-oriented adjustments, leading to decreased job performance. (3) The psychological contract positively moderates the relationship between after-hours work connectivity and approach-oriented job crafting and negatively moderates the relationship between after-hours work connectivity and avoidance-oriented job crafting, regulating both the positive and negative coping pathways. The research findings contribute to assisting organizations in adopting a dialectical perspective towards and effectively utilizing after-hours work connectivity. This aids in achieving a balance between organizational effectiveness and employee well-being, seeking a mutually beneficial work paradigm, and providing managerial recommendations to promote sustainable organizational development.
... Job autonomy significantly influences employees' motivation and engagement at work (Othman and Nasurdin, 2019;Johari et al., 2018;Terason, 2018). Numerous academics contend that job autonomy offers the chance to break off from monotonous work and test out fresh, practical work methods that may produce better results (Malinowska et al., 2018;Sisodia and Das, 2013;Zhao et al., 2022). ...
Purpose
Engaged employees assure organizational competitiveness and sustainability. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between job resources and employee turnover intentions, with employee engagement as a mediating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 934 employees of eight wholly-owned pharmaceutical industries. The proposed model and hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Construct reliability and validity was established through confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
Data supported the hypothesized relationship. The results show that job autonomy and employee engagement were significantly associated. Supervisory support and employee engagement were significantly associated. However, performance feedback and employee engagement were nonsignificantly associated. Employee engagement had a significant influence on employee turnover intentions. The results further show that employee engagement mediates the association between job resources and employee turnover intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of the findings will be constrained due to the research’s pharmaceutical industry focus and cross-sectional data.
Practical implications
The study’s findings will serve as valuable pointers for stakeholders and decision-makers in the pharmacuetical industry to develop a proactive and well-articulated employee engagement intervention to ensure organizational effectiveness, innovativeness and competitiveness.
Originality/value
By empirically demonstrating that employee engagement mediates the nexus of job resources and employee turnover intentions, the study adds to the corpus of literature.
... This aligns with findings by Clausen et al. (2021), who reported a potentially nonlinear relationship between job autonomy and psychological well-being, emphasizing that autonomy is a critical factor in employee satisfaction but must be balanced appropriately (Clausen et al., 2021). Similarly, Zhao, Li, & Shields (2020) underscored the importance of job autonomy in enhancing the satisfaction of knowledge workers, indicating that autonomy supports higher work engagement and personal accomplishment, which are directly associated with job satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2020). The current study extends these findings by showing that in a fully remote work setting, autonomy not only continues to play a crucial role but becomes even more pivotal in shaping employee perceptions of their job quality. ...
The transition to remote work has raised critical questions about how job characteristics such as autonomy and performance feedback influence job satisfaction. This study aims to explore the relationship between job autonomy, performance feedback, and job satisfaction among remote workers, addressing gaps in existing literature and providing insights for enhancing remote work experiences. A cross-sectional study design was used, involving 350 remote workers who responded to standardized instruments measuring job satisfaction (Job Descriptive Index), job autonomy (Work Autonomy Scales), and performance feedback (Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire feedback component). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS version 27 to examine the relationships and predictive powers of the independent variables on job satisfaction. Job autonomy and performance feedback were both significantly associated with job satisfaction. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed strong positive relationships between job satisfaction and job autonomy (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and performance feedback (r = 0.59, p < 0.001). The regression model explained 34% of the variance in job satisfaction (R² = 0.34), with job autonomy (B = 0.34, β = 0.44, p < 0.001) and performance feedback (B = 0.29, β = 0.38, p < 0.001) both making significant contributions. The findings confirm that both job autonomy and performance feedback are crucial for job satisfaction among remote workers. Enhancing these elements can significantly improve remote work satisfaction and potentially increase productivity and employee retention. This study underscores the need for organizations to carefully design remote work policies that foster autonomy and provide effective performance feedback.
... The self-determination theory postulates that job autonomy is an essential human need in work (Deci and Ryan, 1985;Ryan and Deci, 2017) and that fulfilling this need may increase life satisfaction (Roney and Soicher, 2022). Our findings align with previous research, indicating the positive well-being outcomes associated with job autonomy, including job satisfaction (Mustafa et al., 2023), leisure satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2022) and reduced burnout (Guo et al., 2023). Our results complement Roney and Soicher's (2022) work, which showed that job autonomy intervenes in the relationship between self-concept and life satisfaction. ...
Purpose
Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study aims to develop and test a model of moderated mediation in the relationship between job autonomy and employee life satisfaction, focusing on the mediating role of work–family enrichment (WFE) and the moderating role of segmentation preference.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a time-lagged research design, data were collected from 314 employees representing various organisations in Vietnam. The PROCESS macro in SPSS 20.0 was used to analyse the relationships.
Findings
The results indicate a positive relationship between job autonomy and employees’ life satisfaction, mediated by WFE. Additionally, the indirect effect of job autonomy on life satisfaction via WFE was weaker when employees preferred high work–family segmentation.
Practical implications
The study suggests that organisations can enhance employee life satisfaction by increasing job autonomy and promoting WFE. Organisations can establish a more supportive and engaging work environment that promotes well-being by tailoring these interventions to suit employees’ segmentation preferences.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on how organisational factors influence employee life satisfaction. It provides the first empirical evidence of a relationship between job autonomy and life satisfaction. It also explores the potential mediation effect of WFE and the moderating effect of segmentation preference.
... Knowledge workers in organizations are in charge of creating original content and implementing reforms (Sheidaee et al., 2022). The rapid advancement of information technology and the knowledge-based economy has increased the global need for highly skilled knowledge workers to maintain a competitive advantage (Palvalin et al., 2017;Zhao et al., 2020). ...
Knowledge workers remain to be seen as one of the biggest assets for modern enterprises to maintain their competitiveness in the twenty-first century. This has led to a steady increase in academic interest in knowledge workers research, as evidenced by the rise in the number of related publications. However, there is a dearth of research on the growth and existing literary landscape of research focusing on knowledge workers, thus making it challenging for scholars to determine the current trends and future direction in this area. To address the issue, this study provided an overview of the evolution of academic research on knowledge workers over four decades (1981-2021) and identified the existing key trends. A bibliometric review of the data extracted from the Web of Science database using Biblioshiny and VOS viewer. The analysis of 1667 articles confirmed a steady growth in the literature on knowledge workers both in terms of the number of publications and citations. The study identified the evolution of knowledge research in three key dimensions: knowledge work, performance, and human capital. Moreover, “performance”, “management” and “model” have also become the most frequently occurring words. The research findings not only deepened our comprehension of the research landscape but also provided insights into potential implications.
... Many researchers have focused on this issue (see Humphrey, Nahrgang & Morgeson, 2007;Lee & Ahn, 2012;Lin et al., 2013;Gözükara & Çolakoğlu, 2016;Kubicek et al., 2017). Therefore, as stated by Zhao et al. (2022), job autonomy is considered one of the powerful management tools to increase job satisfaction. ...
... According to eminent scholars, the work design theories that resulted from these efforts are part of a select group of organizational approaches that are simultaneously valid, significant, and useful (Miner, 1984;Miner, 2003). Few studies have been conducted to classify the various types of job crafting in the context of the knowledge economy (Kosenkranius et al., 2020;Irfan et al., 2022;Khan et al., 2022;Zhao et al., 2022). Strengths or interests that might encourage job crafting in the context of knowledge-based work in the gig economy are the subject of this study. ...
Introduction
The gig economy is extolled for its potential to stimulate economic and social development. This study examines the mediating roles of controlled and autonomous motivation in the relationship between job crafting and innovative behavior in the context of knowledge workers in the gig economy.
Methods
To examine these relationships, we propose and test a conceptual framework using an online survey conducted among knowledge workers in China. The participants consisted of 302 knowledge workers who voluntarily participated in the study. We used structural equation modeling to test the proposed relationships among the variables.
Results
Controlled and autonomous motivation mediates the relationship between job crafting and innovative behavior.
Discussion
Our study shed light on the knowledge workers’ motivation dilemma in the gig economy, with theoretical implications for research regarding job crafting, motivation, and practice implications about the job crafting and innovative behavior of knowledge workers.
... Tablo 3'de görüldüğü gibi faktörler arası korelasyonlar ile (dört boyutların arasındaki ilişkiler) her bir faktörün AVE'sinin karekökü karşılaştırılarak, faktörler arası ayrışma geçerliliğine bakılmıştır (Fornell & Larcker, 1981 Yapılan korelasyon analizi sonucunda Tablo 3'te ölçeğin yapısal iş kaynaklarını artırma, engelleyici iş taleplerini azaltma, sosyal iş kaynaklarını artırma ve zorlayıcı iş taleplerini artırma boyutlarının tümünün iş tatmini ile aynı yönlü ve anlamlı ilişkileri olduğu görülmüştür. Önceki bazı çalışmalarda iş tatmini ile iş biçimlendirme arasında elde edilen benzer sonuçlar (Zhao, Li & Shields, 2020;Wingerden, Derks & Bakker, 2017) ölçeğin ölçüt bağımlı geçerliliğine ilişkin kanıtlar sunmaktadır. ...
Bu çalışmanın amacı, Vallerand ve arkadaşları tarafından (2003) geliştirilen ve Düalistik modele dayandırılan İşe Tutkunluk (Job Passion) Ölçeğinin Türkçeye çevrilmesi ve uyarlanmasıdır. İşe tutkunluk ölçeği, uyumlu işe tutkunluk (harmonious job passion) ve obsesif işe tutkunluk (obsessive job passion) olmak üzere iki boyutlu bir yapıya sahiptir. Bu yapılar birbirinden farklı tutkunluk tiplerini ifade etmektedir. Uyumlu tutkunluk, bireyin işini optimum düzeyde içselleştirmesi olarak nitelendirilirken; obsesif tutkunluk ise sapkın düzeyde bir tutkunluğu ifade etmektedir. Araştırma, farklı iki zaman diliminde toplam 681 çalışandan anket yöntemiyle toplanan verilerle yürütülmüştür. Söz konusu ölçeğin yapı geçerliliği, eş zaman geçerliliği, varyans yapısı ve kovaryans ilişkileri dikkate alınarak yapılmıştır. Bu çerçevede güvenilirlik için verilere iç tutarlılık testleri uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca ölçeğin ölçüt bağımlı geçerliliği işten ayrılma niyeti ölçeği ile toplanan veriler aracılığıyla ortaya konulmuştur. Bunlara ilave olarak, ölçeğin cinsiyet açısından farklılık gösterip göstermediğine de bakılmıştır. Yapılan tüm analizler sonucunda, Türkçeye uyarlanan İşe Tutkunluk Ölçeğinin geçerli ve güvenilir olduğuna ilişkin yeterli kanıtlara ulaşılmıştır.
... A study of 105 Dutch employees shows that weekly job crafting and home crafting (leisure crafting in their study) contribute equally to weekly meaning-making (Petrou, Bakker, et al., 2017). Finally, a study with 836 Chinese employees shows similar path coefficients between job crafting and job satisfaction, and between home crafting (leisure crafting in their study) and leisure satisfaction (Zhao et al., 2022). This evidence suggests that allocating personal resources to job crafting is equally beneficial compared to allocating personal resources to home crafting since they have equal utility. ...
Scholars made clear that daily job and home crafting can optimize employees' well-being, also when teleworking. Since telework is largely characterized by a constant juggle between work and home roles, we need knowledge on how teleworkers can combine job and home crafting during the day. While previous studies have almost exclusively applied an enrichment-based perspective, which assumes that daily job and home crafting can be combined unlimitedly, the current study proposes an effort-based perspective, which assumes that crafting requires effort and, therefore, can only be done within certain limits. Using a daily diary study (N = 839 days nested within 202 full-time teleworkers), we investigate whether daily approach job and home crafting can prevent daily energy depletion. Moreover, we predict that equally allocating efforts across daily approach job and home crafting is related to the lowest levels of energy depletion. Multilevel polynomial regression analyses showed that daily approach job and home crafting were negatively related to daily energy depletion. As an important exception to this general finding, the combination of high approach job and home crafting was related to higher energy depletion and should be avoided. Finally, our results indicated that, in general, allocating efforts to approach job crafting is more useful than allocating efforts to approach home crafting.
... It can also reduce mental burnout and emotional exhaustion in workers, and also reduce the desire to change jobs [37]. More importantly, it has long been considered an effective management tool to increase job satisfaction [38]. ...
Modern human beings spend their maximum amount of time in the work setting. Hence, how they feel at the workplace has a direct influence on their overall quality of life. Therefore, understanding what makes us happy or unhappy at work is very crucial. Surprisingly, there is an absence of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding the concept of happiness from the organizational perspective. For developing a conceptual framework for happiness at work, two components are relevant -the external work environment and the internal mental mapping. The concept of happiness in psychology has been equated with pleasure, a mixture of pleasure, engagement and meaning, or with the concept of well-being. A precise definition of happiness is missing. There have been numerous studies on the contributions of positive psychology to happiness and its influence on employees’ well-being and productivity. Most researches concentrate on the external happiness of individuals. But in the future, organizations need to focus on the intrinsic happiness of employees as well, to get the best outcome at the workplace. This chapter covers the causes and consequences of happiness in the workplace. Ways of inculcating happiness at the workplace to increase organizational productivity and create happy employees have also been discussed.
... Subsequently, scholars defined job autonomy as the degree that employees perceive in their work that they can independently arrange work, decide work processes, and take individual initiative [63,64]. High job autonomy not only contributes to the growth, learning, and development of individuals, but also helps them avoid the possible task conflicts among colleagues in the organizational environment, which is an important job resource [65,66]. ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of social media platforms for working online has become a global phenomenon. For female employees, social media usage has made it easier to balance work and family, but the pressures have also multiplied. Especially in China, the COVID-19 prevention policies led to dramatic changes in working patterns, which significantly affected the emotions, cognitions, and behaviors of female employees. Based on the job demands resource theory, this study explores the double-edged effect of social media usage on job crafting for female employees. Survey data were collected from 563 female employees in Chinese enterprises. Hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method by SPSS and AMOS software were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that work-related social media usage has a negative effect on job crafting, while social-related social media usage has a positive effect. Moreover, job autonomy and workplace friendship mediate the relationship between them. This study extends the research on the double-edge effect of female employees’ social media usage and enriches the antecedents and influencing mechanisms of job crafting. It also provides theoretical and practical guidance for managers on how to promote the sustainability of human capital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Leisure involvement is considered an important source of pleasure and offers a sense of achievement and social and psychological benefits, such as leisure satisfaction, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being Liu & Chu, 2020;Stebbins, 2018). Recent studies confirmed that leisure satisfaction has as antecedents leisure-to-work facilitation and work-to-leisure (Liang, 2020), leisure-work preference (Wang et al., 2020), and leisure crafting (Zhao et al., 2020). Furthermore, its consequents are life satisfaction and subjective well-being Tian et al., 2020;Tokay Argan & Mersin, 2020). ...
This study aims to analyze leisure involvement and voluntary simplicity as antecedents of leisure satisfaction and the relationship with experiential consumption. To this end, we conducted a survey with 815 Brazilian runners and cyclists, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Age, education, and income were also investigated as moderators in the relationship between leisure involvement and leisure satisfaction. The main results showed that leisure involvement positively influenced leisure satisfaction and voluntary simplicity of its practitioners. Voluntary simplicity positively influenced leisure satisfaction and experiential consumption. The moderation test showed that the relationship between leisure involvement and leisure satisfaction is stronger for higher age, education, and income. We concluded that leisure involvement could be a path to a simple living choice, one source for a more sustainable world. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for practitioners, policymakers, and society.
... Tablo 3'de görüldüğü gibi faktörler arası korelasyonlar ile (dört boyutların arasındaki ilişkiler) her bir faktörün AVE'sinin karekökü karşılaştırılarak, faktörler arası ayrışma geçerliliğine bakılmıştır (Fornell & Larcker, 1981 Yapılan korelasyon analizi sonucunda Tablo 3'te ölçeğin yapısal iş kaynaklarını artırma, engelleyici iş taleplerini azaltma, sosyal iş kaynaklarını artırma ve zorlayıcı iş taleplerini artırma boyutlarının tümünün iş tatmini ile aynı yönlü ve anlamlı ilişkileri olduğu görülmüştür. Önceki bazı çalışmalarda iş tatmini ile iş biçimlendirme arasında elde edilen benzer sonuçlar (Zhao, Li & Shields, 2020;Wingerden, Derks & Bakker, 2017) ölçeğin ölçüt bağımlı geçerliliğine ilişkin kanıtlar sunmaktadır. ...
Bu çalışmanın amacı, iş talepleri kaynakları modeli çerçevesinde Tims, Bakke & Derks (2012) tarafından geliştirilen İş Biçimlendirme (Job Crafting) Ölçeği’nin Türkçeye çeviri ve uyarlamasını yapmaktır. İş biçimlendirme bu anlayışla; yapısal iş kaynaklarını artırma, engelleyici iş taleplerini azaltma, sosyal iş kaynaklarını artırma ve zorlu iş taleplerini artırma olmak üzere dört boyutla ölçülmektedir. Araştırmanın örneklemi 371 çalışandan anket yöntemiyle toplanan verilerden oluşmaktadır. Ölçek varyans yapısı ve kovaryans ilişkileri dikkate alınarak yapı geçerliliği ve eş zaman geçerliliğiyle test edilmiştir. Güvenilirlik için soruların iç tutarlılık testleri yapılmış ayrıca ölçeğin cinsiyet açısından farksızlığı hesaplanmıştır. Yapılan tüm analizler sonucunda ölçeğin geçerli ve güvenilir olduğuna ilişkin yeterli kanıtlara ulaşılmıştır.
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The aim of this study is to translate and adapt the Job Crafting Scale, which is developed by Tims, Bakker & Derks (2012) with the framework of the job demands and resources model, into Turkish culture. With this approach job crafting is measured in four dimensions: Increasing structural job resources, decreasing hindering job demands, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands. The sample was consisting of survey data from 371 employees. The scale was tested through construct validity analyses considering variance structure and covariance relations and concurrent validity analysis. The internal consistencies were calculated for reliability, and the gender invariance test was also conducted. Ultimately satisfactory pieces of evidence concerning the validity and reliability of the scale were reached.
Bu çalışma ile sağlık çalışanlarının karar alma ve görevlere dahil etmekten başlayarak uygun bir çalışma ortamlarının sağlanması amacıyla ulusal düzeyde daha önce ele alınmayan ve sağlık yönetimi literatüründe ele alınması gereken sağlık çalışanlarının iş biçimlendirme düzeylerinin, iş özerkliği ve işe tutulma değişkenleri üzerinde etkili olup olmadığının araştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Araştırma verileri Ankara’da faaliyet gösteren özel bir hastanede görev yapan hekim, hemşire, idari personel ve diğer sağlık personelinden anket yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Bu çalışmada sağlık çalışanları kolayda örnekleme yoluyla seçilmiş olup, 306 sağlık çalışanına ulaşılmıştır. Bu araştırmanın sonucunda sağlık çalışanlarının iş biçimlendirme, işe tutulma ve iş özerkliği düzeylerinin orta seviyenin üzerinde olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Yapılan regresyon analizi sonucunda iş biçimlendirme alt boyutlarından yapısal iş kaynaklarını ve zorlayıcı iş taleplerini artırmanın işe tutulma düzeyini olumlu yönde etkilediği bulunmuştur. Bunun yanında iş biçimlendirme alt boyutlarından zorlayıcı iş taleplerinin artmasının iş özerkliği üzerinde de olumlu yönde etkili olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Two employee-level experiences — off-job recovery and optimal work motivation — are vital for reducing or avoiding work stress and promoting occupational health and work performance. However, the interplay between employee recovery and motivation has been theoretically underdeveloped in prior research. In this Perspective, we present a dual-pathway model of proactive recovery strategies that integrates key concepts from the fields of recovery from work and self-determination theory. This model delineates how individuals can self-manage their off-job time through proactive recovery strategies to optimize motivation across life domains, with potential positive effects for occupational health and work performance. The dual-pathway model of proactive recovery strategies broadens the existing literature on employee recovery and motivation by considering off-job motivation as a key motivational process that connects recovery experiences to motivation, health and performance in the work domain, and by highlighting the often proactive nature of recovery attainment.
Purpose
Social-media (SM) usage has developed to be a vital element of information research. Workers who use SM to post job-associated content are regarded as reliable informants and significantly affect the perceptions of prospective consumers and upcoming workers in the company. Thus, workers’ capability of communicating their jobs through SM has developed to be a viable benefit for other workers and companies, especially in the specialized service industry. Consequently, comprehending the impact of workers’ capability to employ SM proficiently is vital for recognizing the communication conducts of modern intelligent workers. The paper examines factors that influence self-efficacy (SE) in workers’ job-associated communication on social media (CSM).
Methodology
This study uses a quantitative method. Data was gathered from employees in five types of Halal service companies in Indonesia. Participants working in those firms were portrayed as ‘knowledge workers’, who were differentiated by their concentration on “non-routine” decision-making, creative and divergent thinking, and problem-solving.
Findings
This study’s findings reveal that observed company support, SM coaching, and earlier practical knowledge with SM are influential determinants of SE and then job-associated CSM. Therefore, companies and managers possess some factors immediately inside the extent of their power that can help workers participate in the expert usage of SM.
Originality
This study is an initial effort to examine the mentioned inter-variable relationships in the new context of knowledge workers in emerging countries such as Indonesia. The research supports the existing research regarding workers’ communicative conduct and delivers vital and practical comprehensions to enhance and manage human capital.
Purpose
How to improve continuance commitment for platform workers is still unclear to platforms' managers and academic scholars. This study develops a configurational framework based on the push-pull theory and proposes that continuance commitment for platform workers does not depend on a single condition but on interactions between push and pull factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The data from the sample of 431 full-time and 184 part-time platform workers in China were analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA).
Findings
The results found that combining family motivation with the two kinds of pull factors (worker's reputation and algorithmic transparency) can achieve high continuance commitment for full-time platform workers; combining job alternatives with the two kinds of pull factors (worker's reputation and job autonomy) can promote high continuance commitment for part-time platform workers. Particularly, workers' reputations were found to be a core condition reinforcing continuance commitment for both part-time and full-time platform workers.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that platforms should avoid the “one size fits all” strategy. Emphasizing the importance of family and improving worker's reputation and algorithmic transparency are smart retention strategies for full-time platform workers, whereas for part-time platform workers it is equally important to reinforce continuance commitment by enhancing workers' reputations and doing their best to maintain and enhance their job autonomy.
Originality/value
This study expands the analytical context of commitment research and provides new insights for understanding the complex causality between antecedent conditions and continuance commitment for platform workers.
Subjective well-being has been one of the organizations’ most significant matters of intrigue and concern over the last few years. This field of study has garnered considerable attention from practitioners, academics and policy-makers worldwide, especially during and after the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, no systematic review has been executed so far to capture the current state of this paradigm. We address this gap by employing a systematic, generative and integrative approach to pinpoint topical research trends and establish the future research agenda in the knowledge workers’ Subjective well-being domain. Further, the authors aim to summarize the current state-of-the-art and thoroughly assess the theoretical underpinnings, concepts, and latest advancements in the domain. A corpus of 172 articles from the Scopus database was rigorously evaluated in two stages. First, bibliometric techniques were used to identify the evolution, current state of the literature, and research clusters. Finally, the research clusters generated through bibliographic coupling were examined using content analysis based on the ADO–TCM framework to determine the future research agenda. This study offers an in-depth examination of the available literature based on bibliometric analysis, network analysis, and content analysis techniques. The study also identifies knowledge gaps based on content analysis of research clusters, highlighting potential research themes. By combining bibliometric analysis and content analysis to create a more comprehensive and systematic apprehension of the research topic, this work adds to the body of knowledge on Subjective well-being.
Purpose
The study aims to examine the relationship between telework conditions and employees' job satisfaction (JS) within knowledge-intensive public organizations (KIPOs). Additionally, it aims to unfold the mediating role played by both organizational and job characteristics, namely supervisory support (SS) and job autonomy (JA).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis adopts a simultaneous qualitative-quantitative design, starting with a preliminary inductive analysis of qualitative data, followed by a deductive quantitative analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM). The data were retrieved from a survey completed by some 700 employees of a regional environmental protection agency in Italy.
Findings
Findings show that the positive association between conditions for telework (CT) and JS is partially mediated by both SS and JA. Moreover, the results of the study suggest a sequential nature of such mediational patterns.
Originality/value
This research provides an empirical contribution to a relatively under-investigated area: the role of job characteristics in explaining the nexus between telework and JS. Furthermore, the study takes place within the context of a KIPO, adding particular significance to the emerging insights due to the distinct nature of the work conducted in such settings.
Purpose
This research examined how customer mistreatment activates individual customer-directed counterproductive work behavior (CWBC) by investigating the mediating roles of negative work reflection and negative affect. It also explored whether job autonomy buffers the negative impact of customer mistreatment on CWBC.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested their predictions using an experience-sample method with a sample of data from 79 service workers across eight days. A multilevel structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The authors found that negative work reflection and negative affect mediated the association between customer mistreatment and CWBC. In addition, job autonomy moderated the indirect impact of daily customer mistreatment on employees' CWBC through negative work reflection and negative affect.
Research limitations/implications
There are some concerns about a common method because all of the study variables were self-reported. Moreover, the study sample consisted of participants recruited exclusively from China, thus limiting this research's generality.
Practical implications
To eliminate the detrimental impact of customer mistreatment, supervisors can strive to improve the autonomy of those who interact with customers frequently to reduce their CWBC.
Originality/value
This study offers an integrative view to explain why service workers engage in CWBC when suffering customer mistreatment by testing the mediating mechanisms of negative reflection and negative affect in the association between daily customer mistreatment and CWBC. Second, the authors have broadened the study of customer mistreatment by introducing job autonomy as a critical condition, eliminating the indirect association between customer mistreatment and CWBC.
This study was conducted to examine the role of job engagement and organization-based self-esteem in the effect of organizational commitment on job satisfaction. The research was carried out with data collected from 315 participants working in enterprises operating in the fields of industry. Since industrial enterprises of employees are groups that can differ in terms of their job satisfaction compared to other sectors employees, the research provides useful outputs for the field of activity. According to the results of the study, it was seen that the effect of organizational commitment on job satisfaction was in the same direction and significant. In addition, it has been revealed that employment has a partial mediator role between these two variables. This result shows that job engagement can explain the cause-effect relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Another finding of the study is that organization-based self-esteem has a moderating role in the effect of organizational commitment on job satisfaction. From this point of view, it is possible to say that organization-based self-esteem can change the strength and level of the effect of organizational commitment on job satisfaction. It has also been determined that organization-based self-esteem plays a moderator role in the effect of job engagement on job satisfaction.
Bu çalışmanın amacı serbest zamanlarını değerlendirmek isteyen “serbest zaman zanaatkârlarının” serbest zaman zanaatkârlığına yönelik kaynakları kullanım düzeylerinin belirlenebilmesi amacıyla Tsaur, Yen, Yang ve Yen (2020) tarafından geliştirilmiş olan Serbest Zaman Zanaatkârlığı Ölçeği’nin (SZZÖ) Türk kültürü için geçerlik ve güvenirliğinin test edilmesidir. Bu doğrultuda çalışma çeşitli kategorilerde serbest zaman etkinliklerine katılan (ev içi serbest zaman etkinlikleri, açık-kapalı alanlarda gerçekleştirilen serbest zaman etkinlikleri, doğa ve macera rekreasyonu etkinlikleri, sosyal ve kültürel serbest zaman etkinlikleri) ve yaşları 17 ile 75 arasında değişen 397 katılımcı üzerinde yürütülmüştür. Çalışma kapsamında
gerçekleştirilen AFA ve DFA analizleri sonucunda SZZÖ’nün 16 maddelik 4 faktörlü yapısı (yapısal serbest zaman kaynaklarının arttırılması, zorlu serbest zaman taleplerinin artırılması, sosyal serbest zaman kaynaklarının arttırılması, serbest zaman engellerinin azaltılması) için verilerin mükemmel uyum indeksleri gösterdiği belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak SZZÖ’nin 4 faktörlü 16 maddelik Türkçe
versiyonunun serbest zaman katılımcılarının serbest zaman zanaatkârlığı kaynaklarını kullanım düzeylerinin belirlenebilmesi için kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğu belirlenmiştir.
The economic and social shock presented by the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to reshape perceptions of individuals and organizations about work and occupations and result in both micro and macro shifts in the world of work. In this essay we focus on three occupationally-related domains that may be impacted by the pandemic. First, perceptions of the value and status of different occupations may change, resulting in both changes of occupational supply and demand (macro changes) and changes in the perceived calling and meaningfulness of different occupations (micro changes). Second, the great “work from home experiment” may change occupational perspectives on working from home. Organizations and researchers may be able to better understand which occupational and individual characteristics are associated with work-from-home effectiveness and better designate occupational groups and individuals to working (or not working) from home. Third, we discuss the increased segmentation of the labor market which allocate workers to “good jobs” and “bad jobs” and the contribution of occupational segmentation to inequality.
Based on job crafting theory and workplace resources theories, the present study develops a model of both antecedents and consequences of job crafting. We hypothesized subordinates’ perceptions of empowering leadership and core self-evaluations influence employee job crafting behaviours, which subsequently influence four outcomes: improving three employee well-being outcomes, (a) work-family
enrichment, (b) flourishing, and (c) life satisfaction; and simultaneously reducing the organizational outcome of (d) deviant behaviours. Three-waves of data over nine months were collected from U.S. full-time employees (n = 276). Results showed empowering leadership and core self-evaluations positively related to expansive/approach forms of job crafting behaviours, which in turn related to the three different well-being outcomes. However, job crafting did not affect employee deviant behaviour. Instead, empowering leadership and core self-evaluations directly predicted less deviant behaviour. With the imputed data, we also found job crafting had a significant but weak relationship with deviant behaviour. These findings provide an integrated understanding of how and why employees engage in job crafting, and the important influence that job crafting has on employees’ subjective well-being. The present study advances leadership and job crafting theories, providing practical recommendations for promoting employee well-being and decreasing undesirable behaviours in the form of workplace deviance.
The term “knowledge worker” has entered the language of management and economics, becoming popular or even fashionable. Consequently, its definitions are varied and often ambiguous or provisional – which makes it difficult to identify and research such employees. Deeper understanding of the term “knowledge workers” is required.
One of the ways of defining a term is to define its semantic area through borders and overlaps with synonyms and “adjoining” terms. Such comparisons can help to deepen understanding of the central term and reveal its defining features. Therefore, two objectives were set in this study: 1) to compare “knowledge workers” and synonymous and associated terms specifying similarities, differences and areas of overlap, in order to find defining features of “knowledge workers”; and 2) to specify the synonymous and associated terms closest to knowledge workers and useful as proxies for research purposes.
A group of 15 synonyms was selected, including historical and presently applied terms, proposed by various researchers or used in popular language. These terms were first characterized, and then compared to knowledge workers in terms of similarities, differences and areas of overlap. Comparison pointed to a number of features strongly related to knowledge work. Based on them, a sketch definition was proposed:
Knowledge workers work mainly on symbols (representations), transforming them in cognitive processes, which is the main source of added value. To do that, they must command a large body of knowledge equivalent to university education, understood and internalised, grounded in experience and consequently updated. They perform complex tasks, focus on problem-solving, creating knowledge, distributing it and applying to achieve results. They broadly use documents and ICT, and require high level of autonomy.
With respect to the second aim of the study, there are several terms closer in meaning to knowledge workers. Terms with most similarities and least differences include specialists and experts. Of these, specialists have most similarities, while experts are a narrower, more advanced type of specialists. In terms of overlap, categories closest to knowledge workers seem to be specialists/ professionals (wider) and professionals (narrower) – both are large sub-sets of knowledge workers, with specialists leaving fewer remainders. As far as identifiability is concerned, terms related to classifications of occupations are those better defined. Among them, “white-collars”, knowledge producers and distributors, and information workers were measured in older classifications, while specialists/ professionals and managers are categories measured today. Both are defined in detail in ISCO-08, making them identifiable also at the organisational level. Statistics of specialists and managers are gathered regularly in most countries belonging to ILO and are easily accessible. Concluding, specialists/ professionals (wider) are the best proxy group for researching knowledge workers: they possess almost the same key features, overlap closely, leaving smallest remainder, and are defined in detail in an international classification used worldwide to measure their national populations. Selecting a random member of the group, one is practically certain to find a knowledge worker.
This study investigated job crafting as mediator and its relation with job satisfaction and work-family conflict, considering job autonomy as antecedent. The research involved 389 participants working in a public organization. A structural equations model was estimated revealing that job autonomy is positively associated with job crafting and job satisfaction, and negatively associated with work-family conflict. Job crafting is positively related with job satisfaction and work-family conflict, as adverse effect of job crafting. As regards mediated effects, results show positive associations between job autonomy and both job satisfaction and work-family conflict through job crafting. This study contributes to literature, considering positive and negative outcomes, covering the lacking literature on job crafting and work-family conflict, and suggesting implications for employees’ well-being.
Purpose
Knowledge work productivity is a well-studied topic in the existing literature, but it has focussed mainly on two things. First, there are many theoretical models lacking empirical research, and second, there is a very specific research regarding how something impacts productivity. The purpose of this paper is to collect empirical data and test the conceptual model of knowledge work productivity in practice. The paper also provides information on how different drivers of knowledge work productivity have an impact on productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the survey method, data were collected from 998 knowledge workers from Finland. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to confirm the knowledge work productivity dimensions of the conceptual model. Later, regression analysis was used to analyse the impacts of knowledge factors on productivity.
Findings
This paper increases the understanding of what matters for knowledge work productivity, with statistical analysis. The conceptual model of knowledge work productivity consists of two major elements: the knowledge worker and the work environment. The study results showed that the knowledge worker has the biggest impact on productivity through his or her well-being and work practices. The social environment was also found to be a significant driver. The results could not confirm or refute the role of the physical or virtual environment in knowledge work productivity.
Practical implications
The practical value of the study lies in the analysis results. The information generated about the factors impacting productivity can be used to improve knowledge work productivity. In addition, the limited resources available for organisational development will have the greatest return if they are used to increase intangible assets, i.e., management and work practices.
Originality/value
While it is well known that many factors are essential for knowledge work productivity, relatively few studies have examined it from as many dimensions at the same time as this study. This study adds value to the literature by providing information on which factors have the greatest influence on productivity.
Scholars are paying more attention to knowledge workers (KW) as they gain importance in the knowledge-based economy. Knowledge worker mobility (KWM) can involve various forms of employee and entrepreneurial movements: the transfer of employees from one organization to another either through locational movement or through a change in ownership, the transfer of employees within the same organization but in different units and/or geographies, and the spinning off by employees into new ventures. KWM spans a variety of different contexts which have rarely been explored in prior research. We focus on advancing our understanding of KWM in context, pushing the boundaries of theory and methods by developing a framework focusing on five main contextual dimensions: organizational context and roles, geographical and spatial context, social context and teams, institutional and cultural norms, and temporal dynamics. We summarize the papers presented in the special issue and also identify an agenda for further research.
This article explores the relationship between different forms of autonomy, categorized into “job control” and “schedule control,” and measures of subjective well-being, using UK panel data from Understanding Society. Levels of autonomy differ considerably among UK employees. Managers report the greatest autonomy. Professionals, especially women, and less skilled occupations report substantially less. Panel probit, analysis of covariance, and change-score analysis evidence not only the positive impact of autonomy but also the differentiated and gendered relationship between autonomy and subjective well-being measures. Job control, including over tasks and pace of work, increases job and leisure satisfaction. Autonomy over work manner increases leisure and life satisfaction, but only among women. Informal schedule control has positive impacts on job (men and women) and life (men only) satisfaction.
The purpose of this study was to examine how organizational learning culture influences employees’ motivation towards transfer of training. Also, how this relationship was affected by the existence of a favorable learning transfer climate in context of knowledge workers. Sample for this study (n = 122) was drawn from academicians working at various business schools in India. The perception towards their own organization’s learning culture, learning transfer climate and their willingness to transfer knowledge from Faculty Development Programs to their teaching and research was measured. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses and it was found that a positive perception of organizational learning culture was positively related to willingness to transfer training. This relationship was significantly moderated by an important dimension of learning transfer climate which are resistance to change and partially moderated by another dimension- performance coaching.
Knowledge workers are growing group of employees in both advanced and emerging economies. The major tool and resource of their work is knowledge. Due to its tacit dimension, knowledge is of intangible character. Knowledge work is done in heads of knowledge workers, it is non linear, difficult to capture. Even though knowledge workers are usually responsible professionals, wrong motivation can negatively influence their performance. Our previous researches on knowledge workers and their management show that managers of knowledge workers very often do not understand importance of proper motivation when working with this group of employees. The paper focuses on problematic of motivation of knowledge workers and represents first results of preliminary research we did in this field.
The present study addresses employee leisure crafting as the proactive pursuit and enactment of leisure activities targeted at goal setting, human connection, learning and personal development. Study 1 developed a measure for leisure crafting and provided evidence for its reliability and validity. In study 2, we followed 80 employees over the course of three weeks. We hypothesized that weekly leisure crafting would be more likely during weeks of high job strain (i.e. high quantitative job demands and low job autonomy) combined with sufficient autonomy at home, and during weeks of high activity at home (i.e. high quantitative home demands and high home autonomy). Furthermore, we predicted that weekly leisure crafting would relate positively to weekly satisfaction of basic human needs. Results indicated that leisure crafting was pronounced in weeks with high job strain combined with high home autonomy. However, an active home condition (i.e. high home demands and high home autonomy) was unrelated to leisure crafting. Weekly leisure crafting further related positively to weekly satisfaction of relatedness and autonomy (but not competence) needs. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings for the job crafting and leisure literatures.
Purpose
– This paper aims to examine a mediating model of work-to-leisure conflict (WLC) based on the job demand-control-support model (JDCS model) and conflict roles of work and non-work life. This model proposes that work loading, time-off autonomy and support from supervisors and co-workers are related to WLC and leisure satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
– A sample of 457 frontline employees drawn from within the hospitality and tourism industry completed a study questionnaire. All hypothesized relationships were estimated using structural equation modeling.
Findings
– Results support a theoretical model in which WLC works as a partial mediator between job stress variables and leisure satisfaction. Findings suggest that low workload and flexible time-off contribute to alleviating WLC and facilitating leisure satisfaction and with the addition of high co-worker support, directly benefit employee leisure satisfaction.
Practical implications
– Management implications related to job design and work-related social support are discussed.
Originality/value
– The current study contributes to the existing knowledge base by testing WLC as a partial mediator between work loading–leisure satisfaction and time-off autonomy–leisure satisfaction relationships. These findings help human resource management managers broaden their understanding of the role of WLC in balancing frontline employees’ life in work and non-work domains.
The work life of misfits – employees whose important values are incongruent with the values of their organization – represents an under-researched area of the person-environment fit literature. The unfortunate reality is that these individuals are likely to be disengaged and unproductive at work. In this manuscript, we entertain the possibility that employees can protect themselves from this situation if they engage in alternative actions that supplement the fundamental needs that go unmet from value incongruence. We integrate theorizing about the motivational role of need fulfillment and work/non-work behaviors in order to examine whether two actions in particular – job crafting and leisure activity – can potentially mitigate the negative effects of value incongruence on employee performance. In a field study of employees from diverse organizations and industries, the results suggest that both job crafting and leisure activity indeed act as a buffer, mitigating the otherwise negative effects of value incongruence on employee engagement and job performance (both task performance and citizenship behavior).
Using multilevel structural equations modeling, we examine the extent to which the influence of transformational leadership on work group effectiveness flows through follower perceptions of person-organization or person-supervisor value congruence. Results indicate that the group-level effect of transformational leadership on work group effectiveness was fully accounted for by the group-level impact of transformational leadership on follower perceptions of person-organization value congruence, not by its impact on follower perceptions of person-supervisor value congruence. These results are discussed in the context of leadership as a "sense-making" process and the practical barriers faced by transformational leaders in modern organizations.
In the changing modern economy some new factors have been addressed that are of importance for productivity and economic growth, such as human skills, workplace organization, information and communication technologies (ICT) and knowledge sharing. An increasing number of companies and organizations are implementing measures to better address these factors, often referred to as 'the New Ways of Working (NWW)'. This consists of a large variety of measures that enable flexibility in the time and location of work. Expectations of these measures are often high, such as a reduction in operating costs and an increase of productivity. However, scientific proof is still lacking, and it is worth asking whether al these implementations actually cause a change in work behavior and effect business outcomes positively. This article describes a case study of three departments (total of 73 employees) that changed from a traditional way of working towards a new way of working. Questionnaires and a new developed objective measurement system called 'work@ task' were used to measure changes in work behavior (i.e. increased variation in work location, work times and a change towards NWW management style) and the effect on business objectives such as knowledge sharing, employees satisfaction, and collaboration.
The validity of organizational research relies on strong research methods, which include effective measurement of psychological constructs. The general consensus is that multiple item measures have better psychometric properties than single-item measures. However, due to practical constraints (e.g., survey length, respondent burden) there are situations in which certain single items may be useful for capturing information about constructs that might otherwise go unmeasured. We evaluated 37 items, including 18 newly developed items as well as 19 single items selected from existing multiple-item scales based on psychometric characteristics, to assess 18 constructs frequently measured in organizational and occupational health psychology research. We examined evidence of reliability; convergent, discriminant, and content validity assessments; and test-retest reliabilities at 1- and 3-month time lags for single-item measures using a multistage and multisource validation strategy across 3 studies, including data from N = 17 occupational health subject matter experts and N = 1,634 survey respondents across 2 samples. Items selected from existing scales generally demonstrated better internal consistency reliability and convergent validity, whereas these particular new items generally had higher levels of content validity. We offer recommendations regarding when use of single items may be more or less appropriate, as well as 11 items that seem acceptable, 14 items with mixed results that might be used with caution due to mixed results, and 12 items we do not recommend using as single-item measures. Although multiple-item measures are preferable from a psychometric standpoint, in some circumstances single-item measures can provide useful information. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
Numerous studies show a link between leisure engagement and subjective well-being (SWB). Drawing on common experiential features of leisure, psychological need theories, and bottom-up models of SWB, we suggest that leisure engagement influences SWB via leisure satisfaction. We examine the proposed cross-sectional relations and mediation model using random-effects meta-analyses that include all available populations. To provide a stronger test of causal influence, we also examine longitudinal relations between leisure satisfaction and SWB and effects of experimental leisure interventions on SWB using random effects meta-analyses of all available populations. Findings based on 37 effect sizes and 11,834 individuals reveal that leisure engagement and SWB are moderately associated (inverse-variance weighted r = .26) and mediated by leisure satisfaction. Cross-lagged regression analyses of longitudinal studies, controlling for prior SWB, reveal bottom-up effects of leisure satisfaction on SWB (β = .15) and top-down effects of SWB on leisure satisfaction (β = .16). Experimental studies reveal that leisure interventions enhance SWB (d = 1.02). Compared with working samples, retired samples exhibit a stronger relation between leisure engagement and SWB, and between leisure satisfaction and SWB. Measures of the frequency and diversity of leisure engagement are more strongly associated with SWB than measures of time spent in leisure. Overall, although not minimizing top-down influences, results are consistent with bottom-up models of SWB and suggest that the leisure domain is a potentially important target for enhancing SWB.
Missing data (a) reside at three missing data levels of analysis (item-, construct-, and person-level), (b) arise from three missing data mechanisms(missing completely at random, missing at random, and missing not at random) that range from completely random to systematic missingness, (c) can engender two missing data problems (biased parameter estimates and inaccurate hypothesis tests/inaccurate standard errors/
low power), and (d) mandate a choice from among several missing data treatments (listwise deletion, pairwise deletion, single imputation, maximum likelihood, and multiple imputation). Whereas all missing data treatments are imperfect and are rooted in particular statistical assumptions, some missing data treatments are worse than others, on average (i.e., they lead to more bias in parameter estimates and less accurate hypothesis tests). Social scientists still routinely choose the more biased and error-prone
techniques (listwise and pairwise deletion), likely due to poor familiarity with and misconceptions about the less biased/less error-prone techniques (maximum likelihood and multiple imputation). The current user-friendly review provides five easy-to-understand practical guidelines, with the goal of reducing missing data bias and error in the reporting of research results. Syntax is provided for correlation, multiple regression, and structural equation modeling with missing data.
The dimensionality of the original Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and a revision were investigated. Factor analyses of two data sets identified six dimensions underlying the original JDS. Five of the factors correspond to the pattern expected for the JDS items; the sixth was identified as a measurement artifact. Five of the JDS items were subsequently rewritten to eliminate the artifact. The revised survey was administered to employees of a printing company (N = 134) and the a priori five-factor solution was obtained with no artifact factor. Scale–factor correlations were also computed. The resulting coefficients suggest that the revised JDS scales are measuring their underlying constructs with reasonable accuracy. As a result of the measurement artifact in the original JDS, it is recommended that the revised JDS should be used in future research concerned with task characteristics. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Purpose
History is full of companies that were once innovative leaders but lost their innovative ability. The purpose of this paper is to explore, from a firm‐level perspective, organizational characteristics for continuous innovation in rapidly changing industries.
Design/methodology/approach
Findings from 28 interviews at Google Inc., are compared to previous research on organizational characteristics for continuous innovation.
Findings
Google's organization can be viewed as a dynamic and open corporate system for continuous innovation, involving the entire organization and supported by an innovation‐oriented and change‐prone top management and board. The relative importance of eight organizational characteristics in this corporate system is elaborated upon.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for empirical research contributing to the development of a more comprehensive analytical framework for continuous innovation, including the role of culture and selection/facilitation of self‐organizing individuals in innovation processes; and to study how to organize for both continuous innovation and continuous improvements.
Practical implications
The importance of factors such as culture and the selection of individuals, identified in the empirical study, needs to be considered by managers, and might influence their understanding of how to sustain continuous innovation over time.
Originality/value
This paper provides, from a firm‐level perspective and based on a unique access to empirical data, increased understanding of organizational characteristics conducive to continuous innovation in rapidly changing industries, and highlights the importance of characteristics that received less emphasis in previous research literature.
The presence of outliers, which are data points that deviate markedly from others, is one of the most enduring and pervasive methodological challenges in organizational science research. We provide evidence that different ways of defining, identifying, and handling outliers alter substantive research conclusions. Then, we report results of a literature review of 46 methodological sources (i.e., journal articles, book chapters, and books) addressing the topic of outliers, as well as 232 organizational science journal articles mentioning issues about outliers. Our literature review uncovered (a) 14 unique and mutually exclusive outlier definitions, 39 outlier identification techniques, and 20 different ways of handling outliers; (b) inconsistencies in how outliers are defined, identified, and handled in various methodological sources; and (c) confusion and lack of transparency in how outliers are addressed by substantive researchers. We offer guidelines, including decision-making trees, that researchers can follow to define, identify, and handle error, interesting, and influential (i.e., model fit and prediction) outliers. Although our emphasis is on regression, structural equation modeling, and multilevel modeling, our general framework forms the basis for a research agenda regarding outliers in the context of other data-analytic approaches. Our recommendations can be used by authors as well as journal editors and reviewers to improve the consistency and transparency of practices regarding the treatment of outliers in organizational science research.
We present evidence suggesting that most people see their work as either a Job (focus on financial rewards and necessity rather than pleasure or fulfillment; not a major positive part of life), a Career (focus on advancement), or a Calling (focus on enjoyment of fulfilling, socially useful work). Employees at two work sites (n= 196) with a wide range of occupations from clerical to professional were unambiguous in seeing their work primarily in terms of a Job, Career, or Calling. Differences in respondents' relations to their work could not be reduced to demographic or occupational differences; an homogenous subset of 24 college administrative assistants were, like the total sample of respondents, distributed evenly across Job, Career, and Calling.
The current diary study among 50 Spanish dual-earner couples examines whether engagement at work has an impact on own and partners’ well-being. Based on the Spillover–Crossover model, we hypothesized that individuals’ work engagement would spill over to the home domain, increasing their happiness level at the end of the day. Moreover, we predicted a crossover of happiness between the members of the couple. Participants filled in a diary booklet during five consecutive working days (N = 100 participants and N = 500 occasions). The results of multilevel analyses showed that daily work engagement has a direct effect on daily happiness. We also found that employees’ daily work engagement influenced partner’s daily happiness through employees’ daily happiness. Finally, results showed a clear bidirectional crossover of daily happiness between both members of the couple. These findings indicate that the positive effects of work engagement go beyond the work setting and beyond the employee.
Despite extensive scholarly research and organizational interest in employee turnover, there remains a gap between science and practice in this area. This article bridges this gap and replaces several misconceptions about turnover with guidelines for evidence-based retention management strategies focused on shared understanding of turnover, knowledge of cause-and-effect relationships, and the ability to adapt this knowledge and apply it to disparate contexts. We provide new tools such as an illustration of the relative strength of turnover predictors, a summary of evidence-based HR strategies for managing turnover, and a new framework for implementing evidence-based retention strategies. We conclude with a research agenda to build on this evidence-based understanding.
We examine the controversial practice of using parcels of items as manifest variables in structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures. After detailing arguments pro and con, we conclude that the unconsidered use of parcels is never warranted, while, at the same time, the considered use of parcels cannot be dismissed out of hand. In large part, the decision to parcel or not depends on one's philosophical stance regard- ing scientific inquiry (e.g., empiricist vs. pragmatist) and the substantive goal of a study (e.g., to understand the structure of a set of items or to examine the nature of a set of constructs). Prior to creating parcels, however, we recommend strongly that in- vestigators acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and dimensionality of the items to be parceled. With this knowledge in hand, various techniques for creating parcels can be utilized to minimize potential pitfalls and to optimize the measure- ment structure of constructs in SEM procedures. A number of parceling techniques are described, noting their strengths and weaknesses.
Baron and Kenny's procedure for determining if an independent variable affects a dependent variable through some mediator is so well known that it is used by authors and requested by reviewers almost reflexively. Many research projects have been terminated early in a research program or later in the review process because the data did not conform to Baron and Kenny's criteria, impeding theoretical development. While the technical literature has disputed some of Baron and Kenny's tests, this literature has not diffused to practicing researchers. We present a nontechnical summary of the flaws in the Baron and Kenny logic, some of which have not been previously noted. We provide a decision tree and a step-by-step procedure for testing mediation, classifying its type, and interpreting the implications of findings for theory building and future research. (c) 2010 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
In 1989, students marched on Tiananmen Square demanding democratic reform. The Communist Party responded with a massacre, but it was jolted into restructuring the economy and overhauling the education of its young citizens. A generation later, Chinese youth are a world apart from those who converged at Tiananmen. Brought up with lofty expectations, they’ve been accustomed to unprecedented opportunities on the back of China’s economic boom. But today, China’s growth is slowing and its demographics rapidly shifting, with the boom years giving way to a painful hangover.
Immersed in this transition, Eric Fish, a millennial himself, profiles youth from around the country and how they are navigating the education system, the workplace, divisive social issues, and a resurgence in activism. Based on interviews with scholars, journalists, and hundreds of young Chinese, his engrossing book challenges the idea that today’s youth have been pacified by material comforts and nationalism. Following rural Henan students struggling to get into college, a computer prodigy who sparked a nationwide patriotic uproar, and young social activists grappling with authorities, Fish deftly captures youthful struggle, disillusionment, and rebellion in a system that is scrambling to keep them in line—and, increasingly, scrambling to adapt when its youth refuse to conform.
Although topics regarding “996 work system” and overtime working have aroused hot arguments, there is scant literature that analyses the spatial distribution and movement patterns of people who work overtime. This article fills this gap by adopting big data analysis and examining the mobile phone signal data which allow the calculation of the approximate spatial position of the mobile-phone user, and the generation of transportation flows and individuals’ origin-destination (OD) flows. The findings show that no less than one third of employees in Shanghai work overtime, and that overtime workers face higher job-housing imbalance than workers who have normal work durations or flexible schedules. This corroborates David Harvey’s time-space compression theory. Going beyond that, we further discover the interchangeability between exploitation in the time dimension, and that in the spatial dimension, resulting in dual exploitation. This article has important policy implications for optimizing the urban spatial system of Shanghai, as it advocates that in addition to strengthening the enforcement of labor law, the government also needs to improve the public service such as strengthening the underground system’s capacity, and construct affordable houses, so as to alleviate the employees’ sufferings caused by temporal and spatial exploitation. Moreover, the research points out the necessity for Chinese cities to enhance the vertical mixing, in order to shorten the job-housing distance.
Purpose
Knowledge management in the public sector is relatively an ignored avenue of research and practice that has recently been given attention. Knowledge management initiatives in the public sector are now not limited to the developed countries anymore. The public sectors of various developing countries including Pakistan have developed knowledge management functions to address the problems of low organizational commitment (higher turnover rates) and knowledge-workers’ performance. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediation role of organizational commitment in the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-worker performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gathered from 341 knowledge workers of the public sector health department of Punjab Province, Pakistan, where knowledge management unit initiative has been taken. It was then analyzed using the structural equation modeling.
Findings
Organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-work performance.
Practical implications
The public sector policy makers are strongly advised to implement knowledge management units and practices in order to enhance knowledge-work performance as well as organizational commitment.
Originality/value
First, the model on the mediating role of organizational commitment has never been examined before. Second, the data collection from the public Health Department of Pakistan, a developing country, is relatively rare because the public sector knowledge management studies have mostly been conducted in developed countries. Finally, this study extends the literature on knowledge management in the public sector that is the developing theme in knowledge management discipline while adding knowledge management as a toolkit to enhance knowledge-workers’, organizational commitment and knowledge-work performance.
This study aims to assess the effects of different types of predictors—factors related to organizations, tasks, and individuals—on the three facets of job crafting and to evaluate the impact of job crafting on customer-contact employees’ job satisfaction. A paper and pencil survey was conducted targeting customer-contact employees working in five-star hotels located in Seoul, South Korea. A total of 327 responses were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that autonomy and creative self-efficacy positively influence each of the three facets of job crafting whereas perceived organizational support only impacts cognitive crafting. Moreover, task crafting is not associated with job satisfaction while the other two facets of job crafting are. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed further in the study.
Given the pivotal role of job crafting in the hospitality industry, this study investigates the relationship of job crafting to job satisfaction and the mediating effect of job burnout along with the moderating effect of perceived organizational support. Survey data from 355 frontline hotel employees in Taiwan show job crafting is positively related to job satisfaction, while job burnout negatively mediates the relationship between job crafting and job satisfaction. Furthermore, perceived organizational support moderates the relationships among job crafting, burnout, and satisfaction. These findings suggest courses of action for human resource managers as well as future research directions.
Job crafting represents the bottom-up process of change employees make in their work boundaries and plays an important role in the management of organizational change. Following the socially embedded perspective, we examine the roles of job autonomy, social skill, and employee status in predicting job crafting. Study 1 with a sample of 509 part-time employees found that job autonomy and social skill not only directly but also interactively influenced job crafting. Study 2 with a sample of 564 full-time employees further revealed that job autonomy had a stronger impact on job crafting when employee status was high, but for those with a high level of social skill, job autonomy influenced job crafting regardless of the level of employee status. Our results suggest that managers and change agents can promote job crafting for organizational change by enhancing employees’ ability to interact with others effectively, along with the increase of job autonomy.
For many workers, leisure is a highly valued part of life. Yet, workers' leisure experiences have largely been overlooked in the career development and work-life literatures. This paper addresses the question of when workers' leisure experiences—and compatibility between work and leisure roles—are important for workers' overall subjective well-being (SWB). We draw on Super's life-span, life-space theory of career development to posit that the subjective quality of workers' leisure experiences—and lack of conflict between work and leisure roles—is important for SWB, especially when leisure roles are highly salient relative to other roles. In three studies, we develop and validate scales to measure the subjective quality of leisure (i.e., leisure affect and leisure satisfaction) and test our hypotheses using a heterogeneous sample of working adults. Results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of our new measures and suggest that the subjective quality of workers' leisure experiences influence workers' overall SWB beyond the effects of the subjective quality of job and family experiences regardless of levels of relative leisure role salience. However, work-leisure conflict does not appear to influence overall SWB beyond the effects of work-family conflict, even when relative leisure role salience is high. We discuss implications for the career development and work-life literatures.
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.
The present paper addresses two crafting strategies employees may display in different life domains in order to attain desired outcomes. On the one hand, job crafting is targeted at increasing social and structural job resources and challenging job demands. On the other hand, leisure crafting is the proactive pursuit of leisure activities targeted at goal setting, human connection, learning, and personal development. We hypothesized that job crafting relates positively to employee work engagement and meaning‐making, especially when occupational role salience is high. Furthermore, we hypothesized that leisure crafting relates positively to meaning‐making, especially when job crafting opportunities are low. Using a sample of 105 Dutch employees and a weekly survey with three measurements, we found support for most of our hypotheses. All job crafting dimensions related positively to work engagement when occupational role salience was high. Also, increasing structural resources related positively to meaning‐making when occupational role salience was high. Leisure crafting related positively to meaning‐making when job crafting opportunities were low. We discuss directions for future research on work and leisure, and suggest how employees and organizations may benefit by encouraging job and leisure crafting.
Practitioner points
Employees can proactively build their own work engagement using job crafting, especially when they view their work as a source of personal satisfaction and development.
In workplaces where opportunities to craft are low, employees could focus on their leisure time as a source of meaning and self‐reflection.
Managers can empower and coach employees to proactively seek growth and self‐fulfilment both at work and outside work, via job crafting and leisure crafting.
Organizations and managers should encourage employees to flourish not only at work but also during leisure time, communicating that work and leisure are two life domains that can help and complement each other.
Drawing from person-organization (P-O) fit theory, we explain how the provision of work-life benefits (WLBs) increases job seeker attraction to organizations during the early recruitment stage because of a perceived value fit between job seekers and the organization. Our results from an experimental study using a sample of 189 MBA students who belonged to two generational groups (Millennials and Gen Xers) and were seeking employment during a period of economic recession support our expectations. We found that job seekers develop higher P-O fit perceptions for organizations that supplement standard pay with WLBs in their recruitment materials compared with organizations that supplement standard pay with health care benefits or offer only standard pay. In turn, such organizations are assessed as more attractive prospective employers. We also found that generational group moderated the path between P-O fit and job seeker attraction such that Millennial job seekers were more likely to be attracted toward organizations with which they had strong fit perceptions than their Gen X counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
Although scholars imply that job crafting contributes to person-job fit and meaningful work, to date, no study examined the relationships between these variables. The present three-wave weekbook study was designed to gain more knowledge about the influence of job crafting on person-job fit and meaningfulness. We collected data among a heterogeneous group of employees (N = 114) during three consecutive weeks (N = 430 occasions). At the end of their working week, employees reported their job crafting behaviors, their person-job fit (demands-abilities fit and needs-supplies fit), and the meaningfulness of their work that week. Results indicated that individuals who crafted their job by increasing their job resources (e.g., support, autonomy) and challenging job demands (e.g., participate in new projects), and by decreasing their hindering job demands (e.g., less emotional job demands) reported higher levels of person-job fit the next week. In turn, demands-abilities fit related to more meaningfulness in the final week. No support was found for alternative causal models. These findings suggest that by crafting their job demands and job resources, individuals can proactively optimize their person-job fit and as a consequence experience their work as meaningful.
In the changing modern economy some new factors have been addressed that are of importance for productivity and economic growth, such as human skills, workplace organization, information and communication technologies (ICT) and knowledge sharing. An increasing number of companies and organizations are implementing measures to better address these factors, often referred to as 'the New Ways of Working (NWW)'. This consists of a large variety of measures that enable flexibility in the time and location of work. Expectations of these measures are often high, such as a reduction in operating costs and an increase of productivity. However, scientific proof is still lacking, and it is worth asking whether al these implementations actually cause a change in work behavior and effect business outcomes positively. This article describes a case study of three departments (total of 73 employees) that changed from a traditional way of working towards a new way of working. Questionnaires and a new developed objective measurement system called 'work@task' were used to measure changes in work behavior (i. e. increased variation in work location, work times and a change towards NWW management style) and the effect on business objectives such as knowledge sharing, employees satisfaction, and collaboration.
The most important contribution of management in the 20th century was to increase manual worker productivity fifty-fold. The most important contribution of management in the 21st century will be to increase knowledge worker productivity—hopefully by the same percentage. So far it is abysmally low and in many areas (hospital nurses, for instance, or design engineers in the automobile industry) actually lower than it was 70 years ago. So far, almost no one has addressed it. Yet we know how to increase—and rapidly—the productivity of knowledge workers. The methods, however, are totally different from those that increased the productivity of manual workers.
Work-family research emphasizes the importance of mechanisms that link work and family. However, these mechanisms typically are described in metaphoric terms poorly suited to rigorous research. In this article we translate work-family linking mechanisms into causal relationships between work and family constructs. For each relationship we explain its sign and causal structure and how it is influenced by personal intent. We show how these respecified linking mechanisms constitute theoretical building blocks for developing comprehensive models of the work-family interface.
In this conceptual paper, we adopt a social-exchange theory perspective to explain the impact of talent management (TM) on the psychological contract and its outcomes. This relationship is supposedly moderated by generational effects and associated differences in work-related values and preferences. Thus, often-neglected individual-level variables are included in the analysis. A framework and testable propositions are provided. As a result, we propose that in contexts where a war for talent prevails, the strong interest of Generations X and Y in training, development, and career advancement makes highly engaged and extensive TM activities even more crucial for retaining talented individuals than is the case for the so-called Baby Boomer generation.
Many online shopping malls in which explicit rating information is not available still have difficulty in providing recommendation services using collaborative filtering (CF) techniques for their users. Applying temporal purchase patterns derived from ...
The industrial working-time regime is dissolving—not dramatically, but rather as a trend. A new trend is that those in dynamic sectors and in a good labor market position work long hours: Demanding knowledge work appears to require the marginalization of private life. This study investigates the family situation of knowledge workers, the concentration of knowledge workers into family, working time, and use of time in different family types. The analysis is based on the Finnish Use of Time data (1999-2000) using family(spouse)-level data. Compared with other categories of employment, the results suggest only minor quantitative differences between knowledge worker families in working time and use of time. However, the results show that qualitative experience of time varied across families. Knowledge work families especially experienced feelings of hurriedness and time famine.
Literature on leisure behavior was reviewed to identify indicators relevant to the construct leisure satisfaction. That yielded many indicators which were reduced and developed a scale of 59 items.
The instrument was subjected to two pilot studies. As a result of item and test analyses the instrument was refined to be field tested for validity and reliability. Content validity was tested by sending the instrument to over 160 experts and judges (professors, researchers and practitioners) in the area of leisure behavior and recreation. Responses reflected approval of the instrument.
Reliability was assessed utilizing two samples in the Spring of 1978. First it was administered to a sample of 603 individuals. As a result of analyses some changes and refinements of the instrument took place then administered to another sample of 347 subjects, largely students.
Utilizing factor analysis and alpha reliability yielded a scale of six components of leisure satisfaction with realibility of .96. The components and their reliabilities were: Psychological .86, educational .90, social .88, relaxation .85, physiological .92, and aesthetic .86.
This paper proposes and tests a model where emotional competence influences work performance through employees' proactive behaviors toward their supervisors. Results from 196 supervisor-employee pairs supported that emotional competence was positively associated with proactive behaviors, and proactive behaviors were positively associated with both task effectiveness and social integration. In addition, proactive behaviors significantly mediated the relationships between emotional competence and work performance, although this was mostly true of followers who had a higher degree of autonomy in their work. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This study examines identity accumulation, others' acceptance of one's aspired self, work role salience, and job-search self-efficacy in relation to job stress. One hundred and eighty insurance agents working in six branches of an international assurance company completed self-report questionnaires. Results indicate that identity accumulation and others' acceptance have direct, significant, and negative relationships with job stress. Job-search self-efficacy is found to be effective in moderating the relationship between work-role salience and job stress. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using personal digital assistants, 91 parents employed in non-professional occupations were surveyed for 14 consecutive days about their job characteristics and work-family experiences. We found significant daily variation in work-to-family conflict (WFC) and work-to-family facilitation (WFF) that was predictable from daily job characteristics. Higher levels of WFC were associated with greater job demands and control at work. Contrary to the demands-control model (Karasek, 1979), these two job characteristics interacted such that the relationship between demands and WFC was stronger when control was high. We also found that demands were negatively related and control and skill level positively related to WFF. The results suggest ways in which jobs may be redesigned to enhance individuals' work-family experiences.
A model is proposed that specifies the conditions under which individuals will become internally motivated to perform effectively on their jobs. The model focuses on the interaction among three classes of variables: (a) the psychological states of employees that must be present for internally motivated work behavior to develop; (b) the characteristics of jobs that can create these psychological states; and (c) the attributes of individuals that determine how positively a person will respond to a complex and challenging job. The model was tested for 658 employees who work on 62 different jobs in seven organizations, and results support its validity. A number of special features of the model are discussed (including its use as a basis for the diagnosis of jobs and the evaluation of job redesign projects), and the model is compared to other theories of job design.
This study examines the relationship between employees' perceptions of person–job (P-J) and person–organization (P-O) fit. Survey data collected from 231 employees (104 office personnel and 127 drivers) of a national trucking company show a low correlation (r=.18) between the two types of self-reported fit. Both P-J and P-O fit had a unique impact on job satisfaction and intent to quit. P-O fit was a better predictor of intentions to quit than was P-J fit, but there was little difference in their relative influence on job satisfaction. The predicted positive relationship between perceived P-O fit and contextual performance (extrarole behaviors an employee performs beyond those prescribed in their job description) was also supported. No relationship was found between perceived P-J fit and task performance. Taken as a whole, these results provide further evidence that employees' perceptions of P-J and P-O fit should be treated as distinct constructs.