Much of our identity and self-worth is tied to our work.  Work has moved beyond something we have to do, to something that defines us as individuals. Thus, finding joy and meaning in our work is critically important to our well-being.  Unfortunately, for many people, a form of chronic stress caused by their work can lead to a "state of vital exhaustion" known as burnout. Burnout is increasingly common among health professionals.  There are many contributing factors but job crafting is one way to lessen work-related stress and restore a sense of mastery. 

According to self-determination therapy (Deci and Ryan 1985), humans have three fundamental psychological needs that strongly influence our motivation: 1 ) autonomy (a sense of control over our lives), 2) relatedness (connecting with others and experiencing a sense of belonging), and 3) competence (feeling capable in our interactions with the world).

The intensity of our motivation is shaped by the extent to which these essential needs are met. Motivation falls on a spectrum ranging from purely ‘extrinsic’ (our motivation is controlled solely by external factors) to purely ‘intrinsic’ (our motivation is autonomous; prompted solely by our own thoughts). When we are primarily intrinsically motivated and if we are adequately (but not overly) challenged, we complete our work-related tasks out of fundamental interest and find a great deal of fulfillment in the activity.

Conversely, when our motivation to perform a task originates from external influences, we are unlikely to fully engage with the work. We might be motivated by a promise of a reward (a raise or promotion!) or a threat of punishment (you're fired!) - but these external motivators aren't very strong. We simply go through the motions of doing the work in order to get the reward or avoid the punishment, spending much of our working day on autopilot. We arrive at work, switch on the computer, and face a mountain of emails.  We give little thought to want we want to achieve that day or how we will achieve it. Deep down, we are looking for meaning and purpose, personal growth and development, but we quickly become disillusioned and cynical.

Fortunately, there is a way to tap into your strengths and fuel your need for a more human-centered approach to work. Job crafting describes the ways in which you can create opportunities to customize your job by actively changing your work-related tasks, improving your interactions with co-workers and clients, and altering the lens through which you view your work.

Humans value personalization. We like customizing our lives.  We personalize what we wear to demonstrate our style. We decorate our devices to signal our interests. We pick a car that fits our personality and values. But many of us are not encouraged to personalize our work and this often leads to lower engagement and conformity.

Think of job crafting as a semi-tailored approach to work that you shape. Whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, you can take steps to customize your work and your perceptions of your work. People who engage in job-crafting often experience growth and improved performance. Job crafting fuels flexibility and adaptability. It can spark initiative, creativity, and innovation.

There are three dimensions of job crafting – task crafting, relationship crafting, and cognitive crafting. Task crafting is about your autonomy and how you customize your work-related tasks. This includes things like adding challenges or improving efficiency. Relationship crafting is about your relationships at work and who you work with. Cognitive crafting is about seeing the meaning and purpose of your work.

Typically, there are three crafting decisions that can be made in each of the three dimensions:

Taking crafting involves making changes to the work tasks in ways that capitalize on your strengths, make performing them more efficient, or both. For example, the promotion and tenure process is something that I need to manage in my role as a department chair. Much of this work is pretty tedious. So I recently created a stepwise outline and then hyperlinked the various files that contained all of the communications as well as templates and forms into one document. Not only was I able to use my computer skills to streamline this complex process but it is something that will improve the efficiency and accuracy of the process for years to come. For some people who are computer wizards, creating this document probably would have been pretty straightforward but for me, it was challenging and satisfying!

You may find it helpful to create a project analysis grid to identify the projects or tasks that take up most of your time. This can help you get a better sense of your work and help you make adjustments to your work tasks to improve your efficiency and increase your level of engagement by spending more of your time on those tasks that are energy boosters.

As you develop your project analysis grid, consider the following questions:

Relationship crafting is about building and amplifying positive relationships, reframing difficult relationships as opportunities to learn, and modifying roles in relationships. While you can't always choose who you work with, you can influence and adjust your relationships with your co-workers. Consider those actions you can take that would grow and positively reframe relationships at work and, perhaps, diminish your interactions with people that don't boost your sense of wellbeing.

Here's an example of how relationship crafting can positively influence your work. A few years back, I volunteered to serve on the University's wellness committee. This led to forming relationships with several people in the Office of Wellbeing. It is through these relationships that I now have the opportunity to shape the direction of faculty well-being on our campus. This work, and working with this group of like-minded people, is very exciting to me and boosts my energy.

Consider reflecting on the following questions:

Cognitive crafting seeks to reframe and cultivate the meaning and purpose of work. The work that you perform is meaningful and valuable to someone. It likely improves someone's life. Or it helps our society operate more efficiently. Sometimes the value of our work isn't immediately obvious and our part in the organization's mission may seem small and inconsequential. By reframing our thinking, we can re-energize and reconnect to what excited us about the work in the first place. Every job is important - even if you seem like you are spending too much time on meaningless tasks (see Task Crafting!)

For example, I see the work I do as a clinician-educator as a calling. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to use my character strengths on a daily basis. I get to serve the needs of the faculty and learners by guiding them as they grow and develop. For some people, it's not easy to see how their work positively influences the world. Sometimes people need to step back from the mundane tasks and see the big picture. For example, the custodial staff in a hospital might view their work as "just cleaning and picking up trash."  It's a never-ending task and staff might think their work never makes a difference. Or, alternatively, they could see how vitally important the work is (which it is!) because it creates a clean space that reduces the spread of infection and helps all of the hospital staff work more effectively. Moreover, when they interact with patients and visitors, they can lessen fears and worries. Too often we diminish the importance of our work and take it for granted.

Consider reflecting on the following questions:

Take time to journal and reflect on your purpose. Learn more by reading my previous essay entitled What's Your Why? 🗝.

Lastly, you can seek to identify new activities that can reduce stress during the workday but also improve your work life.

Consider reflecting on the following questions:

Here's an example from my work. We recently formed a new committee in my department to foster fellowship and well-being. One of our initiatives is called Resilience Rounds. Each month faculty and staff are invited to attend. During some sessions we discussion an intellectually stimulating topic relevant to faculty and staff about well-being. During other sessions, we focus on keeping active at work and engaging in a playful physical activity.

Job crafting can enhance our motivation and engagement at work because it addresses some of our fundamental psychological needs.

Autonomy and Self-Expression-Control of what and how we do our work, personalization

Relatedness- Strengthen connections and collaborations

Competence and Meaning- Capitalize on strengths, develop new skills, increase sense of purpose

People value the things they build. We love the things we create and personalize. Personalization can give you a performance advantage as it fuels your motivation and allows you to positively express yourself. You can take center stage in crafting your role. Embrace your own creativity, energy, and commitment so it can reverberate around your organization!

Cheers-

One Last Thing ... Get this Spotify Playlist!
Here's a great 1-hour (or so) playlist that I created for work.  To listen, click on this link to Seena's Discovery Playlist OR open the Spotify app on your smartphone, tap the search icon, and then the camera icon (top right). Point your phone at the graphic below, and voilà.

References