Many of us have done, and followed, what is written in the job description: “You are responsible for X, Y and Z”; so, we have done X, Y and Z, and no more.
To be honest, that worked out very well in the past and we were rewarded for doing what they were told.
But these days, that mindset has completely changed.
Let’s do some job crafting to make your job even more interesting!
SHAPE, MOULD, AND REDEFINE YOUR JOB
There are three types of job crafting: Task Crafting, Relationship Crafting, and Cognitive Crafting
Task Crafting: A changing up of responsibilities
Task crafting is commonly seen as active ‘shaping’ or ‘moulding’ of one’s role. It can involve adding to, subtracting from and/or redesigning the responsibilities in your official job description.
For instance, a chef may take it upon themselves to not just serve food, but to create beautifully designed plates that enhance a customer’s dining experience.
Relationship Crafting: Changing up of interactions
Relationship crafting may involve changing up those with whom we work on different tasks, those with whom we communicate and engage with, on a regular basis. A marketing manager might brainstorm with the firm’s app designer to talk and learn about the user interface, unlocking creativity benefits whilst simultaneously crafting relationships.
Cognitive Crafting: Changing up your mindset
This is simply changing the way you look at, or interpret, the tasks that you are responsible for; we can find, or create, more meaning about that which might otherwise be seen as ‘busy – or boring – work’. For instance, changing hotel bedsheets in this sense might be less about cleaning and more about making travellers’ journeys more comfortable and memorable; taking pride in the neatness of the folds.
As you will have seen in some of the examples above, this doesn’t necessarily affect the quality or impact of what you’re hired to do. But it does impact upon that all important sense of job satisfaction.
In summary, the importance of Job Crafting is: less stress, more motivation and more satisfaction. So, what’s not to like!
Azeezunnisa (Farah) Maiz
Administrative Executive
Nelson College London Knowledge Exchange Centre