Employees spend a large part of their working lives at work so it only makes sense that the employee enjoys and engages in the work s/he does. It pays to find the “best fit” job during the job hunting process, but an employee can outgrow the “best-fit” job quickly if career management is not done actively or if there has been organisational or managerial changes.
Being engaged at work leads to greater fulfillment, job or career satisfaction and a sense of personal and professional fulfillment; subsequently, this has a positive impact on personal well being. If an employee dreads going to work, then spending 40-50 hours a week in a workplace can become very long and cumbersome, especially if the employee does not enjoy.
However, for some people, going to work may be seen just as a “means to an end” and something they have to do to pay the bills, mortgage and school fees. For such individuals, going to work is seen as a chore and they may just be going through the motions and “clock watching.” It is worth pointing out that going to work and being expected to be “entertained” or engaged all the time is not the responsibility of the employer.
If an employee feels that s/he could leverage his/her skills more effectively, then s/he may consider it a good time to re-craft his/her role. Here, the individual can play an important role in ensuring s/he makes the most of his/her skills with the work opportunities that are available to him/her. Management may even be tempted to permit the employee to engage in job crafting if they can see an effective business case which is likely to positively impact business goals and objectives
Business Model
Business models have changed since the financial crises in 2008 and the old rules no longer serve the new world order. Previously, many businesses changed their models infrequently, but now businesses have to change and tweak their business models more frequently. This is in response to changes in economic, political and social changes and organisations that do no innovate and increase competitive advantage are far more likely to fall to the wayside
Consequently, organisations including all stakeholders particularly the employees and management are expected to “rise up” to the challenges presented by the new world order. Each stakeholder is expected to contribute something significant to the betterment of the organisation. This provides an excellent opportunity for employees to undertake a “job audit” and see where s/he can look to increasing responsibility or proposing a change in role
Work Solutions
An employee will need to adopt an enterprising and inventive strategy if s/he were to consider job crafting. This will mean that boredom and disengagement from work can be reduced, if not eliminated if the proposal is pitched right. However, what they won’t want to hear from the employee is a list of dislikes about his/her roles.
An employer is interested in hearing ideas and strategies to improve business processes and systems, especially if this has an impact on bottom line performance. Being inventive and enterprising is also likely to increase visibility within the organisation and this can serve an individual well in the long run, especially if management recognise that the individual is committed in making a mutually beneficial difference within the organisation.
Employment Information
Who to turn to when job crafting? Sometimes it may like an uphill struggle, but by talking it over to someone trustworthy (maybe a mentor) or senior manager, may lead to unexplored avenues. The following tips may provide some ideas in approaching job crafting:
- Undertaking a skills audit and a career SWOT.
- Can the employee gain buy in from management with job crafting? If yes, how can the employee approach and raise the issue with management?
- Can the employee identify areas within the division/business where s/he could utilise his/her skills better?
- Who could the employee turn to obtain some impartial advice or tips to leverage skills and knowledge?
- What steps need to be taken for the employee to initiate an action plan or proposal to take place?
Job crafting can only take place if management is open to discussions and exploring options and discussing ways which enable the individual to engage in job crafting. It is something that the employee will need to plan in advance and prepare a win/win proposition for management. An employee cannot simply walk into management’s office and reel off a list of job dislikes.
Instead, the employee will need to highlight how s/he can utilise his/her skills more effectively and how possible job crafting can work logistically and operationally without disrupting organisational harmony. If executed well, job crafting can enhancing business needs and improve employee career satisfaction and engagement.
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Pervin Shaikh - We all have the necessary inner tools in our tool box to make a huge impact on our personal and professional lives.
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