Crafting Your Job

A job never remains the same. We constantly alter the tasks and activities we do as well as change the people with whom we interact with on a daily basis. Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton, Professors of Management call this 'crafting a job' and define it as 'the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in the task or relational boundaries of their work'.

Take our office cleaner for example. Over the past 9 years that he has cleaned our offices he has come to know us well and vice versa. Without fail he will take the time to have a chat and our relationship has moved from contractual to friendship.

He is a superb example of job crafting. The 'relational boundaries' of his job has changed as he spends more time in our offices than on other floors so that he can have a yarn with whoever is in the office. His tasks have also changed as he comes to our floor as close as possible to 5pm to say hello to staff. He'll also go over and above the call of duty to keep our offices clean. He takes coffee spills personally. He'll dry-clean parts of our carpet without charging. And don't get him started on fingerprints on our glass door.

As a result of this job crafting, his identity and the meaning of his work has changed. For him, it's not just about emptying the bins and vacuuming the carpet each day. He sees himself as an integral part of our business and takes pride in the cleanliness of our office. By altering who he interacts with and subtly changing the tasks and activities undertaken, he has crafted work that is more meaningful and fulfiling.

Job crafting exists whether we are conscious of it or not. It may occur more visibly in some workplaces than others depending on whether employees perceive that there is opportunity to job craft as well as individuals' perceptions toward their work.

Job crafting is neither good nor bad. If job crafting results in work patterns that are aligned with organisational objectives then there may be a benefit to the organisation.

Ultimately, we all strive to increase the satisfaction we derive from work. One way in which we do this is by actively crafting our jobs through task changes and altering our relationships at work. We spend such a significant amount of our life at work, why not enjoy it?

Further Reading
Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. 2001. Crafting a Job: Revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. Academy of Management Review, 26(2): 179.

How much we miss

The story below is copied verbatim from an email that has recently been circulated. If you haven't read this, do so. It's a beautiful story of what is important.

-------------------

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. = Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

-------------