The Effects of Age on Job Crafting: Exploring the Motivations and Behavior of Younger and Older Employees in Job Crafting
Date
2017
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Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
Abstract
Purpose: This paper contributes to the job-crafting theory of Wrzesniewski and Dutton (The Academy of Management Review 26(2):179–201, 2001) by exploring the effects of age on job-crafting behaviors (i.e., task crafting, relational crafting, and cognitive crafting) and on job-crafting motivations (i.e., the need for personal control, the desire to create and sustain a positive self-image, and the need for human connection). Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 younger and 15 older employees (n = 31) at a socially responsible non-profit organization in the Netherlands. The qualitative data were analyzed in two major steps: (1) identifying job-crafting motivations and behaviors in older and younger employees and (2) identifying and comparing the differences in the job-crafting motivations and behaviors between older employees and younger employees. Findings: We found that both older and younger employees are likely to engage in job-crafting behavior to assert control over their jobs and to create a positive self-image. However, younger employees may have two different motivations (personal control and positive self-image) for engaging in such job-crafting behavior. Whereas both younger and older employees engage the most in task crafting, younger employees are more likely to engage in all three types of job-crafting behavior; additionally, we found that the three different forms of job-crafting behavior of younger employees occur in conjunction with one another. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the original job-crafting model of Wrzesniewski and Dutton (The Academy of Management Review 26(2):179–201, 2001) by including the effect of age in the model, and by demonstrating the importance of studying the three original main job-crafting motivations and behaviors separately from one another. Practical implications: This paper addresses the multigenerational challenges of the contemporary workforce. It demonstrates that managers may play a pivotal role in stimulating older employees to engage in job-crafting behaviors by informing them about job-crafting strategies and providing them with more opportunities to engage in job crafting. Originality/value: This paper is original in that it re-examines, refines, and enriches the job-crafting model of Wrzesniewski and Dutton (The Academy of Management Review 26(2):179–201, 2001), which is receiving a growing interest among researchers and business practitioners. © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
Description
This conference paper is not available at CUD collection. The version of scholarly record of this paper is published in Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship as Driving Forces of the Global Economy. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics (2017), available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43434-6_42
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Conference Paper
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Keywords
Age, Job crafting, Motivations, Older employees, Younger employees
Citation
Baroudi, S.E. & Khapova, S.N. (2017). The Effects of Age on Job Crafting: Exploring the Motivations and Behavior of Younger and Older Employees in Job Crafting. In R. Benlamri & M. Sparer (Eds.). Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship as Driving Forces of the Global Economy. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, (pp. 485 – 505). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43434-6_42