Rearranging instead of moving out: What's behind job crafting

Quitting, doing time, going home frustrated every evening: If you are permanently dissatisfied with your own professional environment, you can do exactly that. Or try job crafting.

It just doesn't feel right or no longer feels right: The job isn't fun, bores, frustrates or you just don't care anymore. Quite a few people are dissatisfied at work. Some then stay in jobs - and resign internally. Others see actual resignation as the only way out. It can happen that they move from job to job without really increasing their satisfaction in the medium or long term. Job crafting can be a solution to this problem.

"This is a method from work and organizational psychology that involves actively shaping your own job," says Hamburg-based career consultant and psychologist Ragnhild Struss. She is convinced that there is the right job for everyone, "where you can really be yourself, enjoy contributing your own potential and be appreciated for it".

Interior designer of your own job

Career coach Volker Klärchen draws this comparison: those who engage in job crafting act as "interior designers for their own job". Instead of moving straight away, i.e. resigning, you redesign your work so that it suits you.

Job crafting as a new fad? Struss, who has written a book on the subject ("How to learn to love your work again with job crafting"), disagrees. Job crafting is neither a trend nor a privilege of the few. Rather, it is a key competence of the future world of work that everyone can benefit from: "Satisfied employees are more motivated and more productive, which leads to lower absenteeism and reduced fluctuation - both economic factors that should not be underestimated," says Struss.

Small changes don't always help

The approach to job crafting is as follows: "You sit down quietly and reflect on your own job," explains Klärchen. What is important? What am I missing? Which tasks would I like to do more of, which would I like to give up? Often, even small changes can have a big impact. Struss gives an example: employees who find it harder to concentrate in an open-plan office and therefore feel more stressed can remedy the situation by changing their office space or working from home.

Sometimes the problem lies deeper. It may then be helpful to take a comprehensive look at your own life situation. Struss describes this case: an employee's values and priorities have shifted since he became a father a year ago. Through analysis, he realizes that the tasks and responsibilities of his job no longer match his demands for meaning and sustainability, which are playing an increasingly important role for him.

The solution could perhaps look like this: He gives up tasks in one area in order to promote the topic of sustainability in the company with new projects in another area - and thus work in line with his values again.

Taking responsibility

Anyone who has gained more clarity about what they want and don't want in their job should always start by talking to their manager about their own wishes. "As soon as both sides are in agreement, it's time to get the other team members on board," says Klärchen. According to him, however, it must also be clear: Job crafting gives you freedom, but also responsibility. "It's difficult to turn everything back if you realize that the old tasks were better than the new ones after all," says Klärchen.

However, job crafting is not always the best solution. "In some cases, the situation is so entrenched that no matter how well planned and executed the job crafting process is, it doesn't lead to an increase in satisfaction," explains Struss. In such cases, dismissal is unavoidable. But the bottom line is that job crafting is always worthwhile. "Because it teaches you what you need to be happy and healthy at work," says Struss.

Don't rush things

According to the career coach, however, there are life situations in which there is hardly any energy left to devote to this process. This could be when you are in the middle of a divorce, have to come to terms with a serious loss or are suffering from health problems. In this case, you should focus on these areas first and only sort out your work situation later.

However, the dissatisfaction is not always to do with work. "Some people discover during the job-crafting analysis that their private life needs to be organized differently or that the relationship situation is a constant drain on energy," says Struss. Those affected should then make changes in other areas of their lives. "This could be a different type of childcare, couples therapy or even a new hobby," says Struss. All things that bring more joy back into life and provide balance.