Getting Crafty With Employee Engagement

A happy employee is a productive employee. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense that jobs should be designed to accommodate the goals and desires of the worker? 

With the rise in remote working and flexible schedules, people are seeking positions that allow them to “job craft”, or complement their aspirations, general well-being, and professional development goals. This post will help you understand what it means to “craft” a job, and provide insight into the benefits of giving employees more flexibility. 

Flexibility Is Key To Employee Retention

What is Job Crafting? Job crafting is an initiative that helps the employee feel more ownership over their position. An article in the Harvard Business Review suggests that “job crafting” can prevent burnout in the workplace and will lead employees to be more proactive. 

For example, an employee might want a more solid parental leave policy or an unplug rule that allows them to spend evenings after work without their electronic device. Once an employee is trusted with the power to craft their position and boundaries, they will produce better work!

How To Incorporate Job Crafting Into Workforce Development

Task Crafting: According to a study by Gallup, companies that championed job crafting saw a 50% increase in employee engagement. You can engage an employee by aligning their interests with their strengths and creating challenging new projects together. 

Task crafting means altering the ways certain tasks are performed or granting employees the ability to take on more or fewer tasks. If employees feel encouraged to add more meaningful tasks to their daily responsibilities, they will feel more engaged in the workplace, and in turn, produce better work. 

Time Crafting: A study by Zapier found that 95% of U.S. knowledge workers said they wanted to work remotely. Since the coronavirus pandemic we have become more comfortable with remote work, which is not a bad thing! Using remote work to your employee’s advantage will increase retention rates and make for a happier workplace. 

Giving your employees craft their jobs into a more remote position will allow them to spend more time with their family, save money on commuting, and be more productive. 

A New Learning Philosophy For The Workplace

Relationship Crafting: Relationship crafting means forming or redesigning social hierarchies within the workplace. This might mean encouraging employees to interact with other departments or using workforce development methods with a team-building element. 

When employees get to know their coworkers and form relationships with essential stakeholders, they will be more motivated to help others and contribute to workplace morale. 

Purpose Crafting: Without a sense of purpose, it’s difficult for employees to feel invested in a company or a job. Crafting a purpose will help employees think about the impact of the work they do. 

Employees should be encouraged to expand the idea of their role within the company. Once a worker feels that their role is a crucial part of the greater whole, they will try even harder to make the business better. 

The Learning Experience of Job Crafting 

Modern employees expect to find satisfaction in the work they do. Trusting your employees to deliver results no matter where they are working from will result in a more motivated workplace. 

How has job crafting impacted your workforce development goals? What have been the difficulties and victories along the way? Here at WeLearn, we want to hear your thoughts, and start a conversation that will make your business as successful as possible.