Interview by Mika Linse for Vuurwerk magazine
In a rapidly changing labour landscape where the traditional concept of work is constantly evolving, employees are looking for ways to get more satisfaction and meaning out of their professional lives. Searching for a new job is a common solution if you've lost the joy in your work, but another effective solution is job crafting. Job crafting allows employees to actively customise the content of their job to create a work experience that seamlessly matches their individual needs, interests, and skills.
Lack of knowledge makes for bad jobs
Tims researches the way work is shaped by employers and employees, and emphasises that people who design jobs for others often lack knowledge of work design (the creation of work environments that are productive, fulfilling, and motivating for employees). To illustrate this, she cites a study by her Australian colleagues: "In this study, people were asked to design a job for a research assistant. What was the result? People with little knowledge about work design only added tasks to the position that were very similar, namely storing project documents in the right place. The idea behind this was: if you're going to save the documents from 'Project A', then you might as well do the same for 'Project B'. And so a very simple job was created, focused on just one or a few skills. This is the recipe for mental problems: people find it too boring, are limited in their development, experience burnout or leave the organisation." The researchers noticed that organisational psychologists were the people in the study who did create good jobs, precisely by adding enough varied tasks to the job: "That's an interesting finding. If you don't have knowledge of work design, then you generally design poorer quality jobs than people who do have this knowledge. So there is still a lot of room for improvement in this area."
Openness needed for dialogue about good quality work
Tims observes that employees are increasingly taking the initiative to customise their jobs to their own preferences. Tims: "But this doesn't always happen in the right way. Many people craft their jobs without discussing it with their supervisors or colleagues, while it is important to involve them. If you make changes to your job, it can have an impact on the work you do and the work you should be doing, which can burden colleagues with extra work. By being open about this, you can look at how you can adjust your job without it having a negative impact on the people you work with."
On the other hand, the employer also plays an important role in facilitating job crafting, the professor emphasises: "It is important that as an organisation you make initiatives such as job crafting negotiable and not suppress them. The annual performance review between employer and employee is not enough to have knowledge of what is going on with the employee: We can be sharper on that dialogue. A simple “how are you?” is really no longer enough, the employer has to ask about the mental health, resilience and satisfaction of the employee. There must also be room to enter into that dialogue, because as an employee are you going to bring up that you want something different? Or that you're bored? Or that you think the workload is too high? In a closed organisational culture in which people are, for example, reluctant to show weaknesses, it is challenging to raise these questions. If the work can be discussed openly, solutions can also be found so that the job continues to align with the desires of both the employer and employee. In certain cases, the employee can take action through job crafting, and in other cases, the employer may need to find a solution."
Technology skills are becoming more important
You stay engaged longer if you tweak your role and employers keep you on board longer. Job crafting is the skill of the future, but what else can we expect from the changing work environment? "People who can deal with new technologies are becoming increasingly important. Skills such as data analysis, programming, and working with AI tools are becoming increasingly important in various industries and roles. The ability to understand, work with and apply new technologies effectively will provide a clear competitive advantage and create new opportunities in the job market of the future," says Tims.
When it comes to working conditions, Tims thinks it will continue in the same vein. "We are increasingly moving towards hybrid work, more staff is being hired, and more people will be using large platforms like Uber and Deliveroo because they offer a high degree of flexibility. In addition, AI will make many jobs obsolete, but at the same time, many new jobs will also be created. To be able to do new things, people are also needed who invent, build, monitor and make improvements."
HR must continue to educate and think ahead
According to Tims, HR personnel play an essential role in how organisations can best prepare for the changes in the future of work. "Many sectors are constantly changing. HR managers need to be closely involved to stay informed of all the changes that are happening in their industry. This also includes focusing on education and training programmes within organisations, so that employees learn the right skills. This also applies to new skills that are not yet in the organisation, but that may become important in the future. So in order to maintain a competitive advantage, you, as an organization, will need to be attentive and forward-thinking," concludes Tims.
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