Fostering Flexibility in the New World of Work: A Model of Time-Spatial Job Crafting

Abstract

In today’s “new world of work,” knowledge workers are often given considerable flexibility regarding where and when to work (i.e., time-spatial flexibility) and this has become a popular approach to redesigning work. Whilst the adoption of such practices is mainly considered a top-down approach to work design, we argue that successful utilization of time-spatial flexibility requires proactivity on the part of the employee in the form of time-spatial job crafting. Previous research has demonstrated that time-spatial flexibility can have both positive and negative effects on well-being, performance, and work-life balance; yet remains mute about the underlying reasons for this and how employees can handle the given flexibility. Drawing on research from work design, we posit that in order for employees to stay well and productive in this context, they need to engage in time-spatial job crafting (i.e., a context-specific form of job crafting that entails reflection on time and place), which can be considered a future work skill. We propose a theoretical model of time-spatial job crafting in which we discuss its components, shed light on its antecedents, and explain how time-spatial job crafting is related to positive work outcomes through a time/spatial-demands fit.

Psychological Impacts of the New Ways of Working (NWW): A Systematic Review

“…Included studies examined these three subcategories of psychological outcomes in a balanced manner: four studies explored cognitive outcomes [ 9 , 10 , 45 , 47 ], six studies explored emotional outcomes [ 9 , 10 , 22 , 46 , 47 , 48 ] and social outcomes [ 9 , 22 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], respectively. Among the cognitive outcomes, job demands were examined in two studies [ 9 , 10 ]; among the emotional outcomes, work engagement was examined in three studies [ 10 , 46 , 48 ], and employee satisfaction was examined in two studies [ 9 , 47 ]; six studies that explored social outcomes focused on communications/interactions/contacts [ 8 , 9 , 22 , 46 , 47 ] and family support [ 45 ]. Lastly, the level of NWW was measured in three studies using a five-item scale developed in collaboration with the organization (α = 0.56−0.84) [ 10 ], a ten-item scale covering the five NWW facets (α = 0.86) [ 46 ], and the total hours spent on: (i) remote access, (ii) working at home, (iii) email, and (iv) phone, which were identified after an HR-manager interview and reviewing the company’s NWW policy (α = 0.70) [ 48 ] ( Table 5 ).…”

“…This relatively new trend is called “New Ways of Working (NWW)” [ 6 ]. Organizations implementing NWW are characterized by a mixture of temporal flexibility (variation in the numbers of hours worked and the timing of the work; e.g., flexitime [ 7 ]), and spatial flexibility (allowing work tasks to be carried out outside the office, such as at home [ 8 ]). Therefore, NWW is commonly regarded as a work style that is flexible in time and location, supported by: (i) active use of ICT and (ii) management with clearly defined targets [ 9 ].…”

An identity-based integrative needs model of crafting: Crafting within and across life domains.

“…• Job Satisfaction and Engagement o Increasing resources and decreasing demands (Dierdorff & Jensen, 2018;Nielsen et al, 2017) • Job Satisfaction and Engagement o Informal work accommodations to family (Behson, 2002) • Job Satisfaction and Engagement o Increasing resources and decreasing demands (Demerouti et al, 2015;Nielsen & Abildgaard, 2012;Petrou et al, 2017;Tims et al, 2012) o Approach resource crafting (Bruning & Campion, 2018) o Self-initiated short break (Kühnel. Vahle-Hinz, De Bloom, & Syrek, 2017) o Authentically expressing personal identities at work (Cable, Gino, Staats, 2013) • Job Performance and Creativity o Time-spatial crafting (Wessels et al, 2019) o Informal work accommodations to family (Behson, 2002 Note: → = influences. * = longitudinal study with time lag between variables.…”

Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life

“…Consequently, it is not always the job itself but the meaning you give to it that is important (Demerouti et al, 2015). It is also important to think about when and where you do each particular task, in order to manage your daily energy (Wessels et al, 2019). It should be noted, however, that it is also important to see work in relation to other areas of life.…”

“…Indeed, people may have more influence on their own life than they think. Studies have already shown the beneficial effects of both job crafting-where employees actively reframe their work physically, cognitively, and socially (e.g., Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001;Demerouti, 2014;Vogt et al, 2016;Wessels et al, 2019)-and leisure crafting (Petrou and Bakker, 2016;Vogel et al, 2016;Petrou et al, 2017). A recent study by Demerouti et al (2019) suggested that the beneficial implications of job crafting transcend life boundaries, which the authors state have also consequences in terms of experiencing meaning in life.…”