Job crafting and well-being in the elderly care sector: the effect of over-commitment

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderation effect of over-commitment in the job crafting–well-being relationship, in the elderly care sector in Spain. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional design was implemented and a final sample of 353 participants were assessed using the Job Crafting Questionnaire, an adaptation of the Over-commitment Scale from the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Findings A positive interaction between relational and task crafting and over-commitment is observed in the prediction of well-being levels. Specifically, the effect of over-commitment in the task crafting–well-being relationship proved to be statistically significant when opposed to low, medium and high levels of over-commitment. Additionally, the effect of over-commitment in the relational crafting–well-being relationship proved to be statistically significant only when opposed to medium and high levels of over-commitment. Finally, a direct and simple effect was observed between cognitive crafting and well-being, not moderated by over-commitment. Research limitations/implications Implementation of non-behavioral measurements, and a non-longitudinal design are suggested. The development of behavioral measures for job crafting is encouraged, along with the implementation of longitudinal designs sensitive to changes in over-commitment. Possible over-commitment results are biased by an economically contracted environment. Practical implications Job crafting training, over-commitment early detection and further research on job crafting strategies’ preferences are suggested. Originality/value The moderating role of over-commitment in the job crafting–well-being relationship in the elderly care sector represents one of these attempts to better understand evidences of how work-related efforts modify a worker’s psychological functioning and adaptation, which is the reason why, specially in contexts of uncertainty, its study becomes relevant.

Cold wind of change: Associations between organizational change, turnover intention, overcommitment and quality of care in Spanish and Swedish eldercare organizations

“…Change initiatives using participatory approaches to managing change, where employees are involved as active agents has also been concluded as important for increasing success rates and reducing negative effects of organizational change (Abildgaard, Nielsen, & Sverke, 2018; Lundmark, von Thiele Schwarz, Hasson, Stenling, & Tafvelin, 2018). In eldercare settings, participatory job crafting activities, where employees drive change to elements of their job, has been concluded positively related to their well‐being (Romeo et al., 2019). Therefore, as there are no signs of the pace of organizational changes being reduced, paying more attention to how the they are managed seems warranted.…”

“…Originally overcommitment was formulated as part of the effort-reward imbalance model and seen as a strategy to handle imbalance between effort and reward (Siegrist et al, 2004). However, overcommitment has also been studied as an independent coping strategy outside the effort-reward imbalance concept (Romeo, Yepes-Baldó, Piñeiro, Westerberg, & Nordin, 2019). Overcommitment is characterized by excessive job involvement and a desire to control a demanding situation and has been associated with a decrease in well-being and health among employees (Siegrist et al, 2004).…”

The influence of job crafting on the quality of care provided by nursing home employees: The moderating effect of organizational identification

“…The JCQ scale is a 15-item instrument that includes three subscales: Cognitive Crafting (JCQ Cognitive; five items; for example, "How often do you remind yourself of the importance of your work for the broader community?" [α = 0.79, Romeo et al, 2019]); Task Crafting (JCQ Task; five items; for example, "How often do you change the scope or types of tasks that you complete at work?" [α = 0.79, Romeo et al, 2019]); and Relational Crafting (JCQ Relational; five items, such as "How often do you make friends with people at work who have similar skills or interests?"…”

“…[α = 0.79, Romeo et al, 2019]); Task Crafting (JCQ Task; five items; for example, "How often do you change the scope or types of tasks that you complete at work?" [α = 0.79, Romeo et al, 2019]); and Relational Crafting (JCQ Relational; five items, such as "How often do you make friends with people at work who have similar skills or interests?" [α = 0.71, Romeo et al, 2019]).…”

When and why skill variety influences employee job crafting

“…Recent studies have suggested that job crafting is widespread across a variety of occupations and that most employees have at least some latitude to sculpt the boundaries of their jobs (Zhang and Parker, 2019). Furthermore, job crafting may produce a number of positive effects, including employee subjective well-being, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work engagement, job performance, and career success (Petrou et al , 2017; Romeo et al , 2019; Wang et al , 2018). In essence, the extant literature suggests that by crafting jobs, employees achieve a better fit between their jobs and themselves and inspire initiative in the workplace (Berg et al , 2013).…”