Abstract
Job crafting handler om endringer ansatte på eget initiativ foretar i deres jobbressurser og jobbkrav for å bedre tilpasse jobben egne behov, preferanser og personlige (arbeids) mål. Hensikten med denne studien er å evaluere modellen job crafting empirisk og i lys av norske arbeidsforhold. Job crafting ble konseptualisert innenfor rammeverket til jobbkrav-ressurs-modellen. Denne studien baserer seg på en reanalyse av intervjudata fra 30 ansatte i en norsk kunnskapsintensiv virksomhet. Deltakerne fikk åpne SWOT-baserte spørsmål om arbeidsmiljøet. Det ble foretatt to deduktive analyser av intervjuutsagnene for å analysere job crafting. I den første analysen ble utsagnene kodet på fire dimensjoner av job crafting; (1) øke strukturelle jobbressurser, (2) øke sosiale jobbressurser, (3) redusere hindrende jobbkrav og (4) øke utfordrende jobbkrav. Totalt kunne 7% av utsagnene knyttes til innholdet i job crafting dimensjonene. Av disse kunne flest utsagn knyttes til å øke jobbressurser, dernest redusere hindrende jobbkrav. Få utsagn kunne knyttes til å øke utfordrende jobbkrav. Videre representerte job crafting relaterte utsagn i de fleste tilfeller styrker og muligheter ved arbeidsmiljøet, noe som gir indikasjoner på at job crafting aktiviteter i hovedsak vurderes som noe positivt. I den andre deduktive analysen ble temaene i en 21-punkts job crafting skala kodet på intervjuutsagnene. Denne analysen viste at temaene i job crafting skala ikke evnet å fange opp alle utsagn som kunne knyttes til job crafting. Job crafting relaterte utsagn som ikke kunne knyttes til tema i skalaen handlet oftest om det emosjonelle aspektet ved sosial støtte. Denne studien bidrar til forskningen på job crafting ved å (1) vise at job crafting aktiviteter forekommer i en norsk kunnskapsintensiv virksomhet, og (2) ved å vise at job crafting skala sannsynligvis mangler en sentral komponent (emosjonell støtte). På bakgrunn av sistnevnte anbefales mer forskning på innholdet i job crafting skala. Nøkkelord: Job crafting, job crafting skala, deduktiv analyse, arbeidsmiljø, jobbkrav-ressurs-modellen.
Job crafting is about the self-initiated changes that employees make in their own job demands and job resources to better align their jobs with their own needs, preferences and personal (work) goals. The purpose of this study is to evaluate job crafting empirically and in the light of Norwegian working conditions. Job crafting was conceptualized within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources model. This study is based on a re-analysis of interviews from a sample of 30 employees from a Norwegian knowledge-intensive organization. The participants received open-ended SWOT-based questions about their work environment. Two deductive analyses of the interview statements were conducted to analyze job crafting. In the first analysis the interview statements were coded on four dimensions of job crafting; (1) increasing structural job resources, (2) decreasing hindering job demands, (3) increasing social job resources, and (4) increasing challenging job demands. This analysis revealed that 7 % of the overall statements could be categorized on the four job crafting dimensions. Most of these statements could be categorized on increasing social and structural job resources, followed by decreasing hindering demands. Few statements could be categorized on increasing challenging demands. Furthermore, the statements related to job crafting could in most cases be categorized as strengths and opportunities, thus it is likely that job crafting activities primarily are viewed as something positive. In the second deductive analysis the 21 items in a job crafting scale were coded on the interview statements. This analysis revealed that the items in the scale did not manage to capture all the statements that could be categorized on the job crafting dimensions, and that most of these statements were related to the emotional aspect of social support. This study contributes to the research on job crafting by (1) demonstrating that job crafting activities occur in a Norwegian knowledge-intensive organization, and (2) by revealing that it is probable that the job crafting scale is missing a central component (emotional support). Based on the latter, further research on the components in the job crafting scale is of recommendation. Key words: Job crafting, job crafting scale, deductive analysis, work environment, Job Demands-Resources model