Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

Job Crafting

Part of Management on the Cutting Edge

Author Benjamin Laker, Lebene Soga, Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun, Adeyinka Adewale
Look inside
Hardcover
$32.95 US
The MIT Press
On sale Apr 23, 2024 | 160 Pages | 9780262048880
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
A practical and timely guide that shows employees how to craft the jobs they want and managers how to shape their organizations in ways that are conducive to such job crafting.

Job Crafting is a rigorous, modern take on job redesign that empowers workers to transform the jobs they have into the ones they want. Through the process of job crafting, a worker proactively alters their job to emphasize tasks that better align with their skills or that allow opportunities to learn new skills, with the help of executives who are willing to transform their organizations into supportive work environments. Offering practical guidance grounded in empirical evidence, British researcher Benjamin Laker and coauthors Lebene Soga, Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun, and Adeyinka Adewale describe the steps necessary for businesses and organizations to facilitate that support.
Rather than passively receive job titles and role descriptions, job crafters harness meaning at work through three primary avenues:
  • exercising greater control over tasks,
  • determining the way tasks are perceived, and
  • shaping social context.
Based on data from a previous study in which structured interviews were conducted with one thousand business leaders and two thousand of their workers around the world, the authors’ clear, four-step framework shows managers how to maximize staff engagement and productivity by building the systems, structures, and processes that empower workers to job craft. As new principles of stewardship, authenticity, and empowerment redefine the old command-and-control leadership approach, and generations Y and Z seek autonomy and purpose at work, job crafting offers a potential silver bullet to many workforce problems. Aimed at managers, executives, scholars, and executive education students, Job Crafting rejuvenates discussions of job design, leaving readers informed and ready to discuss how to improve their performance and satisfaction in all sectors.
Series Foreword vii
Preface: Why This Book? ix
1 Why Job Crafting? 1
2 Cognitive Crafting, Task Crafting, and Relational Crafting 17
3 Readiness for Job Crafting 35
4 Permission to Craft 53
5 Creating a Safe Climate for Job Crafting 71
6 Tools for Job Crafting 81
7 Capacity to Job Craft 101
8 Conclusion 111
Notes 125
Index 139
Benjamin Laker is a former government adviser turned scholar who is currently serving as Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School, University of Reading, and Visiting Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London.

Lebene Richmond Soga is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management Practice at Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University; a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a multi-award-winning academic. His research interests include technology-mediated practices, entrepreneurship ecosystems and leadership. He publishes in high-ranking academic journals and has delivered his insights to government agencies as well as managers at a Fortune-200 organization. His research is featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Forbes, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Global, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, among others. 

Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun is Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at the Global Business School for Health, University College London, as well as a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Her research interests take a cultural perspective of organizations and focus on contexts of diversity and change, exploring interactions in values and meaning systems, social aspects of work, as well as effects of cultural incongruence on the experience of work. Her work has been published in leading journals such as Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Business Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review. She also frequently contributes to published volumes with major publishing houses such as Emerald Publishing and Edward Elgar Publishing.

Adeyinka Adewale is Associate Professor of Leadership Ethics and Entrepreneurship and Director of Studies in the department of Leadership Organisations and Behaviour at the Henley Business School. He is an award-winning researcher, keynote speaker, and global leadership development consultant whose body of work continues to impact organizations, societies, and nations around the world. He is published in both academic and practitioner outlets on themes around Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Ethics. Adeyinka is a member of global think-tanks and continues to serve on the board of exciting start-ups and charities. He has a strong passion to leverage his research and knowledge for building the people that will build enterprises that will change the world for better.
Benjamin Laker View titles by Benjamin Laker
Lebene Soga View titles by Lebene Soga
Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun View titles by Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun
Adeyinka Adewale View titles by Adeyinka Adewale

About

A practical and timely guide that shows employees how to craft the jobs they want and managers how to shape their organizations in ways that are conducive to such job crafting.

Job Crafting is a rigorous, modern take on job redesign that empowers workers to transform the jobs they have into the ones they want. Through the process of job crafting, a worker proactively alters their job to emphasize tasks that better align with their skills or that allow opportunities to learn new skills, with the help of executives who are willing to transform their organizations into supportive work environments. Offering practical guidance grounded in empirical evidence, British researcher Benjamin Laker and coauthors Lebene Soga, Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun, and Adeyinka Adewale describe the steps necessary for businesses and organizations to facilitate that support.
Rather than passively receive job titles and role descriptions, job crafters harness meaning at work through three primary avenues:
  • exercising greater control over tasks,
  • determining the way tasks are perceived, and
  • shaping social context.
Based on data from a previous study in which structured interviews were conducted with one thousand business leaders and two thousand of their workers around the world, the authors’ clear, four-step framework shows managers how to maximize staff engagement and productivity by building the systems, structures, and processes that empower workers to job craft. As new principles of stewardship, authenticity, and empowerment redefine the old command-and-control leadership approach, and generations Y and Z seek autonomy and purpose at work, job crafting offers a potential silver bullet to many workforce problems. Aimed at managers, executives, scholars, and executive education students, Job Crafting rejuvenates discussions of job design, leaving readers informed and ready to discuss how to improve their performance and satisfaction in all sectors.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword vii
Preface: Why This Book? ix
1 Why Job Crafting? 1
2 Cognitive Crafting, Task Crafting, and Relational Crafting 17
3 Readiness for Job Crafting 35
4 Permission to Craft 53
5 Creating a Safe Climate for Job Crafting 71
6 Tools for Job Crafting 81
7 Capacity to Job Craft 101
8 Conclusion 111
Notes 125
Index 139

Author

Benjamin Laker is a former government adviser turned scholar who is currently serving as Professor of Leadership at Henley Business School, University of Reading, and Visiting Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London.

Lebene Richmond Soga is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management Practice at Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University; a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a multi-award-winning academic. His research interests include technology-mediated practices, entrepreneurship ecosystems and leadership. He publishes in high-ranking academic journals and has delivered his insights to government agencies as well as managers at a Fortune-200 organization. His research is featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Forbes, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Global, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, among others. 

Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun is Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at the Global Business School for Health, University College London, as well as a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Her research interests take a cultural perspective of organizations and focus on contexts of diversity and change, exploring interactions in values and meaning systems, social aspects of work, as well as effects of cultural incongruence on the experience of work. Her work has been published in leading journals such as Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Business Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review. She also frequently contributes to published volumes with major publishing houses such as Emerald Publishing and Edward Elgar Publishing.

Adeyinka Adewale is Associate Professor of Leadership Ethics and Entrepreneurship and Director of Studies in the department of Leadership Organisations and Behaviour at the Henley Business School. He is an award-winning researcher, keynote speaker, and global leadership development consultant whose body of work continues to impact organizations, societies, and nations around the world. He is published in both academic and practitioner outlets on themes around Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Ethics. Adeyinka is a member of global think-tanks and continues to serve on the board of exciting start-ups and charities. He has a strong passion to leverage his research and knowledge for building the people that will build enterprises that will change the world for better.
Benjamin Laker View titles by Benjamin Laker
Lebene Soga View titles by Lebene Soga
Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun View titles by Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun
Adeyinka Adewale View titles by Adeyinka Adewale

Additional formats

Other books in this series

Related Articles

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Psychology

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

Psychology
Literature

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

Literature
History Gender and Sexuality Studies

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

History Gender and Sexuality Studies
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)