The Role of Work-Related Needs in the Relationship Between Job Crafting, Burnout and Engagement has a focus on the role that employees can play in adjusting to their work demands through job crafting. The intent of the research completed by Travaglianti et al. (2016) is to investigate how the concept of Needs Supply (N-S) fit, a sub-category of a larger series of value's-fit concepts that include Person-Organization (P-O) fit, Person Group (P-G) fit, Person Situation (P-S) fit, Person Job (P-J) fit, and Person Supervisor (P-S) fit, might affect retention and motivation for employees at organizations. N-S fit is a direct subset of P-J fit along with Demands Ability (D-A) fit. These two sub-categories of P-J fit focus directly on what the authors argue is a key employee fit marker.
N-S fit and the ability for the employee to change their job through Job Crafting (JC) is related to psychological needs fulfillment and "is related to well-being at work and positive employee attitudes" (Travaglianti et al., 2016, p. 2). Additionally, Burn Out (BO) and Worker Engagement (WE) can be affected by a greater focus on JC by employees. Specifically, the author's hypothesis is that workers engaged in JC behaviors will proactively modify their job to increase the fit between their specific work-related needs and their current job characteristics (Travaglianti et al., 2016, p. 4). The intent is to increase WE and decrease BO for workers. The philosophy and worldview of Travaglianti et al., (2016) are expressed when they write "individuals who can choose a working environment in congruence with their personal characteristics will experience more positive work-related outcomes (p. 1).
The theories that the authors focus on include not just self-determination theory (SDT) and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theorizing that "individuals will perceive high employment quality if, for example, their needs for safety, income, security, and skills development are fulfilled" (Travaglianti et al., 2016, p. 2). To determine this among their participants the authors conducted a qualitative (passive) computer-based survey/ questionnaire delivered to 1500 respondents in the federal public service sector/bureaucrats, within the Belgian national government.
This is significant in that if a direct relationship can be proven between job crafting and person-job fit or needs supply fit, then the authors argue that individual outcomes can reduce burnout syndrome and increase worker engagement. This can have a positive result in terms of employee retention and potentially decrease the turnover within an organization with high employee turnover. Travaglianti et al., (2016) highlight the importance of job crafting to job fit and to worker engagement when they state "individuals adopt such proactive behaviours in order to match with their ability and needs and thus to increase the fit between themselves and their environment" (p. 3).
The author's "study provides empirical evidence of the underlying mechanisms between JC and individual outcomes, but also of the role of JC behaviours in proactively modifying the nature of the job in order to match with workers’ needs and desires" (Travaglianti et al., 2016, p. 9). One specific recommendation that the authors make is that "managers should, for example, ensure more job autonomy and increase interactions. In this way, employees may be able to modify their job demands and their job resources to match with their own needs and abilities, in order to increase their well-being at work" (Travaglianti et al., 2016, p. 9).
Comparing the theories within Travaglianti et al. (2016) with adult learning theories, Knowles et al. (2005) state that "Maslow emphasized the importance of safety (p. 70) and "Maslow, with his conception of self-actualization as the ultimate aim of learning, also sees goal formation as a highly dynamic process occurring through the interaction of the learner with his experience (p. 128). Finally, Knowles et al. (2005) expounding on the idea of safety for the individual writes that with safety comes the "tendency to go on to richer, more complex experiences, and accomplishments int eh same sector" (p. 47) and that this can lead to a greater sense of capability, mastery, and esteem.
In a manner similar to Travaglianti et al., (2016), McCulloch and Turban (2007) look at similar factors in the role of how to select candidates. The contrast is, that McCulloch and Turban (2007) want to stop employees who are not a good fit for the organization from becoming employed, while Travaglianti et al., (2016) are looking at how the employee can affect change within themselves and their roles to make values fit within their organization. Other articles, such as Boon and Biron (2016) focus on how other influences can impact the role of the employee and the P-J fit and how that might affect turnover. Miller and Young (2020) have a similar focus, on ensuring that employees who are not a good values fit, or who do not have value congruence with an organization do not get hired by that organization. This focus on outside influences is unique in the studies of P-O fit theory as most of the articles reviewed for this project have been more introspective and focused on an employee's ability to change themselves, based on the theory of self-determination theory.
The Travaglianti et al., (2016) article although intensive in their investigation of job crafting on needs supply fit, is worthwhile in terms of employees being able to change their environment to meet their needs and to match their abilities to the demands of the job. Other articles, however, tend to look more at how outside influences can affect the employee's relationship with the job, the leader in some cases, and recruiters in others. Finding ways to recruit more effectively is worthy in terms of keeping organizations healthy and functioning, but finding ways that employees can change their own capabilities, to adjust their abilities to the demands of the job, can provide another, potentially more effective, check against burnout and a miss-match of values between organizations and employees.
References
Arthur, W., Jr, Bell, S. T., Villado, A. J., & Doverspike, D. (2006). The use of person-organization fit in employment decision making: an assessment of its criterion-related validity. The Journal of applied psychology, 91(4), 786–801. https://doi-org.er.lib.k-state.edu/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.786Links to an external site.
Boon, C., & Biron, M. (2016). Temporal issues in person-organization fit, person-job fit and turnover: The role of leader-member exchange. Human Relations; Studies towards the Integration of the Social Sciences, 69(12), 2177–2200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726716636945Links to an external site.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2005). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (6th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.
McCulloch, M. C., & Turban, D. B. (2007). Using person-organization fit to select employees for high-turnover jobs. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15(1), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2007.00368.xLinks to an external site.
Miller, J. M., & Youngs, P. (2021). Person-organization fit and first-year teacher retention in the United States. Teaching and Teacher Education, 97(103226), 103226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103226Links to an external site.
Travaglianti, F., Babic, A., & Hansez, I. (2016). The role of work-related needs in the relationship between job crafting, burnout and work engagement. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v42i1.1308.
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