Active employees in the future workplace: From job crafting to selfergetic job crafting

Abstract

The job crafting theory implies, but does not explicitly present the relationship between the self and the job. To fill the gap, we theorize upon the holistic view of the self, and selfergy, a new concept reflecting the unique manner by which employees craft their jobs. Based on the principles of the self‐determination theory, we have advanced the job crafting theory by incorporating the concept of ‘selfergy’ to capture the integration of the self in the job crafting process. We conducted an inductive qualitative study, based on the Gioia methodology, consisted of 29 semi‐structured interviews, within the field of education. The findings highlight that selfergy is a bi‐dimensional concept manifested through personalized crafting and self‐revelation. It is immersed in all job crafting forms (cognitive, task, relationship) and further expressed as selfergetic job crafting. By adopting a sensemaking approach, we present a process model that shows the transition from cognitive to behavioral crafting and the way selfergy is integrated within those. The study introduces the role of emerging themes in the job crafting theory, such as the role of practical wisdom and other/me orientations in the judgment phase as well as the outcome of the personal mark. The findings shed light on the importance of selfergy at work and provide insights to facilitate employees' transition to the selfergetic job crafting process. The outcomes are applicable to the education sector, as well as others with deeper ethical, emotional, and societal implications enabling employees to align with the requirements of the future workplace.