A temporal perspective on work design and job crafting

Research on work design has shifted towards a more dynamic direction over the past decades, one in which work design both influences and is influenced by individual work behaviors. By engaging in job crafting, employees redesign their jobs to fit their needs, preferences, abilities, and interests. So far, little is known about the temporal aspects of the dynamics between work design and job crafting, such as how long it takes for the effects of different job crafting behaviors to surface and how long these effects last. The purpose of this chapter is to review literature on work design and job crafting, address their dynamic interplay, and discuss different temporal patterns between job crafting behaviors. Based on this overview, the chapter ends with outlining challenges and suggestions for future research.