Today I was listening to one of my favorite NPR podcasts, Hidden Brain, where Shankar Vedantam interviewed Amy Wrzesniewski, professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale University. Episode 25: Dream Jobs, described Amy’s research of job crafting, a method that employees use to bring meaning and purpose to their work.

In the podcast, Amy spoke about her research and provided examples including how two people with the exact same job title/description, working for the same organization, can view their work in such disparate ways. One employee, takes their work very literal, describing the tasks they must complete, while the other attaches meaning, goes the extra mile, and creates new boundaries for their position. Therefore the second employee is more satisfied in the work that they do.

So, what is job crafting?

“…what employees do to redesign their own jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving.” (Berg, Wrzesniewski, & Dutton, 2010).

This happens in 3 ways: crafting the type of tasks you do, crafting the types of relationships you foster (clients and/or colleagues), and how one brings meaning and purpose to their job.

This also provides benefits to the employer, as research shows more engaged employees increases productivity, personal wellbeing and drives organizational growth. (Gallup, 2013)

What resonated the most with me is a reaffirmation of my belief, there’s no such thing as a dream job, and how it is up to us to make the most of every situation we are given. It is up to us to take ownership of our choices, live in the present, and create opportunities for ourselves and others.

Aligning your personal/career goals, the organization’s goals, and making the best possible environment for you, your clients, and coworkers, will cause everyone as a whole to thrive.

As Amy describes, some of us will chase that “dream job” like a unicorn, and some will find their calling and purpose that way. However, another approach of job satisfaction is to craft our jobs to be what we want. This is a productive and practical way of constructing the position you already have to make it more meaningful in your everyday life.

Reflecting back, you may have already engaged in job crafting activities yourself: expanding what you do, finding meaning in your work, or even restricting your job description and delegating work activities that are not a core essential of your position. For me, creativity, communication and design are important pieces of my overall personal interests.  I have crafted my position in career development to include more social media engagement, collaborating with our marketing, graphics and digital team, and have the ability to create my own programs and events. These activities increase my job satisfaction and enhances the overall mission of our department as it brings new and innovative ways to connect and engage with our alumni.

For career counselors, it is important to communicate with our clients to explore the options they have with their current positions and situations. Understanding that job crafting happens in all work environments, even the most seemingly restrictive environments, and to think creatively about our job responsibilities, transforming them to give meaning and purpose in our career and life.

Start making the most of your job, today and every day!

Cover image credited to gapingvoid