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Leadership Blog Series: Bring Meaning and Joy to the Employee Experience Through Job Crafting

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Written by Sharri Margraves, Director for HR Organization and Professional Development 

Leaders who understand their role in bringing out the best in their employees make a significant impact on the employee experience, with a positive employee experience now requiring increased effort to recruit, retain and engage. Employees have become less accepting of doing things that may not make sense to them (what is the purpose?), and they will leave organizations to find a better fit.

Job crafting is a practical way to influence the engagement of employees to respond to organizational change more positively, be happier and have greater meaning in all the roles they perform. In turn, the positive experience can enhance the level of innovation, care, service, and productivity for clients, students, and customers.

Think about the explosion in the “craft” economy: beer, distilled spirits, bespoke “fill-in-the-blank.” That tailored experience makes us feel good and allows us to feel greater control and empowerment over some aspects of our lives— especially important when we live in a world that is anything but predictable.

What is job crafting?

The concept of job crafting isn’t all that different from other aspects of the craft economy. Job crafting is an aspect of empowerment that helps employees tailor their work to what brings them joy, adds to their experience and enhances the organization. According to research conducted over the past twenty years, job crafting — in the forms of task, relationship, and cognitive crafting — may be a critical element of engagement and job satisfaction, particularly in today’s workplace.

Task crafting â€“ Changing up responsibilities. Improving the steps, timing, or sequencing of the tasks that make up your job to improve it in some way.

Example: Palmer, a customer service specialist, thought there could be an easier way to get the necessary information from customers. They set up a simple power form to capture key information in a consistent manner. Now there is a simple tracking system with all the key information leading to better resolution with improved response time, enhancing both the employee and customer experience.

Relationship crafting â€“ Changing up interactions. Building relationships around aspects that are important to you with people you would not normally work with.

Example: Jody, a project lead, sought out other employees who were interested in mentoring new employees. She was engaged with the idea and participated in the task force which helped her connect with others from across the organization.

Cognitive crafting â€“ Changing your mindset. Reframing the work to see how the value of the work contributes positively to the organization, the people, or greater society.

Example: Parker, a custodian, understood that his job involved a lot of repetition and was not glamorous. However, if he did not do his job, students could become ill or injured, might feel down about the environment at school or believe they were unimportant to the leaders at their school. By maintaining a safe and pleasant environment, he adjusts his thinking to focus on his incredible influence on the health and well-being of the students — contributing toward their success and helping them to graduate.

The leader’s role in job crafting

As a leader, you can initiate and facilitate the job crafting concept, asking employees for their thoughts and ideas. Design jobs (and job descriptions) that leave room for crafting. Demonstrate an openness to feedback and new ideas. Often, we overlook the true nature of our work and the meaning and joy we can derive from it. A little encouragement from you — and modeling the way — may just make the difference.

Leaders are in a unique position to not only foster beneficial job crafting in their employees but to practice crafting in their own roles to potentially impact numerous employees. Making small changes to your own job can have larger impacts on your organization as well.

Find additional resources to get you started below and reach out to HR’s Organization and Professional Development department at prodev@hr.msu.edu if you’d like further ideas. After you’ve had a chance to introduce job crafting to your own position and team, I’d love to hear your feedback. Contact me directly at margrave@hr.msu.edu to let me know how job crafting is working for you.

Recommended Resources

Note: all names used above are pseudonyms.

Sources

Carucci, R., Shappell, J. (2020). How to job craft as a team. https://hbr.org/2020/03/how-to-job-craft-as-a-team?ab=at_art_art_1x1

Dutton, J.E., Wrzesniewski, A., (2020). What job crafting looks like. Harvard Business Review. March 12, 2020. https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-job-crafting-looks-like

Wrzesniewski, A., LoBuglio, N., Dutton, J., and Berg, J.M., (2013). Job crafting and cultivating positive meaning and identity in work. Advances in Positive Organizational Psychology, Volume 1, 281–302.

Job of the Week: Analyst — Workstation & Mobility Service

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This week’s featured job from MSU Human Resources is an Analyst — Workstation and Mobility Service position (posting 755098) in the department of IT Client Experience through MSU Information Technology Services.

The selected candidate will provide operational coordination for the “workstation and mobility services” (WMS) within the MSUIT team. Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, maintaining security standards on WMS devices, utilizing software imaging programs for security and technical support, and assisting support projects for technical needs. This support staff position will uphold the guarantee of MSU IT: to be responsible for the primary leadership in financial, strategic, and policy initiatives affecting information technology across MSU. For a complete list of responsibilities, click here. 

Applicants interested in this role must have knowledge equivalent to the completion of a college degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or an IT related field. One to three years of related work experience may also be necessary, but an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. The desired qualifications for this position include experience working with vendors, experience managing workstations in both Windows and iOS, the ability to work collaboratively, and the ability to consistently meet deadlines. An ITIL certification is also desired. 

Learn more about MSU Information Technology Services at https://tech.msu.edu/. Read more about this position and apply with a resume and cover letter by January 18 here. All the latest job postings can be found at careers.msu.edu. 

Register for an Upcoming Virtual Professional Development Course!

Published on by Megan MacGregorLeave a comment

Whether you’ve jumped into the new year with a list of goals to work on or need a little inspiration, HR Organization and Professional Development (OPD) has a variety of online, live courses to help you. Find a list of upcoming courses sorted by topic below.

Additionally, OPD wants to know your training preferences for the upcoming year. Complete this short questionnaire to help us ensure we’re best meeting your learning and development needs.

Business Analysis

Promapp, Interactive Process Creation – February 2 
Learners will continue their process improvement journey and build upon the knowledge and skills learned in Introduction to Process Mapping. 

Communication

Conflict Management and Non-Escalation: Train the Trainer – Starts January 19 
The goal of this course is to prepare participants to be able to provide instruction on the Vistelar proven methods to help others address the challenges of dealing with conflict and crisis. 

Crucial Conversations – Starts February 8 
Learn how to hold crucial conversations – where emotions and stakes are high and opinions vary. 

Finance and Accounting

Vendors in KFS – February 22 
This class will cover the various types of vendors in KFS and when to use them, how to add and edit a vendor, including documentation required, and tips on searching for a vendor.  

Human Resources

Certified Human Resources Specialist – Starts February 1 
In this five-class series, you will acquire an extensive set of reference materials and resources while building your professional HR network. 

Mitigating Bias in Hiring – February 10 
Learn about best practices and procedures for reducing potential bias in the screening and interview process and obtain tools for increasing understanding and self-awareness. 

Leadership

Engaging Teams for Maximum Performance – January 25 
Learn methods of building trust, setting goals and providing feedback to help enhance employee engagement and working relationships. 

New Leader Development Series – Starts January 18 
Apply now  to join the next cohort of the new, nine-session NLDS. Kicking off January 18, this program equips new leaders with a toolkit of crucial knowledge and resources. 

Strategic Planning – February 17 
Participants will gain a foundational base for implementing strategic planning in a unit.

Management

Building Cohesive Teams – January 26 
Learn methods for building collaboration within a team and skills for influencing team performance. 

Operations

Records Management and Retention at MSU – February 23 
Learn the rules, regulations, and strategies to help manage university records. 

Professional Development

Creating and Sustaining a Positive Workplace – February 15 
This course provides humorous insight into the seven habits of negativity, including tips to stop gossip, techniques for getting along with others, and strategies to reap the many benefits of a positive and engaged workforce. 

Everything DiSC®: Behavior Styles at Work – January 27 
Learn how to build more effective working relationships based on an understanding of different behavioral styles. 

The Power of Habit – February 16  
Learn how habits are created and how to replace undesirable habits with productive ones. 

Ready, Set, Change! – January 26 
This interactive and engaging course is appropriate for anyone responsible for implementing and guiding change in their organizations, such as leaders, project managers and their team members, HR professionals and more. 

You can find all the current virtual Organization and Professional Development courses on the HR website. Class enrollment is completed within the EBS Portal. Employees may use available educational assistance funds towards course fees (if any). 

Job of the Week: Library Assistant II

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This week’s featured job from MSU Human Resources is a support staff position for MSU Libraries–Library Assistant II (posting 752784). Apply today to join MSU Libraries, a leader among international research libraries and the center of academic life at MSU. They strive to build an accessible, enriching environment for researchers and learners on campus and around the world. 

The selected candidate will perform detailed bibliographic verification for English and foreign language materials for purchasing and processing and provide bibliographic access to materials requiring detailed processing. They will also perform data entry, record maintenance, and process mail. 

Applicants interested in this role should have completed at least one year of college or business school education. Work or educational experience required includes the ability to type 45 words per minute, record keeping, web page editing, and more. This role may also require the ability to identify information or read and translate one or more foreign languages. 

Learn more about MSU Libraries at https://lib.msu.edu/. Read more about the position here and apply with a resume and cover letter by December 28. All the latest job postings can be found at careers.msu.edu. 

woman sitting at a desk and writing in a notebook.

Common Work-Related Goals with Resources to Help You Achieve Them

Published on by Megan MacGregorLeave a comment

As we say goodbye to another year filled with unexpected challenges, now is a great time to take stock of how you’re feeling at work and pinpoint areas you’d like to improve on or change. If you don’t know where to focus your time, start by reading What’s Your Plan: Six Steps to Align Your Goals with What’s Important to You. You’ll learn how creating a personal strategic plan can provide a “vision and structure for your professional life and an anchor for you to connect with during periods of change.”

Sometimes, we set goals that may sound good on paper but aren’t super meaningful on a personal level, which sets us up for failure or significant stress as we try to achieve them. Take some time to clarify what you value most – such as life/work integration, better time management, or meaningful work – so you can focus your time strategically and succeed.

Common Work-Related Goals:

Review the common work-related goals below to see if any resonate with you and use the articles and learning opportunities provided to help you reach them.

What would you like to work on this year? I’d like to…

As you think about what you want to work on in the coming year and beyond, consider tying them to your Performance Excellence goals (for support staff). For more information about how to set yourself up for success as you identify goals, check out this When SMART Meets HARD: Setting Goals that Matter article. 

Job of the Week: Research Integrity Officer

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This week’s featured job from MSU Human Resources is an internal posting for a Research Integrity Officer (posting 749396) in the Office of Research and Innovation. This is an internal search–only current MSU tenured full professors are eligible to apply.

The selected professor will be in charge of research oversight, including abiding by uniform policies and procedures for investigating and reporting instances of alleged or apparent misconduct involving research and related activities. They will coordinate the procedures and be responsible for their fair and impartial administration of research misconduct allegations. When requested, they will provide logistical support, recruit expert witnesses, and arrange for legal advice for misconduct hearings. Other tasks include but are not limited to informing the Provost when there is a new misconduct case and being present at workshops and training events on responsible conduct of research to promote key issues on research integrity. For a complete list of responsibilities, click here. 

The MSU professor chosen for this position would ideally be from the Biomedical Sciences or STEM discipline. Familiarity with grants from federal agencies that fund projects at MSU and understanding of principles of procedural fairness and investigative processes for complaints and allegations of misconduct will be taken into consideration. 

Learn more about the Office of Research and Innovation at https://rio.msu.edu/. Read more about the posting and learn how to apply here. The review of applications begins on January 4, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. All the latest job postings can be found at careers.msu.edu. 

View of the back of a person who is viewing a wall with many pieces of paper hanging on it. The papers contain text and images including graphs, sketches of project ideas, and infographics.

Turn the Job You Have Into the Job You Want with Job Crafting

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What if your supervisor told you that you don’t have to do the job you were hired to do?

We often think of our job as being constrained within the rigid framework of our position description, but these days, with rapid change and shifting expectations now the norm, many roles can’t adapt quickly enough to remain relevant…nor to keep employees inspired and fulfilled at work.

When it comes to work, the way to find fulfillment may be to change how you work, not what you do. Every one of us has our own ideas, natural strengths and a desire to learn new things. Job crafting — a mindset and skill — allows you to shape and redefine your current role in ways that can foster job satisfaction, increased engagement, and greater resilience and thriving at work.

What job crafting is (and what it isn’t)

Traditional job design theory focuses on a top-down process of supervisors designing jobs for their employees. Oftentimes, employees are naturally motivated to customize their roles to better fit their motives, strengths and passions. Job crafting is a way to engage with this process with purpose and intention, utilizing opportunities to actively adjust your tasks and interactions with others.

You still must contribute toward your organization achieving its objectives. You still must complete your work in order to get paid. However, with job crafting, your work will feel more meaningful.

Job crafting is not a one-time event

Job crafting is a fluid process that you engage in over time. It typically falls into three stages.

  1. You’re motivated to craft your job due to one or more factors. For example,
    • a desire for more control of your job or greater meaning for your work
    • a need for meaningful interactions with the people who benefit from your work
    • fulfillment of your passion for an occupation other than your current role
  2. You identify any available crafting opportunities and enact one or more ways of crafting your job, actively adjusting one or more of the following areas:
    • Processes: the number, type or nature of your work tasks
    • People: your interactions with others
    • Purpose: your perception of your work
  3. The crafting techniques you employed then lead to associated outcomes, including:
    • Changes to the meaning of your work and your work identity
      • alignment with personal expectations
      • fulfillment of a valued identity
    • Positive experiences
      • achievement
      • enjoyment
      • meaning
    • Resilience
      • increased competence
      • personal growth
      • ability to cope with future adversity

The 3 Ps: Process, People and Purpose

When job crafting, you’ll want to spend time focusing on step #2 above, particularly taking time to examine if and how you can adjust the “three Ps” of Process, People and Purpose.

Process

Have you ever complained about not enjoying your job and received a response along the lines of, “Of course you don’t like it. That’s why it’s called work?” Yes, there will likely always be aspects of your job that feel boring or mundane, but having a negative attitude toward your work quickly leads to feelings of burnout and disappointment.

Instead, seek out the purpose in your work. Try taking the initiative to bring an exciting new task — no matter how large or small — into your work.

Consider: How do I use my strengths to bring more of myself into my work?

People

Although you typically can’t choose your coworkers, you may still be able to re-craft the quality of your relationships with them. One idea? Share a story of gratitude to build connectivity. Write an email to a colleague describing a memory of a time they used their strengths and skills to make a special contribution to your work or your organization. Be sure to include a lot of details.

Consider: How can I improve my relationships at work so they are more inspiring? How can I interact more with colleagues who inspire me, rather than detract from my quality of life?

Purpose

Don’t wait for someone else — whether it’s your supervisor or your stakeholders — to give you a sense of purpose at work. Purpose is about understanding your impact on others, and developing a story about why you do what you do. Your purpose is a story you tell yourself, and you have the power to craft that story.

For each of your work tasks, ask yourself, “Why do I do this?” You may find you aren’t inspired by your answers. If that’s the case, try to personalize the purpose of each task to discover its larger meaning and purpose.

Consider: What story do I tell myself about why I do my job? How can I make the narrative more inspiring?

Discover the value and meaning of your work

You may assume work satisfaction is primarily about what you do, but more often than not, it’s also related to how you do it. Job crafting can help you learn to see value and meaning in all aspects of your work.

Annie McKee, author of How to Be Happy at Work, explains, “Happiness at work comes from the inside out. It’s something we create for ourselves. A lot of people will lose or leave a job and go somewhere else and find that they’re just as unhappy.”

Take the time to apply job crafting principles, and you may discover that your current job offers greater meaning and satisfaction than you thought. Resources to help you get started with this process are included below, and MSU HR’s Organization and Professional Development department can also offer further guidance at prodev@hr.msu.edu.

Recommended Resources

Sources

https://hbr.org/2021/02/turn-your-boring-job-into-a-job-youll-love

https://medium.com/big-self-society/how-to-be-happier-at-work-without-changing-your-job-3050c8ba4e61

https://positivepsychology.com/job-crafting/

https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/What-is-Job-Crafting-and-Why-Does-it-Matter1.pdf

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Leadership Blog Series: New Leadership Library and Leader Development Resources

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Whether new to a supervisory role or a long-time manager, the best leaders are lifelong learners adaptable to change and flexible in their leadership style. The ongoing changes and unknowns brought on by COVID-19 have made it particularly clear that leaders must embrace the complexity of their roles, which demands new ideas and strategies to stay fresh and ahead of the curve.

Earlier this year, a small workgroup was formed at MSU to explore the learning development needs of those who find themselves leading in this “new normal.” The group identified the need for an easily accessible collection of relevant and applicable self-directed learning resources on a wide range of topics. To assist leaders in navigating challenges and handling their responsibilities with confidence, an online Leadership Library was created in August 2021.

Visit the new, online Leadership Library.

One member of the workgroup, Cindi Leverich, Director of Academic Leadership Development in the Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development, explains, “As leaders continue to navigate the changing world of work, it is important to have a range of resources available in multiple modalities. The Leadership Library provides busy individuals a convenient list of articles, videos, and workshops on topics key to developing and supporting remote and hybrid teams.”

Updated regularly, the Leadership Library highlights curated content related to timely topics. Ideas for additional, relevant leadership resources are welcome and may be sent to prodev@hr.msu.edu for consideration.

Looking for additional leadership development opportunities?

Danielle Hook, Learning and Development Manager for HR’s Organization and Professional Development (OPD) department, shares, “The importance of professional development cannot be overstated. We also recognize the barriers to accessing meaningful learning are greater than ever. In response, we are exploring creative ways to differentiate our learning solutions to meet the increasingly diverse needs of our learners.”

Learn more about OPD’s new leadership programs and resources below.

New Leader Development Series (NLDS)

Apply now to join the next cohort of this nine-session series. Starting January 18, this program equips new leaders with a toolkit of crucial knowledge and resources.

Sessions cover a variety of topics, including:

  • Leading in a Union Environment
  • Workforce Management and Strategic Staffing
  • Fostering an Inclusive Culture
  • Budget Responsibilities and Ethical Finance
  • Conflict Management
  • and more

Leadership Workshops

In addition to OPD’s popular, established courses around the topics of leadership and management, five new workshops for leaders were recently launched. Currently held via Zoom, registration will soon be available within EBS for the following classes:

  • Building Cohesive Teams
  • Conflict Management
  • Managing and Leading Across Multiple Locations
  • Performance Management for Hybrid Teams
  • Strategic Planning

Find out more about OPD’s upcoming course offerings.

elevateU Leadership Resources

On-demand, self-paced courses, videos, audiobooks and more are available to MSU employees via the free elevateU platform, including a Leadership Development section covering a wide range of leadership topics.

Access elevateU leadership resources.

Have questions regarding the above resources and opportunities? Contact OPD at prodev@hr.msu.edu for additional information.

Job of the Week: Agricultural Laborer I

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This week’s featured job from MSU Human Resources is an Agricultural Laborer temporary support staff position (posting 697468) for the South Campus Animal Farms in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The selected candidate will perform and assist with agricultural labor. Special duties include, but are not limited to, moving, loading and unloading supplies, materials, tools and equipment, and assisting with the movement and transportation of livestock. They will operate tractors and other agricultural equipment as well as assist with the care and feeding of livestock. Employees of the farm must comply with University, state, federal, American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and species-specific rules at all times. For a complete list of responsibilities, click here. 

It is desired that applicants interested in this role have the knowledge acquired from two or more years of coursework from secondary school, technical, vocational, trade school and/or college in the field of animal science. Other desired qualifications include basic math skills and experience working with student employees. Applicants are asked to be able to lift 50 pounds and have experience operating a skid steer before they begin. 

Learn more about the South Campus Animal Farms at https://www.canr.msu.edu/scaf/. Read more about the position and learn how to apply by December 12 here with a resume and cover letter. All the latest job postings can be found at careers.msu.edu.