Is it a team effort? The combined impact of relational job crafting and job design on energy and performance

Abstract

Although extensive research has explored job crafting, the interaction between individual driven job crafting and organizational job design in influencing employee performance remains underexplored. Guided by conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study tests a framework examining how daily relational job crafting—focused on either promotion or prevention—affects employee energy and task performance within the context of relational job design, specifically task interdependence. An experience-sampling study was conducted over 10 workdays with full-time employees from various organizations (845 daily observations from 126 participants). Multi-level path analysis revealed that promotion-oriented relational job crafting positively influenced task performance by boosting energy levels, especially in low task-interdependence environments. In contrast, prevention-oriented relational job crafting reduced energy in low-task-interdependence settings but enhanced energy in high-task
interdependence environments. These findings highlight the context-dependent nature of relational job crafting’s impact on employee energy and performance, shaped by job design.
The results suggest that job crafting strategies should align with task interdependence. Employees in low-task-interdependence roles benefit from promotion-oriented relational job crafting, which helps alleviate isolation and increases energy by fostering new relationships. Organizations can support this by creating spaces for social interaction and encouraging team building activities. Conversely, employees in high-task-interdependence roles may benefit from prevention-oriented job crafting, minimizing relational demands to manage energy effectively. Organizations can assist by offering resources that help balance social interactions and prevent relational strain. By aligning job crafting strategies with job design, organizations can enhance employee well-being, improve task performance, and mitigate burnout risk.