In 2023 we shared a blog post highlighting 101 ways we’ve seen people job craft. It was our most visited page of the year, and people still ask us for examples of job crafting, so we thought you’d want some more for 2024!
For anyone who is new to job crafting, it is essentially about making small tweaks and changes to your job that make it a better fit. Typically we experience people job craft in 5 different ways: Wellbeing; Purpose; Skill; Relationship; and Task Crafting.
We have collected some of our favourite examples from teams and individuals we have worked with to bring job crafting to life.
These are personal examples, so they may not apply or be relevant to your circumstances. However we know that people appreciate some inspiration when they set out on their job crafting adventures.
Fancy kicking off 2024 in style with guided job crafting? Well, you’re in luck, our Job Crafting Challenge starts 15th January and entries are open until the end of the month.
Don’t miss out!
Wellbeing crafting
Wellbeing crafting is enhancing and maintaining our physical and mental health through the work we do.
Examples:
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Adjusting working hours in the winter so I’m spending more time working in the light
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Taking annual leave around bank holidays to extend the long weekends to a full week off
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Doing 10 minutes stretching at lunchtime after being sat down all morning
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Switching my phone and email notifications off in the evenings
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Doing an exercise class once a week with colleagues to hold us all accountable
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Changing my working hours to start earlier so that I could prioritise exercise in the afternoon after finishing work
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Arranging one walking meeting a week
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Listening to my favourite podcast before starting work to put me in a good mood
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Introducing a ‘fake’ commute to help start and end the day
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Trying a standing desk
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Saying no to requests that I enjoy doing but don’t have the time for
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Moving to a condensed week in order to have a day off work mid-week
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Getting into a routine of leaving the office on time (e.g. leaving the office with a buddy)
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Bringing more nutritious snacks to work
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Planning out my lunch breaks for the following week and blocking them out in my diary
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Setting a timer to take a break from my desk at least every hour
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Trying to keep one day a week meeting-free
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Treating myself to a lie in once a week – starting and finishing later that day
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Taking the stairs instead of the lift
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Listening to my favourite album whilst working on a project
Purpose crafting
Purpose crafting is reframing how we think about our work in general including the value and significance it brings to us personally and others.
Examples:
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Reflecting on the value I want to bring to others through my work in 2024
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Saying no to requests that don’t align with the core purpose of my role
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Considering how I can bring my coaching skills and tools into conversations outside of work, to support friends with career goals and challenges (this also allows me to further develop my skills – i.e. skills crafting)
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Writing down three things I appreciate about my work and sharing with a colleague / friend / family member etc.
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Defining who I want to be professionally in 2024 and sharing this with others (e.g. on LinkedIn / Teams chat)
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Re-framing the importance and value of tasks I don’t look forward to (e.g. taking time to cost out proposals in detail is a way of looking after the business and saving my future self the same task)
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Make a daily / weekly list of the best interactions with customers / clients
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Sharing my passions at work (e.g. starting a running club)
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Volunteering for projects that I find meaningful (e.g. working with charities, mentoring junior colleagues, etc.)
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Setting up a fun competition with colleagues (e.g. who can get the most engagements on social media, plan the most sustainable work trip)
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Finding new and innovative ways to gather feedback from stakeholders at the end of projects
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Identifying at least one event for the year I would like to attend focused on a subject I am passionate about – make a business case for attending and share back key takeaways with colleagues
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Reframing work travel as an opportunity to explore new places
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Becoming a company advocate or champion for something I care about (e.g. inclusion, sustainability)
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Surveying service users to better understand their needs and how my work can add value
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Asking to be invited to more client-facing meetings to understand the impact of my work from their perspective
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Reflecting each day on the person that I have helped the most
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Creating a case study after completion of each project and sharing this externally (e.g. on LinkedIn)
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Volunteering to arrange the next team social event
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Exploring the impact of my role on the wider organisation
Skill crafting
Skill crafting is developing, refining and focusing on new skills.
Examples:
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Researching what the most desirable skills are for 2024 and setting a goal to develop in one area
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Taking a strengths assessment to better understand my top strengths and how I can maximise my use of these at work
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Asking if I can record an online call to watch back for my own learning
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Keeping up to date with industry news and thought leadership
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Saying yes to a scary project
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Learning a new skill (and teaching others)
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Asking to shadow a colleague doing a specific task
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Attending a lunchtime webinar
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Asking for constructive feedback from someone I wouldn’t usually ask
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Finding reliable sources of aggregated news on specific topics
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Subscribing to email alerts for new articles on a specific topic
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Finding an opportunity to present to a new group (e.g. to enhance public speaking skills)
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Offering to arrange a lunch and learn for the team
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Taking the lead in a team meeting (e.g. to develop leadership skills)
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Setting a goal of writing 5 blogs each quarter and asking for feedback on how my writing has improved
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Buddying with a colleague in a different team to learn more about what each other does
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Listening to a work-related podcast whilst getting ready for work
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Joining a LinkedIn community
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Each team member sharing something new they’ve read / learned each week in a team meeting / 1:1
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Experimenting with a new digital tool (e.g. using AI)
Relationship crafting
Relationship crafting is shaping how we relate and engage with others, including building and adapting our relationship with co-workers.
Examples:
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Setting up calls to chat with colleagues on a Friday afternoon when I’m feeling disconnected
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Setting up a Teams group for people with similar interest to me
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Writing a thank you note to a colleague at the end of each week to express my gratitude
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Starting a meet-up for new parents returning to work
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Going to a networking event and sharing contact details with at least one new person
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Asking for support to address a challenging working relationship
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Offering to mentor a new colleague
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Organising a team away day
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Setting a goal to initiate one new conversation each week
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Popping into someone else’s office to see how they’re doing
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Scheduling informal 1:1 check-ins with direct reports to compliment more formal 1:1s
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Scheduling regular (i.e. monthly) calls in advance with colleagues to reconnect
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Setting a goal to learn something new about each team member
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Setting up a coffee scheme that pairs colleagues from across the organisation at random to meet for coffee (online or in person)
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Allowing time for informal “chit chat” before meetings
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Spending less time with people that can drain my energy levels
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Grabbing lunch with a colleague from a different team once a month
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Car sharing
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Asking someone about their passions outside of work
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Arranging to check-in with a new starter to see how they are getting on
Task crafting
Task crafting is tangibly changing aspects of how we undertake our work including re-designing, adding or removing tasks.
Examples:
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Rewarding myself with a small treat when I’ve done a task I don’t particularly enjoy
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Mapping out my week so that there’s a balance of tasks that I enjoy and look forward to
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Asking colleagues to delegate tasks that I enjoy but noticed I was missing from my work ‘plate’
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Consciously aligning tasks to business goals as a source of motivation
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Keeping a receipts purse in a convenient place so that business receipts don’t get lost
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Protecting the first hour of the week to plan my tasks for the rest of the week
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Recording voice notes for colleagues
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Only checking emails during specific times
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Finding ways to channel a strength e.g. bringing competition into everyday work
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Doing the hardest task first thing when energy is at its highest
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Experimenting with voice-to-text software for faster email, report and content writing
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Doing admin on a Friday when the mood is more positive
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Limiting non-essential meetings
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Using the pomodoro method for time management
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Delegating or swapping tasks that don’t play to my strengths
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Experimenting with new tools to make existing tasks more fun, effective, etc.
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Calling a colleague rather than emailing
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Working collaboratively using Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word
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Scheduling meetings for the afternoons to keep mornings free for focused work
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Shortening all meetings by 10 minutes
Job crafting example number 101:
Write down 3 good things at the end of the working day. You can note these somewhere or share them with someone (we share ours as a team on LinkedIn every Friday).
We hope that you found these examples inspiring and that you can try out job crafting for yourself.
Don’t forget to get your name down for our Job Crafting Challenge starting 15th January. Entries are open until the end of the month.
Happy crafting!
About the author: Charlotte Axon is Lead People Scientist at Tailored Thinking, a positive psychology, wellbeing and HR consultancy striving to make better work and make better work. Before joining Tailored Thinking, Charlotte worked in a variety of HR, inclusion and organisation development roles across the Higher Education sector, having led and supported projects relating to culture, change, inclusion and recruitment. With a specialist interest in inclusion and belonging, which she has applied in different contexts, including the world of education, both internally and as an external consultant, Charlotte often draws on her experience of gathering and applying people analytics to generate positive change within organisations. Charlotte is passionate about making work better for everyone, in particular, through finding opportunities for personalisation of the employee experience and what this means for engagement, leadership and culture.
This article has been kindly repurposed and you can read the original here.