Top of Page Proactive behaviours and job crafting in teams Project Brief This project seeks to further our understanding of proactive work behaviour in teams (in the form of job crafting). Job crafting involves people altering their tasks and interactions at work to better align them with their needs, abilities, and preferences. There are four different types of job crafting, which involve increasing or decreasing certain job demands or job resources. So far, the research on job crafting has mainly focused on exploring its individual benefits. It suggests that people who job craft are more fulfilled and happier within their job roles, and that they are therefore more likely to thrive at work. To the best of our knowledge however, there is a gap in the research on the ways in which job crafting may affect others. We aim to address this gap in research by studying the role of job crafting in team contexts. In doing so, we shed light on the team dynamics affected by these behaviours, informing our understanding of pro-activity in organisations and contributing to the growing body of research on this topic. We seek to sample a minimum of about 200 adult participants who are either full-time or part-time working to take part in this study. How to participate? You can participate in this research through an online experiment. Your participation involves working on an interdependent task that can be carried out online. First, you will receive some background information about the task. You will then interact with another team member via online messaging about this task. This team member will send you email messages and you may select how you wish to respond to them. Afterwards, you will be asked about your perceptions of this co-worker (i.e. his/her behaviours, e.g. “This co-worker tries to develop him/herself professionally”), as well as some questions about yourself (your gender, age, work experience, etc.). You will only have to participate once in this study and your data will be saved electronically. The entire study should take about 30 minutes to complete. Apart from your time, there will be no extra cost to you for taking part in this research. We will use an experimental approach in this study, and each participant will be randomly assigned to their co-worker for this task. That is, your co-worker will be assigned to you by chance, like tossing a coin. Interested to participate in our simulation? If you would like to help us with this, please click the following link. Link for Online Experiment Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2019-0296 Faculty Dr Florian Klonek florian.klonek@curtin.edu.au External Dr Maria Tims m.tims@vu.nl Professor Sharon Parker s.parker@curtin.edu.au Student Investigator Jasmine Labriola jasmine.labriola@outlook.com Other Projects on Team and Organisations

SMART Work enables Agency About the model The third letter in the SMART work framework stands for 'Agency'. This aspects delves into to the extent to which you are able to organise your own schedule, while work methods refers to the extent to which you can choose the methods in which to achieve your work goals. Agency or ones degree for decision making refers to the extent to which you are able to make judgements and decisions individually. Whilst some jobs will inherently involve a higher degree of agency than others, there is always ways in which to improve this aspect of work design. JUMP TO Stimulating Mastery Relational Tolerable demands RELATED RESEARCH SMART Design for Care Watch this animated explainer video on Agency Qualities of high Agency Jobs For example, jobs with a high degree of agency allow individuals to: control the timing and scheduling of their tasks decide upon the best methods of completing a task, including the chance to show initiative make decisions independently and feel empowered in doing so “We are allowed so much freedom to use our creativity here.” - Childcare Worker “It was hard not to have any control over my job – you don’t have input, everything is set out for you.” - Call Centre Operator Qualities of low Agency jobs In contrast, jobs with a low degree of agency can involve: a lack of flexibility or limited chances in which to provide input towards the scheduling and timing of tasks excessive bureaucracy and red tape limiting the availability of different work methods retribution and criticism for mistakes and micromanagement from supervisors What are the risks of low Agency Jobs? Work that is overly restrictive, with little room for input or independent decision making poses a number of risks for individuals and organisations: One of the key risks for employees who experience a low degree of agency in their work relates to mental health. A recent study showed that employees who had jobs with minimal agency had a 20-25% increased risk of experiencing mental health issues [1]. For organisations, the risks of overly controlling work, with little room for input are extensive. Research has demonstrated that enhancing agency can lead to improved safety outcomes, employee engagement, skill development/learning, productivity and proactivity [2] [3]. Research spotlight Research shows that job autonomy (alongside communication quality) was a significant predictor for increased safety compliance. Further analysis demonstrated that this effect occurred due to individuals with a high degree of job agency feeling more committed to the organisation and therefore more likely to follow safety rules [4]. A longitudinal study over 18 months demonstrated that work design features such as high degrees of agency and social support were positively related to increased personal resources such as perceived self-efficacy, organisational based self-esteem and optimism. These were linked together in a reciprocal relationship with employee engagement [5]. Strategies to increase Agency Micromanager from hell? No way to have a say in the direction of your organisation? Fear not, there are a number of practical strategies you can implement to try and improve the overall agency of your role. Here are some practical tips for you to try out: Strategies for Employees Strategies for Managers Strategies for Organisations Here are some practical tips to try and help increase the agency of your work: Speak to your manager about any projects that in which you could take ownership. Often smaller scale projects can be a great opportunity to demonstrate value whilst still building valuable skills. If you are able to identify a more effective or efficient method of carrying out your work, develop a business case for it that you can take to your manager. Often, work is carried out in the same manner because ‘that’s how it’s always been done’. Creating a business case will help to make the switch less risky for your manager. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Improving the sense of agency within your team can lead to a myriad of benefits. A few strategies you can try out are listed below: Take an active interest in developments and advancements of your field through reading articles, listening to podcasts and attending conferences. You can then use this information to help inspire your team towards using different methods in which to achieve their goals. At times when you have had to make difficult decisions or implement new organisational changes, use this as a learning opportunity. Distil key learnings and your thought processes in to short case studies to share with your team. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Further resources References [1] SafeWork NSW. (2017). Review of evidence of psychosocial risks for mental ill-health in the workplace. [2] Parker, S. K., (2015). Does the evidence and theory support the ‘Good Work Design Principles’: An educational resource. Safe Work Australia. [3] Parker, S. K. (2014). Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 661-691. [4] Parker, S. K., Wall, T. D., & Cordery, J. L. (2001). Future work design research and practice: Towards an elaborated model of work design. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 74(4), 413-440. [5] Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2009). Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. Journal of Vocational behavior, 74(3), 235-244.