Positive Gains in Job Crafting Behavior, Self-Efficacy, and Work Performance Among U.S. Workers with Disabilities Who Participated in a Job Crafting Intervention.

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to test whether a 6-week job crafting intervention would increase the use of job crafting behaviors and improve self-efficacy, work engagement, and work performance for workers who have mild cognitive or physical limitations.

Methods: We enrolled 75 workers with mild cognitive or physical disabilities in a 6-week job crafting intervention in 2020-2021. All participants received the intervention. We supplemented an existing workbook approach to job crafting with brief remote (phone or web-based) coaching to help workers identify actionable and measurable goals and to track their progress in meeting those goals. Over a period of six weeks, weekly online check-ins measured changes in self-efficacy, work engagement, and work performance from baseline. We used paired t-tests to test for changes in job crafting behaviors from pre-intervention to Week 6. We used fixed-effects models to test for statistically significant changes in self-efficacy, work engagement, and work performance that were measured weekly over the intervention period, controlling for work limitations and goal attainment.

Results: We found statistically significant improvements in job crafting behaviors (t=2.694, p=.005), self-efficacy (p<.01), and work performance (p<.01) but did not find statistically significant changes in work engagement.

Conclusion: Overall, these results suggest that job crafting interventions hold promise for helping workers with limitations to perform at higher levels in the workplace.