A qualitative exploration of nested job crafting: an interpersonal perspective
Huda Masood, Marie-Helene BudworthPurpose
Managers often face strenuous job demands and cope by engaging in relational job crafting (RJC) or proactive modifications of interactions. The purpose of this research is to examine how strenuous job demands shape managers' interactions with their subordinates, and how subordinates respond in turn.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an explanatory qualitative approach, over 30 hours of interviews with 14 managers and 19 employees were conducted. Multiple analyses were conducted on (1) the managerial dataset, (2) the employee dataset and (3) the nested dataset of matched manager–employee dyads to capture within- and between-level processes of stress dissipation through interpersonal exchanges. The analysis of managerial and employee datasets was guided through thematic analysis whereas interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) examined the nested dataset.
Findings
The findings from thematic analysis elucidated three broader themes namely: the overwork expectations trap; demand-driven relational constraint and multi-level interpersonal reprioritization. The IPA extended these findings by providing an idiographic understanding of how RJC was experienced and negotiated within manager–employee dyads. We labelled this phenomenon as nested job crafting.
Originality/value
Qualitative findings demonstrate how managers' stress shapes subordinate behaviours, which is novel. Furthermore, by outlining how subordinates are impacted by managers' RJC, we extend a between-person phenomenon within job crafting literature. Lastly, we contend that subordinates are not passive recipients of their managerial RJC and often respond by engaging in RJC themselves through nested job crafting. Methodologically, our research advances a nested approach to qualitative analytical pluralism, which while not novel is both robust and nuanced.