Every job has aspects that completely suit you and has aspects that suit you less. Even if you always enjoy your work, there is still room to shape your job to match it with your qualities and wishes even better. Perhaps especially when you are comfortable in your role, there is room for development. So when you want to stimulate your personal growth, there are ways to craft your job to your needs and to keep challenging yourself.
Shaping your job is called job crafting. We present 4 job crafting ways to get you inspired:
Task Crafting
What do you need to do? During your workday, you probably have several activities that repeat every single day. You send emails, you have a meeting with a colleague or have a call with a client. Look at your to-do list and consider which tasks you miss and would like to develop. Tasks that are outside of your to-do-list. Perhaps there is something that you miss and suits your development goal, like giving a presentation for a big group of people, participating in a creative brainstorm or providing an inspiration lunch. Think about the task that you would like to do and think of ways on how to do this. For example, swap a task with a colleague. Do not see this as extra work, but rather as an investment in your development and job satisfaction.
Context Crafting
Where do you work? Do you have colleagues around you or do you work alone? How’s your office? Crafting your context means consciously choosing or adjusting your working conditions so that they support your development optimally. You can think of new challenges such as: work outside the office more often, invite your client for a meeting in the lobby or take a walk in the open air before your meeting. You can also consult with your supervisor if you can start an hour earlier or later, if you think that will help you.
Relational Crafting
With whom do you work? You spend most of your time with your colleagues and clients. How can you use these relationships for your development? For example, you can have lunch with that inspiring colleague from another department. Big chance that your relationships can help you in your development goal. Perhaps your colleagues can give you tips, or feedback, or you can practice a presentation or conversation with your client.
Cognitive Crafting
How do you think about your work development? How you look at your work is your own choice and this directly influences how you feel. How often do you think about your own development? How concrete do you make your actions? And how positive do you see your results? For example, you can challenge yourself in positive thinking about your growth or start your day by naming one thing that you want to work on today.
