Does job crafting affect employee outcomes via job characteristics? A meta‐analytic test of a key job crafting mechanism

Job crafting refers to the self-initiated work behaviours employees use to change their job characteristics. According to job design theory, these crafting-induced changes in job characteristics should impact employee outcomes. Job characteristics can therefore be proposed as a key mechanism through which job crafting affects employee outcomes and we present cross-sectional meta-analytic structural equation modelling of this key mechanism (K = 58 independent samples, N = 20,347 employees). Results show significant indirect effects between task resource crafting and employee outcomes (well-being and positive job attitudes) via task resources, and significant indirect effects between social job crafting and employee outcomes (well-being and positive job attitudes) via social resources. Results also indicated that challenge and hindrance demand crafting increase job strain via increases in job demand. Overall, our findings indicate that job characteristics are an important job crafting mechanism, that employees may have difficulty in crafting job demands in ways that produce beneficial outcomes, and that future research needs to consider simultaneously the range of mechanisms through which job crafting affects outcomes

Leader affective presence, psychological safety and team proactive problem prevention

Leader affective presence, the tendency of leaders to consistently evoke feelings in team members, has gained prominence in the context of leadership and teamwork. However, prior research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework, focuses on limited team processes, and relies mainly on cross sectional designs to study this construct. Building upon theories of the social functions of affect, this study examines the relationship between leaders' affective presence and team member behaviour, specifically focusing on team proactive problem prevention and examining whether this relationship is mediated by team psychological safety. Using a two-wave panel model with 504 professionals in 134 teams, our findings revealed that positive leader affective presence, characterized by instilling enthusiasm, joy and inspiration among team members, was positively associated with perceptions of team psychological safety. In turn, team psychological safety was positively related to leaders' assessments of proactive problem prevention. Interestingly, negative leader affective presence, which triggers worry, tension and stress, was not related to team psychological safety but was positively associated with team proactive problem prevention. These results highlight the importance of leader affective presence in shaping emergent team states and team member behaviour. Researchers and practitioners should thus consider these insights when assessing and intervening in leadership and teamwork processes in organizations