Needs-based crafting: the antecedents and outcomes of employees’ crafting in different life domains

Needs-based crafting is a proactive approach in which employees intentionally align their activities with their psychological needs. Focusing on the role of six psychological needs outlined by Newman, Tay, and Diener’s DRAMMA model (i.e., detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation), this dissertation explores the antecedents and outcomes of needs-based crafting in both work and non-work contexts. The dissertation comprises four publications stemming from three research projects. The first publication uncovers the relationships between focus on opportunities at work, psychological needs, and needs-based job and off-job crafting among 346 Finnish employees. The second publication explores the daily trajectories of energy and needs-based crafting in a sample of 110 employees participating in an experience sampling methodology study. The results illuminate how daily crafting positively influences energy levels over the course of the day, particularly during mornings and afternoons. The third publication describes the design and development of an off-job crafting intervention consisting of two group-based, in-person workshops and use of a smartphone app. Results described in the fourth publication show a modest impact of the off-job crafting intervention on off-job crafting, psychological needs satisfaction, and well-being among 86 Finnish employees. Taken together, this dissertation provides insights into the motivational drivers of needs-based crafting, its role in daily energy management, and the effectiveness of crafting interventions. The findings suggest practical implications for individuals aiming to align their daily activities with their psychological needs and offer guidance for organizations seeking to cultivate supportive crafting practices

Eesti ja soome laste vestlused minevikusündmustest: soolised ja rahvuslikud erinevused vestluse pikkuses, teemades ja emotsionaalsuses

Antud töös uuris autor eesti ja soome rahvusest laste meenutusvestlusi ning püüdis leida võimalikke rahvuslikke ning soolisi erinevusi vestluse pikkuses, emotsiooniväljendite kasutuses ning vestluse teemades. Intervjuu kahest minevikusündmusest viidi läbi 20 soome rahvusest lapsega vanuses 5,5- 7,5 aastat ning seejärel võrreldi neid 20 varasemalt läbiviidud eesti vestlusega. Tulemustest ilmnes, et eesti ja soome laste vestlused ei erinenud oluliselt pikkuse ega emotsioonisõnade kasutuse poolest, küll aga leiti erinevus selles, millest lapsed rääkisid. Leiti, et võrreldes soome lastega asetasid eestlased sündmusi rohkem sotsiaalsesse konteksti ja rääkisid rohkem sündmustest, kus osalesid teised inimesed. Soolistest erinevustest leiti, et tüdrukud rääkisid rohkem mittesotsiaalsest kontekstist kui poisid. Olulisi soolisi erinevusi sõnade arvu, emotsioonide kasutuse ning muude vestlusteemade osas ei leitud.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4430757~S1*es

Motives for Crafting Work and Leisure:Focus on Opportunities at Work and Psychological Needs as Drivers of Crafting Efforts

Employees of all ages can proactively shape their behavior to manage modern work–life challenges more effectively and this is known as crafting. Our goal is to better understand employees’ motives for engaging in crafting efforts in different life domains to fulfil their psychological needs. In a survey study with two measurement waves, we examined whether “focus on opportunities at work” (FoO)—the extent to which employees believe in new goals and opportunities in their occupational future—and psychological needs (i.e., approach and avoidance needs)—predicted crafting efforts at work and outside work (i.e., job and off-job crafting). Our hypotheses were largely confirmed in a study on 346 Finnish workers. Greater FoO led to greater approach needs (i.e., mastery, meaning, affiliation), which in turn explained higher engagement in both job and off-job crafting. Avoidance needs (i.e., detachment, relaxation) resulted in increased crafting efforts in both life domains directly. Our findings underline the importance of FoO for crafting efforts across life domains, and explain why this is the case (i.e., it activates approach-oriented psychological needs). By supporting workers in shifting their focus onto their future opportunities (regardless of their age), organizations can create environments conducive to crafting and ultimately sustainable work lives

The Effectiveness of a Hybrid Off-Job Crafting Intervention on Employees’ Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Well-Being

Off-job crafting entails deliberate changes people can make in their non-work activities to meet their personal goals and satisfy psychological needs. We conducted a quasi-experimental study with a waitlist control group in three organizations in Finland (N = 86) to evaluate whether participation in a hybrid off-job crafting intervention stimulates employees’ off-job crafting efforts and, in turn, enhances psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality and work engagement. Intervention group participants took part in an off-job crafting workshop, set a personal crafting goal for the four-week intervention period, received support from a specifically designed smartphone app, and attended a reflection workshop. With a study design consisting of seven measurement occasions in the intervention group and four in the waitlist control group, we examined both the intra-individual and inter-individual effects of the intervention. Contrary to our expectations, intervention group participants did not improve in their off-job crafting efforts, needs satisfaction and well-being over time compared to their own baseline and the waitlist control group. We conducted a detailed process evaluation to shed light on the mechanisms possibly influencing the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants who made less progress with their goal, were less satisfied with the intervention, and participants who did not set a goal focusing on their least satisfied need, experienced a steeper decline in off-job crafting, needs satisfaction and well-being. Interestingly, setting a SMARTer goal and being a more active app user also had a negative effect on the development of one’s off-job crafting, needs satisfaction and well-being over time

Needs-based crafting : the antecedents and outcomes of employees’ crafting in different life domains

Tämän väitöskirjan päätavoitteena oli tuottaa uutta tietoa työntekijöiden tarvepohjaisen, eli psykologisten tarpeiden täyttymiseen keskittyvän työn ja vapaa-ajan tuunauksen selittäjistä sekä seurauksista. Kyseessä on proaktiivinen lähestymistapa jolla työntekijät voivat muokata työn ja vapaa-ajan toimintaansa psykologisten tarpeidensa mukaisesti. Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastelen tuunausta DRAMMA-mallissa kuvattujen kuuden psykologisen tarpeen (irrottautuminen, rentoutuminen, autonomia, taidonhallinta, merkityksellisyys ja yhteenkuuluvuus) mukaisesti. Tämä väitöskirja koostuu neljästä alkuperäisjulkaisusta, jotka perustuvat kolmeen tutkimusprojektiin. Ensimmäisessä tutkimuksessa tutkin keskittymisen tulevaisuuden mahdollisuuksiin työssä, psykologisten tarpeiden ja työn ja vapaa- ajan tuunauksen välisiä yhteyksiä (Osajulkaisu I). Tutkimuksessa II keskityttiin työntekijöiden päivittäisiin energian ja tarvepohjaisen tuunauksen kehityskulkuihin (Osajulkaisu II). Tutkimuksen III tavoitteena oli suunnitella tarvepohjaiseen vapaa-ajan tuunaukseen keskittyvä interventio (Osajulkaisu III) ja arvioida, edistääkö interventioon osallistuminen työntekijöiden vapaa-ajan tuunausta ja lisääkö se puolestaan psykologisten tarpeiden täyttymistä, subjektiivista elinvoimaisuutta ja työhön sitoutumista (Osajulkaisu IV). Lisäksi tutkin interventioryhmässä mahdollisia prosessimekanismeja, jotka vaikuttavat intervention tehokkuuteen. Väitöskirjassani käytetty aineisto kerättiin osana laajempaa tutkimushanketta “Kuinka saada vapaa-aika toimimaan? Vapaa-ajan aktiivinen käyttö keinona palautua stressaavasta työstä”, joka koostui pitkittäisestä kyselylomaketutkimuksesta, ESM-tutkimuksesta ja interventiotutkimuksesta. Tutkimuksen I otokseen kuului 346 suomalaista työntekijää, jotka täyttivät kaksi kyselylomaketta kolmen kuukauden välein. Tutkimuksen II otos, johon kuului 110 työntekijää lähinnä Saksasta ja Alankomaista, täytti taustakyselylomakkeen ja ohjeistuksen mukaan kahdeksan ESM-mittausta päivässä neljänä ei-peräkkäisenä päivänä (yhteensä 2358 havaintoa upotettuna 396 päivään). Tutkimuksen III lopullinen otos koostui 86 työntekijästä kolmesta suomalaisesta organisaatiosta. Interventioryhmäläiset osallistuivat työpaikallaan järjestettyyn ryhmämuotoiseen vapaa-ajan tuunauksen työpajaan, asettivat yksilöllisen tuunaustavoitteen neljän viikon interventiojaksolle, saivat tukea Everydaily-nimisestä älypuhelinsovelluksesta ja osallistuivat ryhmämuotoiseen pohdintatyöpajaan. Interventioryhmän osallistujat (n = 51) täyttivät yhteensä seitsemän viikoittaista kyselylomaketta ja odotuslista-kontrolliryhmän osallistujat (n = 36) täyttivät neljä viikoittaista kyselylomaketta. Tutkimuksen I tulokset osoittivat, että tulevaisuuden mahdollisuuksiin keskittyvä orientaatio työssä liittyi korkeampiin lähestymistarpeisiin (taidonhallinta, merkityksellisyys, yhteenkuuluvuus), mikä puolestaan selitti korkeamman osallistumisen sekä työn että vapaa-ajan tuunaukseen. Välttämistarpeet (irrottautuminen, rentoutuminen) johtivat suoraan lisääntyneeseen tuunaukseen molemmilla elämänalueilla. Tutkimuksessa II tehdyt jatkuvat kasvukäyräanalyysit osoittivat, että päivittäinen keskimääräinen tarvepohjainen tuunaus vaikutti osaltaan energiatasojen muutoksiin päivän mittaan. Päivinä, jolloin työntekijät tuunasivat keskimääräistä enemmän, heidän energiatasonsa olivat korkeammat, erityisesti aamulla ja iltapäivällä. Nämä tuunauksen myönteiset vaikutukset hävisivät vasta päivän loppupuolella. Tarpeisiin perustuva tuunaus itsessään noudatti lineaarista päivittäistä kehityskulkua, kasvaen päivän mittaan. Tutkimuksen III tulokset osoittivat, että osallistuminen interventioon ei lisännyt osallistujien vapaa-ajan tuunauspyrkimyksiä, tarpeiden täyttymistä, subjektiivista elinvoimaisuutta eikä työhön sitoutumista interventiojakson aikana tai sen jälkeen verrattuna omiin lähtötasoihinsa ja verrattuna odotuslista-kontrolliryhmään. Interventioryhmässä osallistujat, jotka edistyivät vähemmän tavoitteessaan, jotka olivat tyytymättömämpiä interventioon ja jotka eivät asettaneet tavoitetta jossa keskityttiin heidän vähiten täytettyyn tarpeeseensa kokivat jyrkempää laskua vapaa-ajan tuunauksessa, psykologisten tarpeiden täyttämisessä ja hyvinvoinnissa. Yllättäen SMART-tuunaustavoite ja aktiivisempi sovelluksen käyttö vähensivät ajan myötä vapaa-ajan tuunausta, psykologisten tarpeiden täyttymistä ja hyvinvointia. Kaiken kaikkiaan tämä väitöskirja laajentaa tuunaukseen koskevaa tieteellistä kirjallisuutta valottamalla tarvepohjaisen tuunauksen motivoivia selittäjiä työssä sekä vapaa-ajalla, tarvepohjaisen tuunauksen roolia päivittäisessä energianhallinnassa, tarvepohjaisen tuunauksen kehityskulkuja päivän mittaan ja vapaa-ajan tuunauksen intervention vaikutuksia. Psykologisten tarpeiden käsitteleminen tuunauksen keskeisenä mekanismina tarjoaa uuden täydentävän näkökulman tuunauksen työn vaatimusten ja voimavarojen näkökulman lisäksi ja auttaa ymmärtämään vivahteikkaita tuunausprosesseja eri elämänalueiden sisällä sekä niiden välillä. Tämän väitöskirjan tuloksia voidaan soveltaa käytännön ohjenuoriksi, jotka auttavat työntekijöitä muokkaamaan päivittäistä toimintaansa omien psykologisten tarpeidensa pohjalta säilyttääkseen optimaalisen toimintakykynsä. Lisäksi nämä tulokset voivat avustaa organisaatioita ja työterveyshuollon ammattilaisia luomaan psykologisia tarpeita tukevia koulutuksia ja käytäntöjä jotka edistävät tarvepohjaista tuunausta.The main aim of this dissertation was to generate new knowledge about the antecedents and outcomes of employees’ needs-based crafting, a proactive approach to shaping work and non-work activities in accordance with an individual’s psychological needs. I examine employees’ crafting through the six psychological needs described by the DRAMMA model (i.e., detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation). This dissertation consists of four original publications which are based on three research projects. In Study I, I examined focus on opportunities at work (FoO) and psychological needs as motivational drivers of needs-based job and off-job crafting (Publication I). Study II focused on employees’ daily energy and needs-based crafting trajectories (Publication II). The aim of Study III was to design an off-job crafting intervention (Publication III) and to evaluate whether participation in the intervention stimulates employees’ off-job crafting efforts and, in turn, enhances psychological need satisfaction, subjective vitality, and work engagement (Publication IV). I moreover investigated potential process mechanisms influencing the effectiveness of the intervention in the intervention group. The data used in this dissertation were collected as a part of a larger research project entitled “Making leisure work: Leisure crafting as active recovery from stressful work”, which consisted of a longitudinal questionnaire study, experience sampling methodology study, and an intervention study. In Study I, 346 Finnish workers completed two questionnaires with a three-month interval in between. In Study II, a sample of 110 employees mostly from Germany and the Netherlands completed a baseline questionnaire and up to eight EMA measurements per day on four non-consecutive days (resulting in 2,358 observations nested in 396 days). The final sample of Study III consisted of 86 employees from three organizations in Finland. Intervention group participants took part in a group-based off-job crafting workshop at their workplace, set an individual crafting goal for the four-week intervention period, received support from a smartphone app named Everydaily, and attended a group-based reflection workshop. Intervention group participants (n = 51) completed seven weekly questionnaires and the waitlist control group participants (n = 36) completed four weekly questionnaires. The results of Study I showed that focus on opportunities at work was associated with higher levels of approach needs (i.e., mastery, meaning, affiliation), which in turn explained higher engagement in both job and off-job crafting. Avoidance needs (i.e., detachment, relaxation) resulted directly in increased crafting efforts in both life domains. Continuous growth curve analyses conducted in Study II provided evidence that daily average crafting efforts contributed to the change trajectory of energy over the course of the day. On days when employees crafted more than their average, their energy levels were higher, particularly in the morning and afternoon. These positive crafting effects disappeared towards the end of the day. Needs-based crafting itself followed a linear daily trajectory, increasing over the course of the day. The results of Study III showed that the intervention group participants did not improve in their off- job crafting efforts, needs satisfaction, subjective vitality, and work engagement during and after the intervention period compared to their own baseline levels and compared to the waitlist control group. In the intervention group, participants who made less progress with their goal, were less satisfied with the intervention, and did not set a goal focusing on their least satisfied need experienced steeper declines in off-job crafting, needs satisfaction, and well- being. Contrary to expectations, a SMARTer crafting goal and more active app use decreased off-job crafting, needs satisfaction and well-being over time. All in all, this dissertation contributes to the scientific literature on crafting by shedding light on motivational drivers of needs-based crafting in the work and non-work domain, the role of needs-based crafting in daily energy management, the trajectory of needs-based crafting over the course of the day, and the effectiveness of an off-job crafting intervention. Adopting psychological needs as the underlying mechanism of crafting provides a new complementary perspective on the job demands-resources perspective on crafting and assists in capturing nuanced crafting processes within and across life domains. The results of this dissertation can be translated into practical guidelines to help individual employees to shape their daily activities in accordance with their psychological needs to maintain or increase their optimal functioning. Moreover, these results can assist organizations and occupational healthcare practitioners in creating needs-supportive training and policies conducive to needs-based crafting.Cotutelle -yhteisväitöskirj

Motives for crafting work and leisure: Focus on opportunities at work and psychological needs as drivers of crafting efforts

Employees of all ages can proactively shape their behavior to manage modern work–life challenges more effectively and this is known as crafting. Our goal is to better understand employees’ motives for engaging in crafting efforts in different life domains to fulfil their psychological needs. In a survey study with two measurement waves, we examined whether “focus on opportunities at work” (FoO)—the extent to which employees believe in new goals and opportunities in their occupational future—and psychological needs (i.e., approach and avoidance needs)—predicted crafting efforts at work and outside work (i.e., job and off-job crafting). Our hypotheses were largely confirmed in a study on 346 Finnish workers. Greater FoO led to greater approach needs (i.e., mastery, meaning, affiliation), which in turn explained higher engagement in both job and off-job crafting. Avoidance needs (i.e., detachment, relaxation) resulted in increased crafting efforts in both life domains directly. Our findings underline the importance of FoO for crafting efforts across life domains, and explain why this is the case (i.e., it activates approach-oriented psychological needs). By supporting workers in shifting their focus onto their future opportunities (regardless of their age), organizations can create environments conducive to crafting and ultimately sustainable work lives

Crafting and human energy: Needs-based crafting efforts across life domains shape employees’ daily energy trajectories

We use experience sampling methodology and adopt the integrative needs model of crafting to investigate employees’ daily energy trajectories, and to test whether employees’ energy can be conserved or increased throughout the day through the proactive behavioral strategy of needs-based crafting. We first examine the daily trajectories of energy and then investigate the role of employees’ daily crafting efforts (at work and in their private lives) in managing their energy throughout the day. Finally, we explore the daily within-person trajectories of needs-based crafting. We tested our hypotheses on a sample of 110 employees providing data on four non-consecutive days (resulting in 2,358 observations nested in 396 days). Continuous growth curve analyses confirmed that energy follows an inverted U-shaped pattern of increasing energy until noon, after which energy steadily decreased until bedtime. However, daily crafting efforts contributed to these change trajectories: On days when employees crafted more than average, their energy was higher, particularly in the morning and afternoon. These positive crafting effects disappeared towards the end of the day, before bedtime. Crafting followed a linear trajectory, increasing over the course of the day, suggesting that it is a proactive strategy people also engage in outside of work. This suggests that domain-spanning needs-based crafting could be an important proactive strategy to maintain higher energy throughout an entire working day, even in the afternoon, when energy normally starts to fall. Our research contributes to our understanding of the nature of energy and of the micro-dynamic, within-person energy effects of general crafting efforts

The design and development of a hybrid off-job crafting intervention to enhance needs satisfaction, well-being and performance: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Employees dealing with job demands such as high workload and permeable work-life boundaries could benefit from bottom-up well-being strategies such as off-job crafting. We have developed a hybrid off-job crafting intervention to promote off-job crafting, a proactive pursuit to adjust one's off-job time activities to satisfy one's psychological needs. This hybrid intervention contains both on-site (two trainings) and online elements (smartphone app) to enhance employees' well-being and performance within different life domains. Methods The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial with an intervention group and a waitlist control group. The study population will be Finnish knowledge workers. The intervention program focuses on six psychological needs (detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation) proposed by the DRAMMA model. The intervention will consist of the following components: 1) an on-site off-job crafting training, 2) an individual off-job crafting plan for the four-week intervention period, 3) Everydaily smartphone app usage, and 4) a training session for reflection. The study outcomes are assessed with online questionnaires once at baseline, weekly during the intervention period and twice after the intervention (two-week and six-week follow-up). Moreover, during the second training session, participants will participate in a process evaluation to shed light on the mechanisms that can affect the effectiveness of the intervention. Discussion We expect that the intervention will stimulate off-job crafting behaviors, which may in turn increase well-being and performance in both non-work and work domains during and after the intervention (compared to baseline and to the control group). The intervention may provide employees with additional resources to deal with various stressors in life. Furthermore, this off-job crafting intervention could also offer performance benefits for the employers such as increased organizational citizenship behaviors among employees

The Forgotten Ones : Crafting for Meaning and for Affiliation in the Context of Finnish and Japanese Employees' Off-Job Lives

In an intensifying working life, it is important for employees to proactively shape their lives beyond work to create opportunities for satisfying personal needs. These efforts can be beneficial for creating and sustaining well-being in terms of vitality. In this study, we focused on off-job crafting (OJC) for meaning and OJC for affiliation, conceptualized as proactive changes in off-job life with the aim of increasing satisfaction of needs for meaning and affiliation, among employees in Finland and Japan, two countries with disparate cultural values. We examined longitudinal within-person relationships between the two OJC dimensions and vitality, as well as the relationships between OJC and contextual variables, such as age and gender. We conducted a longitudinal study over 6 months with three measurement points. A total of 578 Finnish and 228 Japanese employees participated in the study. Hypotheses were tested with latent growth analysis. Increases in OJC for meaning and for affiliation were mostly positively related to increases in vitality over time in both countries. In Finland, age was positively related to OJC for meaning. In Japan, age was negatively related to OJC for meaning, but the female gender was positively related to OJC for affiliation. Focusing on increasing meaning and affiliation in off-job life can be beneficial strategies for employees to feel positively energized. The role of contextual variables and culture in OJC should be examined further in future studies.Peer reviewe