Setting a job crafting goal in 2023

You might have heard about a concept called job crafting. As experts, we talk about it a lot and the media are finally catching on. The pandemic gave us a flavour for personalising our jobs, we began to work with freedom and autonomy, like adapting when and where we worked. It shifted the working world on its head, opening up a huge opportunity to start crafting our job.

Job crafting is about making small, tangible and personal changes to our job to make it a better fit for us as individuals. There are 5 ways you can craft your job: skill crafting, task crafting, relationship crafting, wellbeing crafting and purpose crafting.

However, we recognise that making change is hard. New Year’s resolutions only have a 40% success rate. If setting goals and making change was easy, we would have a 100% success rate. To help you, we’re sharing a goal-setting template, created by our founder and job crafting specialist, Rob Baker.

Job crafting goal-setting template.

Rob recommends that you consider 6 different factors when developing and committing to a job crafting goal:

1) Goal - what is my job crafting goal?

Write down your goal as concise as possible. The clearer you are the better. Make your goal small so it can be achieved in under 10 minutes a day or an hour a week in total.

2) Significance - why is this goal important?

Articulate the reasons for setting a / your job crafting goal. This enables you to consider why this change matters to you, and will help tap into your internal motivations and values.

3) Trigger - what are my triggers?

Write down any triggers that are associated with your job crafting goal. These are physical or mental cues that remind you to act on your new job crafting habit.

4) Barriers - what are the potential barriers?

This requires you to reflect on your practicalities of the goal you are setting and the different hurdles which might prevent you from achieving your goal.

5) Reward - how am I going to reward myself?

Write down how you will recognise or celebrate the achievement of your goal. This can be anything you want. A cup of coffee, your favourite snack, a social media break, you choose! Each individual is different, therefore personalise your reward to something personal to yourself.

6) Accountability - who am I going to be accountable to? And how are we going to check in?

Identify an accountability buddy who you can share your goal with. This can be anyone, a colleague, a partner, your gran, whoever you like. Consider how you are going to check in with each other and this will get you to start planning and identifying opportunities to speak, which makes it more likely to happen.

Goal-setting example

Expressing gratitude to others.

Customer service manager Sue has felt a disconnect from colleagues whilst working from home and values human connection and making others feel good. She wants her team to know she values their efforts and wants to get others into the habit of giving positive feedback.

Goal: To express thanks to a colleague by email, phone or in person once a day.

Why? I value the contribution of others and recognise the importance of human connection and a team effort. It makes me feel good giving thanks to others and it makes them feel good too.

Trigger? I’ll set a reminder on my phone each day at 16:30 to remind me to send a thank you note.

Barrier? Some days there may not be clear opportunities to thank people, especially if working from home. On these days I will think of the wider benefits of my job that I appreciate.

Reward? The feel-good factor of saying thanks and the accomplishment of completing my daily target and ending the day on a positive note.

Buddy? My partner at home, I’ll tell her each night at dinner who I thanked that day.

Reminder! This goal-setting framework is not a check-list, you don’t have to complete every stage. However, evidence and research suggests the more areas you address the more likely you are to be successful in achieving your goal.

If you would like to learn more about job crafting you can read more here, or if you need some help with your goal please get in touch via email: [email protected]

Using job crafting to shape my career

Michelle Reid, People and Operations Director at IOM (job crafting model).

Michelle Reid, People and Operation’s Director at IOM will be sharing her experiences of job crafting and how it has helped her shape her career. Michelle has a successful history in implementing, leading, and optimising multi-level business & HR practices.

Michelle was recently listed in the HR Most Influential List 2022.

I started my role as HR Manager at IOM 5 years ago. The purpose of our organisation is to improve the health of people in their workplace and in the wider environment. 

When I joined the company, what they thought they wanted wasn’t actually needed. As a result, my role now is completely different and I have used job crafting to shape it in a significant number of ways. FYI job crafting is making small, tangible changes to your job to make it more meaningful, engaging and a better fit for you as an individual. 

Job crafting for me is very much aligned to my purpose. My purpose is to unlock the value of people to unleash commercial success. If there are tasks on my to-do list that don’t align with my purpose then I’ll ditch them in favour of investing my time into tasks that do.

In this blog I wanted to share with you some job crafting examples, including the 5 different ways I have crafted my job.

The 5 types of job crafting

Task crafting

At IOM, I have full responsibility for the HR function end to end, so I have to think cleverly about the tasks that I do. The way I task craft is by thinking about the tasks I enjoy doing, those I don’t enjoy doing, and how I can delegate tasks to people who may have an interest in some of my tasks (this takes the pressure off me).

A great exercise to kick start task crafting is the love and loathe exercise.

Relationship crafting

Relationship crafting is about understanding people and the relationships we have with them

When I first joined IOM the first thing I did was walk around and talk to every single person. This wasn’t with the aim of understanding what people did in their roles, but to understand how they felt about working for IOM and what they liked and disliked about the organisation. I also asked them what they would change if it was their business and what they thought was standing in their way.

This enabled me to think about where I needed to apply my skills and knowledge to help drive improvements for them. So my relationships were at the heart of that. I have become a relationship chameleon, adapting my relationships and crafting my approaches to different people and circumstances.

Purpose crafting

Purpose crafting is the one I find harder than anything else.

Subconsciously, I knew my purpose deep down. But it is only in the last 2 years that I came to this realisation and I have written it down in front of me in my diary ever since. As soon as people are connected to their purpose, the physical tasks they do, the relationships they have the skills they hold and how they feel, everything becomes aligned. They move to a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. They are not wedded by their job descriptions, titles or how they have always done things, they begin to think “why am I doing this, can this be done better, what more can I do or bring?”

Skill crafting 

I find skill crafting the easiest because I’m so nosey!

I know I don’t know everything so I’m always consciously trying to learn lots of new things. So if there is something I’m curious about I just go and find it out. Google is my best friend! I’m constantly building new skills all of the time with less of a reliance on going to a course, skills are things that are crafted and learned in lots of different new ways including great conversations with others who are in the know.  Skills sharing is brilliant and builds the feeling of reciprocation and value.

Wellbeing crafting

In regards to other people's wellbeing I’d say I’m great. In regards to my own… not so good.

A recent example involves an employee whose job is a combination of both physical and mental activities. Therefore they typically experience an energy dip mid-week. One of the ways they boost their energy is cycling, but they usually have to wait until the weekend to do this. I told him to take a few hours midweek to go cycling! He has now seen an increase in his energy, productivity and motivation, a no brainer for the business and for him.

Areas I want to improve in job crafting

Job crafting is something I do without thinking. However, one area I know I need to improve on is wellbeing crafting. When I’m feeling tired or drained, exercise is the first thing to go. It’s something that fills my tank, yet the thought of cardio puts me off all together. Even though I know it does wonders for my mental and physical health.

However, I have got into the routine of going to Zumba twice a week and I attend two external networking groups every Friday. Both of these activities boost my energy and productivity and make me feel good - win, win all round!

You can learn more about job crafting here, you can also connect with Michelle on LinkedIn if you would like to ask her any questions or have a chat.

Lessons from job crafting at a solo company

“One thing that I’ve learned about job crafting in my role over the years is that there is no failure, only learning opportunities.”

— Gary Butterfield, Co-founder and Director of Everyday Juice Limited

I lead a small business based in the heart of the UK; Yorkshire. We believe that everyone has the right to be healthy and happy at work, connected to a community of people who want to make a positive impact on themselves and their workplace.

We support organisations big and small with their social wellbeing and inclusion work, working towards the goal of reducing the prevalence of loneliness and isolation. After the past few years this kind of work has never been more needed, with a recent study by Benefex citing the 84% of employees surveyed considered social connection to be the key to improving organisational culture. 

One way that we work with organisations is by supporting their employees to share hobbies, interests, and talents with other colleagues, fostering greater connection and belonging across the business. 

I love what I do.

Job crafting doesn’t always come easy as a solo founder working in a one-person company. Despite having complete autonomy and flexibility over your role, there are many processes that have to be done in a certain way and at a certain time, with little room for manoeuvre.

With all that being said, there are a number of things that I allow myself, consciously, to engage with. I find this keeps me in a creative mood more often than not and allows me to not get lost in the detail.

Task crafting

Time is a challenge when working on your own, so I’m always looking for opportunities to streamline my key tasks.

In my role I really like that I’m free to explore and find solutions to problems, and if there is no solution, I try to create it. One of my favourite things to do is to play with new tools that automate the mundane so I can focus on things that are much more exciting, which in itself is exciting. 

I’ve also learned over the years that certain tasks drain me of energy. Some are part of the course of being a director, but others aren’t, so I made an active choice to outsource those tasks to others who have a better skillset than I. 

Skill crafting

I’ve already mentioned that I enjoy exploring new tools to meet a need/problem, and this element of experimentation gives me the opportunity to grow my skillset. I always make sure that I’m working on a side project, and I regularly block out time in my diary to work on it.

One such project was in fact co-created with Rob (Tailored Thinking) during the pandemic; it’s called “Three Good Things”. I created the website using a number of no-code tools and learnt loads in the process. 

Relationship crafting

It’s a surprise to many, but throughout my formative years I was a very shy lad, and putting myself out there in front of people is still relatively new to me. I value the friendships and relationships that I have, and treasure my time with them. 

The pandemic was difficult for me. I’ve been open in the past about my experience with loneliness, particularly in the earlier lockdowns, but the connections that I have remain affected today. 

I make sure that I always reach out to at least one person in my network, professionally or personally, every single day. It’s as much for me as it is for them.

Purpose crafting

I opened this blog post with our company’s belief. This mission to connect people is why we’re here and why we do what we do. It’s the change that we want to see in the world; our purpose. 

Everybody should feel like they belong, and nobody should feel lonely or isolated. 

Our belief and mission statement was written by my own hand, not a marketing agency, and it’s something that I believe in. When it comes to my role and the way that I do it, everything revolves around the company’s purpose, and by extension, my purpose. 

I’m in the privileged position of making my own purpose crafting efforts the company’s purpose crafting efforts. That’s why we’re in the early stages of B Corp accreditation, why we’re building belonging, reflection, and recognition into everything that we do, and the reason behind our net zero ambitions.

Wellbeing crafting

As a self-confessed outdoorsman, it might not shock you to learn that for my wellbeing I spend time outdoors.

I love to run, cycle, wild swim, photograph, walk, hike, wild camp, plus most other things that I can get involved in. Living in Leeds and being so close to green space really helps me to get away in some way, shape, or form, and there’s nothing else that I would rather do.

I also exercise my creativity with Minecraft, which I first got into with my nephews. Admittedly, it does keep me at my desk, but it allows me to switch off from work and enter a world where I can create with no restrictions.

I allow myself to engage in all of these at any time, irrespective of day/time. It’s not unknown for me to look out of my office window one Tuesday midday, see that the sun is shining, pick up my camera and tent, and get the next train out to Ilkley for a night in the hills. 

Finally, I don’t work weekends. When I first created the business I worked every day, every night, every weekend, for 365 days, and didn’t take a week off for the first five years. It wasn’t big, it wasn’t clever, and I feel much better for drawing a line in the sand and giving myself permission to take time away.

Where I can do better

Time and capacity are always barriers when you work on your own. I have the same number of hours in the day as everyone else after all. Whilst we operate a four-day week, I sometimes still find myself working five days. I need to craft myself some more hours in the day!

I think my stint of working every hour under the sun (and every hour under the moon, too) was a failure to job craft when I had complete autonomy over my role, but reacting to it and changing my role to suit is also a job crafting success. 

The next stage

One thing that I’ve learned about job crafting in my role over the years is that there is no failure, only learning opportunities. It’s a grade A cheese statement but there is some truth to it. 

With job crafting there’s never an end point or best practice, it’s something that continually evolves over time to meet ever changing needs. If you want to experiment with something, start small and see if it works, and if it doesn’t, make another small change and give it another whirl.

In the years to come I’m looking forward to experimenting further with my tasks, skills, and relationships, and building upon my own sense of wellbeing and purpose.

The author of this blog is Gary Butterfield, Co-founder and Executive Director of Everyday Juice Limited. Gary creates communities within the workplace, bringing people together through common interests and shared experiences on and offline.

A proper Yorkshire lad with an infatuation for a good Yorkshire brew. 

Connect with Gary on LinkedIn.

The reality of job crafting as a founder

“People always think it is easy as a founder to job craft. On paper you have almost total freedom and flexibility in how you do your job. The reality, for me at least, often feels very different.”

— Rob Baker, Founder of Tailored Thinking

Despite the work I do, the research I read and share, and the amazing people I get to learn from, I personally have not mastered the perfect balance at work.

Whilst I still aspire to have better work life integration, I have found job crafting as a practice is critical to me remaining buoyant, focussed and perhaps most importantly energised and excited by the work I do.

People always think it is easy as a founder to job craft. On paper you have almost total freedom and flexibility in how you do your job. The reality, for me at least (and many other founders I know), often feels very different.

As a founder or director, the opportunity to personalise your work is perhaps always available in theory, but in the midst of day-to-day working on, and in, the business it can feel hard to find the space and focus to craft your work .

Despite the challenges of finding time and energy to job craft, I do actively and deliberately find and create opportunities to iterate, improve and experiment with how I do my job.

Job crafting fundamentally helps me allocate the energy and focus to the areas of (my messy) work and life that need it and matter to me.

How I job craft

Building on the (fabulous) blogs from Chloe, Charlotte and Carly, here are some small ways that I apply job crafting to my job and practice what I preach when it comes to shaping how we act, interact and think about our work.

Task crafting

I regularly try to tinker and change how I do tasks and allocate my time. A recent task crafting experiment - inspired by Charlotte - was to dictate rather than write elements of this blog. And whilst I’ve found this awkward and clumsy it’s also been freeing and fun to approach a specific task in a new and novel way. This experiment has encouraged me to think about other ways I might find for dictation and it is definitely something I’m committing to exploring further.

Skill crafting

I feel fortunate that I feel I am constantly learning in my role (although at times I crave a bit of stability); there are always new ideas to explore, people to learn from and skills and knowledge to develop.

From a work perspective I always strive to have at least one work project that stretches me and the team to learn and try new things or new approaches to existing issues.

As we look to develop the Job Canvas, a way that I am deliberately learning is my knowledge around the world of SAAS (software as a service) and how to build and market new products. I’m listening to lots of podcasts, speaking to people in the industry and reading lots of blogs.

Relationship crafting

Relationships inside and outside of Tailored Thinking are core and fundamental to everything that we do. We work with, and for, people. 

I try not to take any relationship for granted and find ways to shape, improve and amplify the connections I have with others.

Aside from colleagues and clients, I actively create and make time to informally connect and speak with people who are doing interesting things related to making work better to share and spark ideas, offer help and support, collaborate and / or just chat.

I try to pencil these types of meeting in on a quarterly recurring basis which means that we are not scratching around at the last minute to find time in our diaries (I hate diary management), that we forget to reconnect when we are busy doing other things.

They’re informal, unstructured and are always positive. I often come away from them feeling energised and excited – this might be about something they are doing - or having discussed and explored a new idea.

Purpose crafting

I’m always surprised by the power of cognitive or purpose crafting. Simply changing how we think about a work activity can fundamentally shape how we engage with it. Remembering why you are doing something, and why it matters to you, can be instrumental in pushing forward with an activity when motivation or inspiration is in scant supply.

Along with diary management, another area of work that I never look forward to or enjoy relates to doing expenses and reviewing the finances of the business. Last year I started to think about how I could look at, and approach these tasks differently.

I started to think of finance tasks as ‘work weeds’ related to the general gardening required of growing a business. I recognised that most gardeners don’t look forward to weeding but they know it is a key and important part of having a thriving and blooming garden.

So now, when it comes to doing my expenses and finances I think about this as a way of showing care and compassion for the business rather than a transactional activity.

If I’m honest, this change in my mindset isn’t enough to spark joy and excitement when I log into Quickbooks or download the latest financial report, but it has shifted how I view these activities and I find myself dealing with them more regularly and thoroughly rather than simply putting them off.

Being diligent about my finances is a way of caring and being considerate for the business and is ultimately in the service of the team, our clients and partners, and the people we support.

Wellbeing crafting

I find watching films and TV a real escape but I often struggle to create the time to do this. Whilst I used to think it was sacrilege to not watch films and TV programmes in one sitting, I’ve started to ‘snack’ on films during my lunch break.

It feels really indulgent (I need to get out more) to watch a 15 or 20 minutes of film or TV programme whilst I am eating my lunch and it enables me to completely switch off. In the past couple of months I’ve made my way through a rewatch of Point Break (still a classic) and the first season of Severed (brilliant and mind-bending).

Another way I have wellbeing crafted relates to giving myself permission to run during ‘office hours’ as I know categorically and unequivocally that I will be a better worker, thinker, collaborator, husband and dad after I have exercised.

Job crafting failures

Whilst I’ve shared some ideas of how I have successfully job crafted, it’s important to recognise that job crafting is an experiment, and that experiments don’t always work. Some notable failures I’ve had when it comes to job crafting include:

• Keeping Fridays free from meetings (I found that I for lots of practical reasons struggled to keep this day completely free)

• Resolving never doing work in the evenings or at weekends (I found this absolute approach unworkable and ultimately increased my levels of anxiety - I now have looser boundaries)

• Having check-in meetings with colleagues first thing in the morning before I do anything else (I find that to give the team my full attention it is more helpful for me to have settled in for 30 minutes or so by planning my day and scanning emails and messages)

• Going to the gym at lunch (I struggled to commit the time to do this - I still aspire to do this but need to approach this in a different way – any advice welcome).

Finding the light

When it comes to my personal job crafting, I don’t do anything different from what we advocate to others. Starting small, with curiosity and commitment is all you need.

Making a small change to how I do my work can make me feel more in control of my day.

As founder, when you feel overwhelmed or overstretched it’s often hard to see a way through. And for me job crafting is like the smallest chink of light coming through in an otherwise blacked out room. It allows me to reorientate and refocus on the things that matter to me and hopefully allows us a team to do the work that matters to others.

The author of this blog, Rob Baker is founder and Chief Positive Deviant at Tailored Thinking. Rob is a chartered fellow of both the CIPD and the Australian HR Institute and has a first class Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. He is passionate about making work better and making better work.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn.

Job Crafting: How I've crafted my career

“Being self-employed I’ve been job-crafting for the majority of my career without realising it and it has brought me so much joy and job satisfaction.”

— Carly Richards

As my career develops and becomes more sustainable (and having learned more about job crafting) I recognise its importance and have become more purposeful about it.

I wanted to share with you 5 ways that I have crafted my job.

5 ways I’ve crafted my job:

Task crafting

What is it? Task crafting is tangibly changing aspects of how we undertake our work including designing, adding or removing tasks.

How did I do it? I get a bit bored doing the same thing everyday and I enjoy variety in my daily tasks. Therefore, I have ensured that I have multiple roles as a Business Psychologist, AirBnB owner, Property Developer, and in completing my PhD.

Purpose crafting

What is it? Purpose crafting is reframing how we think about our work. in general including the value and significance it brings to us personally and others.

How did I do it? I have made sure that all my roles are fulfilling my purpose of; 'helping people feel good by understanding and meeting their needs', whether that's at work, at home or on holiday! I've done this by crafting meaningful opportunities and personalising my career by only selecting work that will fulfill 3 criteria:

1. Move me towards my life goals and ambitions;

2. Further my career and businesses;

3. Make me happy and keep me well

It requires a bit of organisation and a lot of flexibility but I love all the different things I get to do each week and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Relationship crafting

What is it? Relationship crafting is shaping how we relate and engage with others, including building and adapting our relationship with co-workers.

How did I do it? Being self-employed can become quite lonely. As a borderline introvert/extrovert, I need a bit of time to myself to concentrate but also to interact with people, so during the pandemic I decided to become an associate so I could work as part of a team for some of my week. I have been in associate roles which I thought would fulfil points one and two above, but it became apparent quite quickly that they didn't make me happy and in fact gave me a lot of unnecessary stress. In becoming an associate for Tailored Thinking I couldn't be happier and that is down to the people and our respectful relationships. Rob and the team live and breathe the Tailored Thinking values, so as a company, the outcomes for the team are amazing. I feel happy, empowered, motivated, respected and valued. My psychological contract with TT is strong - I feel valued therefore I want to do more for them...win win!

Skill Crafting

What is it? Skill crafting is developing, refining and focusing on new skills.

How did I do it? A few years ago I realised that I wanted to go back to Uni. I was a qualified Business and Life Coach with a background in psychology and mental health but I really wanted to fulfil my dream of becoming an Occupational and Business Psychologist and make the world of work a more people friendly place (having had my own policy driven negative experiences in the workplace prior to becoming self-employed). I took the plunge in 2019 and got a buzz for it, so I'm continuing my academic research journey by completing my PhD, studying hybrid working and creating solutions for the future of work.

Wellbeing Crafting

What is it? Wellbeing crafting is boosting our physical and mental health through the work we do.

How did i do it? I used to love working from home pre-pandemic. However, homeschooling really knocked that on the head. After the pandemic had settled a bit, I noticed that my stress levels were higher when working from home, and I also began to miss working amongst people as part of a team. I decided to hire a small office to get me out of the house and do more associate work where I can be part of a team. I'm still working flexibly, and from home sometimes, but having a separate space to work not only improves my routine, but it helps to focus my mind on work too.

Carly Richards is currently studying for her PHD around hybrid working and parenting, whilst working for Tailored Thinking one day a week. Carly is a Business Psychologist and specialises in people performance, wellbeing, hybrid working/working environment, and organisational change.

Fun fact: Carly is an extreme DIY enthusiast and never misses an episode of Neighbours.

Connect with Carly on LinkedIn.

Job Crafting: How I’ve made my job more me

Charlotte’s job crafting model

“Four months into my role I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I have already personalised my job. ”

— Charlotte Axon, Lead People Scientist

I began my journey at Tailored Thinking as a Lead People Scientist. Having realised I’d (unknowingly) crafted every job I’ve ever had, I was keen to understand how I could be more deliberate with it.

(Job crafting is making small and tangible changes to your job to make it a better fit for you).

Sharing my experiences 

Four months into my role I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I have already personalised my job. Much of this is due to the freedom and autonomy Tailored Thinking encourages and enables (how could we not?)

Similar to Chloe (my fellow team member), I grouped my experience against the 5 main ways that we find people tend to job craft. 

Five ways I’ve crafted my job:

1. Purpose crafting

Charlotte working on the flipchart

What is it? Purpose crafting is reframing how we think about our work in general, including the value and significance it brings to us personally and others.

How did I do it? Hearing stories from people who have made seemingly small and simple changes to their roles, but have seen huge impacts from it, reminds me of the power of job crafting and its potential to genuinely improve working lives. Speaking to people about their job crafting experiences is my go-to if I'm ever wondering how my role adds value to people’s working lives."

2. Task crafting 

Notes

What is it? Task crafting is tangibly changing aspects of how we undertake our work including designing, adding or removing tasks.

How did I do it? People who know me well would describe me as super organised, and someone who makes plans happen. Naturally, I quickly adopted this role within the Tailored Thinking team. Those admin tasks that no-one ‘owns’ but someone needs to? That’s me! I’ve loved managing Trello boards, keeping projects on track, and writing proposals. We all have different strengths and interests and I look forward to taking on more responsibility for the finance and data sides of Tailored Thinking (you’re welcome Chloe!) as my role develops.

3. Skill crafting

Yes sign

What is it? Skill crafting is developing, refining and focusing on new skills.

How did I do it? I’m a believer in saying yes to the stuff that scares me - whether that be figuring out the technicalities of delivering large group facilitation online, or getting more comfortable speaking in public. I don’t always say yes immediately, but I know how much I have developed during my career through stretching myself, and trust that that will continue when I embrace opportunities to be vulnerable.

I’ve recently been delivering presentations on new topics and have just recorded a podcast, which I’m pretty proud of.

4. Wellbeing crafting

Charlotte’s Google calendar (not available)

What is it? Wellbeing crafting is boosting our physical and mental health through the work we do.

How did I do it? This is the area I’ve probably done most crafting. For example, most days I block out time for lunch to allow a proper break and eat proper food (not just the beige stuff). I always set an out of office for when I’m not working, which takes away any pressure to be working / responding, and also automatically declines invitations in my calendar - saving me the job of saying no to people. As a 4-day week employer, I also dedicate my non-working day to self-care (you can read more about that here).

5. Relationship crafting

Chloe and Charlotte chatting

What is it? Relationship crafting is shaping how we relate and engage with others, including building and adapting our relationship with co-workers. 

How did I do it? I think it’s really important to allow time for getting to know colleagues, especially in a remote world (but more generally too). Since joining the team I’ve actively tried to make time to collaborate with colleagues, as well as allowing space at the beginning of meetings for chit chat. Some days, connecting with lots of people can be energy depleting, so I try to keep one day a week meeting free. This allows me to indulge my introvert side, and also serves as uninterrupted focus time for larger pieces of work.

If you want to start crafting your job my advice would be:

1. Select an area of job crafting to focus on (1 of the 5 described above).

2. Think about parts of your role that you would like to start doing, stop doing or change. It doesn’t have to be additional work but doing more of the stuff you like or reframing how you approach parts of your role.

3. Treat it as an experiment - it’s OK if it doesn’t go how you expected the first time (we often see unintended benefits too).

4. Start small - it doesn’t have to be massive, just something that will improve your job by just 1% and can take less than 1 hour per week.

You can listen to Charlotte chat more about job crafting on her recent BA Brew podcast appearance.

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Charlotte is the lead people scientist at Tailored Thinking and is passionate about making work better for everyone. Charlotte has a first class masters degree in Occupational Psychology and enjoys understanding what meaningful work looks like and feels like for different people.

Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn.

The 4-day week: Charlotte edition

We've all seen (and probably been part of) conversations around the 4-day working week.

Whether you're a supporter or sceptic, it's a discussion that is not going away anytime soon.

For me personally, I can’t imagine going back to the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, because of the ways that this shift has transformed my life and my approach to work.

Background

I began working 4 days in 2021 when I was recovering from a hand / arm injury. Luckily for me, my employer supported me to find a working pattern that best suited my recovery. I played around with a few variations and settled on taking Wednesdays off.

When moving jobs in 2022 I was hugely drawn to Tailored Thinking as a 4-day week employer. I had considered the possibility of extending my weekend by taking Fridays or Mondays off, but decided to stick with Wednesdays.

Guess what? I love Wednesdays!

How I spend my days off

Because Wednesdays began for me as time for self-care, I am determined to keep it this way. 

However I felt a degree of pressure and expectation (from myself) around how to spend this new block of time I had been granted, so I gave myself some “Wednesday rules”:

• Relax - it’s OK to spend time relaxing. This will mean different things on different days but the point is that you don’t have to be “productive” all the time.

• Move - do at least one bit of exercise, anything from walking to weights. There’s no excuse not to, and you’ll feel better for it.

• Connect - catch up with people who you haven’t spoken to for a while. The cafes are emptier mid-week. Walking calls are even better.

• Indulge - fill your time doing things that bring you joy. Again no guilt, this is self-care.

• Reflect - think about how you are spending your time. It’s OK for this to change but don’t look back and feel it was wasted.

Benefits

You can’t get me to shut up about the difference working 4 days has made to my working life, and how I’ve been able to craft my work around it.

Some of the takeaways:

• I have more energy at work. I allow myself a lie-in on Wednesdays and this helps me re-charge for the rest of the week. No more hump day!

• I don’t allow work to take over. I only ever work two days before taking a break, and this means I don’t feel burned out, or like I’m back to back with no cooling off. Clients respect my working pattern so I never feel pressure to be working when I’m off.

• It allows for more space. Sometimes I’ll be flexible with my time, or swap my days (for work or personal reasons), since I have the time to play with.

• I can think about work without being at work. Most of the content I engage with at work is content I find genuinely interesting, but it’s nice to be able to listen to a podcast with no emails pinging, or reflect on how an important meeting went without any distractions.

Team Tailored Thinking

At Tailored Thinking we all work a different 4 day week, and choose to spend our time in ways that best suit us. Chloe chooses to take Friday’s off to recharge and see her family. Rob has Monday’s off to look after his daughter Evie. The one thing that connects us is that we all recognise the benefits for ourselves personally as well as for the organisation and our clients.

Challenges

Of course adopting a 4-day week in organisations doesn’t come without challenges. For example, there are only typically one or two days in a week that our whole team is available. Our solution is to be organised and plan ahead - using our time together in the most productive and efficient way.

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As we all eagerly await the outcomes from the world’s biggest trial of the 4-day working week, we’d love to know how you would craft your role if you had an extra day off.

Or if your company already adopts a 4-day week, let us know how you spend your time!

Charlotte is the lead people scientist at Tailored Thinking and is passionate about making work better for everyone. Charlotte has a first class masters degree in Occupational Psychology and enjoys understanding what meaningful work looks like and feels like for different people.

Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn.

The Origin Story: The Job Canvas

Origin stories seem all the rage at the moment. It feels like every other film at the cinema or TV box set is focussed on telling the story of where a character came from. 

Jumping on Hollywood’s bandwagon, in this blog I wanted to share the Job Canvas origin story (I can’t promise it will be as exciting as the origin of “One” in Stranger Things or how Han Solo found the Millenium Falcon in Solo). 

I’d like to say that the idea for the Job Canvas came like a bolt from blue, but the truth is, as an idea and then as a product it has been developing and evolving over a number of years. It emerged from thinking, testing and doing rather than as a fully formed product.

I sent the first email about the Job Canvas to someone in 2017 and gmail tells me that I have sent over 893 emails about the Canvas since this date (I write this in July 2022).

The starting point - the problem I wanted to solve

As I’ve written before as an HR professional, despite writing and reviewing 100’s of job descriptions, I have never been a fan. They have the potential to box people into fixed ways of working, are inflexible, often frustrating to produce, and out of date as soon as they are written. 

The consequence of all this is that people seldom rely on or derive value from their job descriptions; they are often documents that are hidden away on a hard drive gaining digital dust only brought out for promotions, disciplinaries or the dreaded annual review. 

Rather than providing clarity, job descriptions often blur the lines. They don’t capture the essence or reality of how a job is undertaken. 

When I was doing research for my book (Personalisation at Work - available at all good and evil book stores) I started to realise that - perhaps unintentionally - job descriptions could be a significant barrier to people personalising their work. 

Daydreaming about solutions to this problem, I began to get curious about what a more flexible, agile, personal and frankly more human way of describing and capturing and defining a job would look like.

From digital dust to digital canvas

When I was setting up Tailored Thinking I had been introduced to the idea of using canvases to capture and map out different parts of the business. These canvases were often split into different segments or elements that mapped out the different, but often interrelated aspects of a function. For example, the Business Model Canvas (probably the most well known and used canvas amongst start ups) maps out different elements of core business model.

Taking inspiration from the canvases I was using for the business, combined with other research and themes I was exploring from design thinking, I started to explore what a “Job Canvas” would look like.

Following testing with colleagues, friends, clients and other interested organisations, I developed 9 core elements of the Canvas that gave insights to different elements of the role and got to the heart or the DNA of a job.

I remember feeling really excited when I explored the canvas with the HR team at a challenger bank close to me and they were able to get a really good outline of the job in 18 minutes (2 minutes per section). 

Creating a digital canvas

At first the Canvas was just a powerpoint template that I printed out and tested with individuals and teams.

Once I was happy with the 9 core elements of the Job Canvas, I started to consider addressing some of the other challenges with job descriptions. For example, they’re not always easy to update, they get lost, and the data in job descriptions aren’t centralised.

Looking back at my notes on the creation of the digital Canvas I wanted it to be:

• Easy to access and update

• Saved so that people didn’t have to re-complete it

• Downloadable into a PDF 

• Centrally stored for managers and HR colleagues so that the documents didn’t get lost

• Analysable to support broader organisational and people analytic insights

Having got some ideas of what I wanted, I was introduced to a patient, curious and amazing software developer (thanks Nick) who turned my thoughts into the first version of the digital job canvas that is now free to use. 

Some unexpected results…  

One of the joys of seeing individuals and teams use the Job Canvas is that you can see them gaining different insights and reflections.

Working with one HR team in the early stages, a team leader shared that the Job Canvas exercise allowed her to put her finger on an issue that she had been struggling to resolve.

One of the moments about the Canvas was that people doing the same role might view their roles differently. E.G. someone working in HR might see their key customers as employees or others might see their key customers as the organisation and the leaders. Now both perceptions are valid, but this might explain the behaviours in the team.

For example, one person might spend a lot of time sorting out individual issues with employees and advocacy whilst others might spend less time doing this - might be perceived as less accessible - and spend more time looking at strategic issues.

As a line manager, this enables you to have better conversations with staff and understand whether there are any conflicts or friction with how that person sees that job and requirements for that job. 

Future thinking…

Building on the ideas of our current users and becoming more immersed in digital HR products, we see lots of opportunities to develop the canvas further and include greater features. 

We’ve already started holding meetings with interested teams and prospective clients to explore how we could improve the Job Canvas and what they would like us to add into future iterations of the product.

If you would like to be involved and share any insights or feedback then please let us know at [email protected].

I’d like to thank the following people who have helped shape the early developments in the Job Canvas.

Satalia, Virgin Money, Anne-Marie Lister, Sarah Dewar, Lisa Davidson, Sara Cox, Melanie Cheung, Michelle Reid, Michelle Minnikin and many more (give me a nudge if I’ve missed you off).

The author of this blog, Rob Baker is founder and Chief Positive Deviant at Tailored Thinking. Rob is a chartered fellow of both the CIPD and the Australian HR Institute and has a first class Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. He is passionate about making work better and making better work.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn.