Job crafting in the context of perceived stress at work among representatives of diverse professional groups - academics, managers and professionals

Objectives The subject of the article's authors' consideration is the issue of job crafting (JC), in relation to perceived stress at work, among representatives of diverse professional groups. The article aims to answer the following questions: Do the participating occupational groups differ in terms of (individual aspects and total outcome) job crafting, stress at work? Is there a relationship between job crafting (job shaping) and the level of perceived stress at work in the study groups? Material and methods Validated questionnaires-The Job Crafting Questionnaire and the Job Crafting Questionnaire were used in the study. The level of perceived stress was investigated using the Perceived Stress at Work Questionnaire. A total of 138 people with a higher education participated in the study. The four groups of respondents (Polish and foreign university teachers, managers and professionals) did not differ in terms of gender parity, age and length of service. Results The research results showed that the studied groups differ only in terms of shaping work, but there are no statistically significant differences between them in the perception of stress at work. In addition, it has been shown that there is a strong, inversely proportional relationship between the level of job crafting (both in relation to individual scales and the total score), which means that the ability to shape work coexists with a lower level of perceived stress. Conclusions The existence of a relationship between job design and perceived occupational stress, in the groups analysed, confirms the importance of a sense of agency and control in maintaining an employee's psychological balance. The data obtained have an applied dimension and indicate that a number of measures can be taken to improve employee well-being and contribute to organisational development.