Is Job Crafting Always a Good Thing? An Examination of Interpersonal Consequence of Job Crafting

Abstract

While numerous studies have revealed the beneficial effects of job crafting for crafters themselves, little is known about its interpersonal consequences. Drawing upon role theory, we take a unique recipient-focused approach to investigate how and when engaging in job crafting may elicit responses from coworkers. Utilizing the 275 dyads of supervisor-subordinate data collected at three-time points, the results indicate that job crafting is positively related to interpersonal conflict, which, in turn, causes workplace victimization from coworkers. Furthermore, the political skill was found to mitigate the positive indirect linkage between job crafting and workplace victimization. Our study contributes to the job crafting literature by advancing our understanding of the interpersonal outcomes of job crafting.