Job Crafting via Decreasing Hindrance Demands: The Motivating Role of Interdependence Misfit and the Facilitating Role of Autonomy

Abstract

Job crafting theory suggests that misalignment between an employee’s preferred and actual amount of job characteristics acts as a motivational trigger for job crafting. We test this unexplored, yet key proposition underlying job crafting theory. To do so, however, we take a more comprehensive misfit perspective than previously applied, evaluating person‐job undersupply and oversupply. We propose that task interdependence misfit motivates a reductive form of job crafting, decreasing hindrance demands. We also propose that low autonomy mitigates the misfit to decreasing hindrance demands relationship. To empirically evaluate this direction, we employ moderated polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Study 1 (N = 159 English‐speaking respondents) findings suggest that task interdependence misfit (both undersupply and oversupply) is positively related to decreasing hindrance demands. Study 2 (N = 363 Dutch‐speaking respondents) findings replicate and support our misfit hypothesis. Further, as expected, low levels of autonomy neutralize the relationship between task interdependence misfit and decreasing hindrance demands. Theoretical and practical implications regarding the misfit‐as‐motivation hypothesis, and the simultaneous investigation of job crafting facilitators (i.e., autonomy) and motivators (i.e., misfit) are discussed.