case Study Consider for a moment Fatima, a midlevel manager at a global food firm who seems to be nearing the pinnacle of her career. She regularly meets needed benchmarks and objectives, she develops positive partnerships with peers, and senior management recognizes her as "strong potential." However, she is dissatisfied with her work. She'd be much more involved in learning about how her company might use social networking for marketing purposes. Ideally, she'd like to leave to do something more aligned with her passions, but given the present economic climate, this might not be feasible. As a result, she has agreed to proactively restructure her new role.

Fatima is part of a movement towards job crafting, which is the process of deliberately reorganizing your job so that it better fits your motives, strengths, and passions. So how did Fatima craft her job? She first noticed that she was spending too much of her time monitoring her teams performance and answering team questions, and not enough time working on the creative projects that inspire her. She then considered how to modify her relationship with the team so that these activities incorporated her passion for social media strategies, with team activities more centered around developing new marketing. She also identified members of her team who might be able to help her implement these new strategies and directed her interactions with these individuals towards her new goals. As a result, not only has her engagement in her work increased, but she has also developed new ideas that are being recognized and advanced within the organization. In sum, she has found that by actively and creatively examining her work, she has been able to craft her current job into one that is truly satisfying.

As you may have noted, Fatima exhibited a proactive personality she was eager to develop her own options and find her own resources. Proactive individuals are often self-empowered and are, therefore, more open to seeking workable solutions when they are not satisfied. Research would lead us to believe Fatima will be successful in her customized job. In fact, it is quite possible her employer never would have helped her craft a better job had she not sought help, and that her proactivity is responsible for her success. To the extent possible, then, all employees should feel encouraged to be proactive in creating their best work situations.

{Source: Robbinsjudge_OB}

6. Should organizations work to create jobs that are satisfying to individual employees? Discuss Why or Why not?

7. Are there any potential drawbacks to the job crafting approach? If so, how can they be minimized?