Work is broken!
If our work was an item of clothing, for most of us, it would be a straight-jacket. Or at best an ill-fitting suit. Modern working practices are failing us – constraining rather than amplifying our diverse skills, strengths, passions and interests.
No wonder globally over 90% of us aren’t engaged, excited and energised about our jobs.
- What if we encouraged people to customise their work the way a tailor would the final fit of a semi-tailored suit?
- What if we started to shape work around people rather than expecting people to contort themselves around their jobs constantly?
- What if we took a more personalised approach?
As a society and in business, people embrace opportunities for the personalisation of products and services. We enjoy and value having our individual style, beliefs and passions reflected in what we do and how we do it.
So how can we bring this personal touch to our work?
The answer lies in Job Crafting. Job Crafting encourages us to explore how we act, interact and think about our tasks, thoughts and relationships and to redesign and personalise aspects of our work in ways that foster engagement, job satisfaction, resilience and thriving. Job Crafting is a research-informed and evidence-based approach, and the investigation into this practice is compelling. Job crafting boosts innovation and agility, nurtures Health and wellbeing and amplifies meaning, purpose and productivity.
The practice of Job Crafting is a growing field of academic study but to date the concept and mostly untapped and unknown from an organisational perspective. There have been some early adopters including Google, Logitech, Burts Bees in the US, Wideroe Airlines in Norway and Connect Health, the University of Leeds and Virgin money in the UK.
We’re holding an event for senior HR leaders and Chartered Fellows of the CIPD on 2 October at Manchester Met University All Saint’s Campus (M15) from 18:00-20:00
We’ll share insights and case studies from the organisations above, and others, who have found innovative ways of encouraging a personalised – human-centred – approach to work.
Our event will be filled with practical job crafting strategies, studies and stories, based on the latest science, combined with the author’s extensive research and applied experience.
Leaders will be given practical tools to explore, experiment with and embed a more personalised approach to work, which creates and sustains engagement and exceptional people experiences.
We’re delighted to welcome Rob Baker who is a specialist at bringing positive psychology and exceptional performance to workplaces.
He is the founder and Chief Positive Deviant of Tailored Thinking, a leading evidence-based positive psychology, wellbeing and HR consultancy and brings zest, curiosity and a collaborative spirit to everything that he does.
Rob’s ideas and research on job crafting and how people can personalise work and bring their whole and best selves to the workplace have been presented at academic and professional conferences around the world.
Putting the human back into HR, as a leader and consultant, Rob has delivered sector-leading and award-winning people initiatives and business transformation projects. Rob is world-leading when it comes to designing and delivering job-crafting interventions in the workplace.
Rob is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and a Chartered Fellow of the Australian HR Institute and has a first-class Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne, where he continues to collaborate with the University’s world-leading Centre of Positive Psychology.
CIPD Manchester Branch 