Abstract
The financial services sector, both globally and locally, is highly competitive, fast-paced and characterised by changing consumer demands, rapid technological advancements and strict legislative and regulatory requirements. Against this backdrop, financial services organisations require high performance outputs from their employees. Employees who proactively reconfigure aspects of their work to better suit their abilities and preferences (i.e. craft their jobs); those who exhibit a positive work attitude, commitment, and perseverance (i.e. are engaged at work); and those who can respond effectively to workplace demands (i.e. display resilience) are likely to demonstrate enhanced performance in pressurised work situations, which ultimately positively affects an organisation’s bottom line.
In this context, the study investigated the relationships between job crafting, work engagement, and resilience, and how these variables influence one another in a financial services organisation. A quantitative study was conducted. Data were collected from financial services consultants and support staff via a questionnaire at a selected financial services organisation with a business presence in South Africa and Namibia. Convenience sampling was used to reach the targeted population of 600 employees, and a response rate of 55% was achieved (332 responses). The data were statistically analysed using Pearson product–moment correlation and multiple linear regression analyses to establish the correlational and predictive relationships between the task, cognitive and relational dimensions of job crafting, work engagement and resilience.
The results of the study suggest a significant positive correlation between all variables. Task, cognitive and relational crafting were shown to be predictors of work engagement, while only task and cognitive crafting were evidenced as predictors of resilience. In addition, cognitive crafting emerged as the strongest predictor of both work engagement and resilience. Work engagement was also shown to be a predictor of resilience.
The outcomes of the study have implications for employees, human resources professionals and financial services organisations. Job-crafting interventions may be an effective strategy for human resources to enhance both employee engagement and resilience. Employees may more intentionally seek opportunities to reshape aspects of their jobs to create a positive and meaningful work experience, which will ultimately improve an organisation’s profitability and sustainability.