The Role of Needs-Based Job Crafting in Strengthening Work-Related Sense of Coherence: A Two-Wave Panel Study

Work-related Sense of Coherence (work-SOC) is an important work-specific health resource linked to employee motivation and well-being. However, evidence on how it can be promoted in the workplace is scarce. The present study investigates whether Needs-based Job Crafting (NJC) promotes employee work-SOC over time. In a two-wave panel study of 924 employees from various occupations in Switzerland and Germany, we used cross-lagged panel modelling to examine reciprocal relationships between two forms of NJC and the three work-SOC components (comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness). NJC for approach needs positively predicted all three work-SOC components, while NJC for avoidance needs was not significantly related to any. In the reverse direction, manageability and meaningfulness predicted future NJC for approach needs, while comprehensibility predicted lower future NJC for approach needs when controlling for the other components. None of the work-SOC components predicted future NJC for avoidance needs. Our findings suggest that NJC for approach needs is a useful strategy for employees to strengthen their work-SOC and support workplace well-being and motivation.