Job Crafting in the IT-industry : Crafting Work for a Satisfying and Fulfilling Work Life.

Sammanfattning: Background: People have long sought to be able to influence and form their own work lives to align more with their personal beliefs and satisfy their needs and wants. Due to digitalization, opportunities for professionals to do so have increased, and theories such as job crafting have emerged. There are however some questions as to how IT-professionals in different work settings utilize these strategies to craft a better work life for themselves, along with questions regarding their freedom to be able to craft. Research Problem: Increased autonomy for workers has enabled them to take more control of their work lives and given them more choices in how they work, but there are still questions regarding how workers are enabled to job craft in different settings, within the same IT-industry. By applying job crafting theory to this specific context, the authors seek to address how workers pursue a more satisfying and fulfilling work life. Research Purpose: This thesis investigates IT-professionals' abilities and methods of crafting and designing a more satisfying and fulfilling work life. Research Question: How do IT professionals in different work settings craft their jobs in order to achieve a more fulfilling and satisfying work situation? Research Method: To best be able to meet the purpose of this study, a qualitative study was conducted by the authors. Data collection was made through semi-structured interviews with professionals working in the IT-industry, revolving around the topic of job crafting and autonomy. The authors committed to a sampling strategy and reached out to suitable respondents that fit the purpose of the study. Open ended questions were used in the interviews to ensure no bias from the authors. The data is analyzed through the Gioia method. Conclusion: The conclusion that can be derived from this study is that individuals are enabled to utilize the job crafting variations to give themselves the chances to have a more satisfying and fulfilling work life. An individual cannot be totally autonomous, because it is influenced by factors out of the individual's control, e.g the employing organization or the client the individual is working for. But it is evident that IT-professionals are utilizing the three types of job crafting to be able to put themselves in the best situation possible for them to create a fulfilling and satisfying work situation.