Reducing demands or optimizing demands? Effects of cognitive appraisal and autonomy on job crafting to change one’s work demands

Employees can craft their job demands by optimizing or reducing them. Research has shown reducing demands produces dysfunctional effects, yet optimizing demands creates positive effects. However, little is known about when and why employees choose to engage in optimizing demands versus reducing demands. Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, we proposed that individuals’ primary appraisal of a demand as a challenge or a hindrance affects their choice of demands crafting via secondary appraisal of control. We further theorized that job autonomy affects control appraisal and interacts with primary appraisal to affect control appraisal. We conducted two randomized vignette experiments in which we manipulated primary appraisal and job autonomy in Study A (N = 182) and control appraisal in Study B (N = 145) to test our hypotheses. The assigned challenge appraisal positively predicted optimizing demands indirectly via the increased control appraisal. The assigned hindrance appraisal positively predicted reducing demands, but this effect was not mediated by control appraisal. Job autonomy had a main effect on control appraisal but did not interact with assigned challenge/hindrance appraisal in predicting control appraisal. Our findings provide significant insights into distinct mechanisms of two demands crafting strategies, and guidance to organizational practices.