Overcoming organizational constraints: The role of organizational commitment and job crafting in relation to employee performance

Organizational constraints have been shown to impact numerous work outcomes negatively. However, we still know little about the mechanisms by which organizational constraints affect employee performance or the conditions under which performance is or is not reduced. Drawing on the job demands–resources theory, we propose a mediated-moderation model that advances our understanding of the effects of organizational constraints on employee performance. We hypothesize that organizational constraints decrease organizational commitment, resulting in employees being less willing to be proactive (job crafting), which in turn leads to lower job performance. However, we further hypothesize that the amount of crafting in the face of organizational constraints depends on commitment, with more committed employees (despite constraints due to counterbalancing factors) engaging in more job crafting than those with low commitment. As a result of high commitment and job crafting, employee performance can actually be higher. Data collected from 746 Polish employees revealed that organizational constraints were directly and negatively related to employee performance. However, this negative relationship is mediated through organizational commitment and job crafting, and further moderated by organizational commitment as predicted.