Does job crafting always lead to employee well-being and performance? Meta-analytical evidence on the moderating role of societal culture

We quantitatively summarize existing studies on job crafting and its effects on well-being and individual in-role and extra-role performance. We differentiate job crafting behaviors by target of impact (individual vs. work environment) and regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion focus). Drawing on 60 independent samples with a total of 20,547 participants, we use meta-analysis to show that promotion-oriented job crafting can be associated with increased well-being and both in-role and extra-role performance. Prevention-oriented crafting yielded partially significant results for well-being while showing non-significant relationships with both performance outcomes. Drawing on previous findings of the GLOBE study, we further show that the effects of job crafting on both in-role and extra-role performance are partially moderated by the cultural practices of in-group collectivism, future orientation, performance orientation, and uncertainty avoidance. By doing so, we illuminate the cultural circumstances under which job crafting behaviors are more suitable and where job crafting is less effective as a way to improve individuals’ performance.