Finding Fulfilment in Your Current Role
If you’re feeling stuck in your job or getting that creeping dread on Sunday evenings, it’s easy to think that the only way forward is to find a new job—or even change careers. While that might be the right path for some, it’s not always necessary to make such a drastic move to find fulfilment.
Instead, you can reflect on the work of Amy Wrzesniewski et al. (e.g. Jane Dutton) and recraft your role to make it more engaging, purposeful, and aligned with your values...
Job crafting: take control of your role
The first step in job crafting is recognising that fulfilment doesn’t depend on external factors like job titles, bosses, or salary. Fulfilment is something you can create from within by taking ownership of your experience and making small, intentional changes that can make your current job feel more meaningful, energising, and aligned with your personal and professional goals.
Rather than waiting for the “perfect” job or a change in your external circumstances, job crafting shows how you can turn your current role into something more fulfilling—starting right now.
The work highlights three ways you can start reshaping your job:
1. Task Crafting
The goal of task crafting is to feel more engaged with the work you do. It’s about finding the aspects of your role that bring you joy or a sense of accomplishment and doing more of those things, while tweaking your current tasks so they become less incumbent on your day.
For example; is there a project or responsibility you’ve always wanted to take on but never had the chance to? Seeking out opportunities and bringing new challenges into your day-to-day work can break up the routine and give you a sense of ownership. Reach out to your manager or team and see what you can adjust and take on.
2. Relational Crafting
Relationships are an essential part of work, and you have the agency to determine how you engage with them. Job crafting highlights that you choose how you interact with others to make your work life more fulfilling.
For example; which colleagues motivate you, value you, or whose work do you admire? Invest more time and energy into these relationships to create an inspiring network. Reach out and plan a conversation. How did they get to their postion/project, Find out what other people are working on and when it is interesting, how you can collaborate.
3. Cognitive Crafting
Cognitive crafting is one of the most powerful tools for creating fulfilment in your current role. The way you think about your role, your tasks, and even the people around you can have a profound impact on how you feel about your job.
For example; even the most monotonous tasks can be made more meaningful by connecting to a bigger goal. How does that “boring” task help you, the team, the organisation, or even the world? This shift in perspective can transform mundane tasks into something purposeful.
Want to get started with job crafting?
Reflect on your day-to-day tasks, relationships, and mindset. What parts of your job do you find draining? What tasks excite you? What relationships energise you? What changes would make a difference for you?
Make small adjustments. Don’t feel like you have to change everything at once. Start small. Perhaps you can adjust your approach to one task or have a conversation with one colleague you admire.
Shift your mindset. Acknowledge how your tasks contribute. What new skills or knowledge are you gaining by staying in this position? What can you learn from the challenges you face?
Track your progress. Job crafting is an ongoing process of review and tweak. Check in with yourself to see what changes you’ve made and which ones are impacting your energy, satisfaction, and motivation.
Job crafting works because it gives you the agency to take control of your work life. Rather than waiting for someone else to make changes or hoping for a spark of passion, you can reshape your role to bring new meaning and energy to your work.
That said, job crafting isn’t applicable in all situations. I’ll be the first to admit that you can’t change everything in your external situation.
However, with a fresh internal perspective, you might begin to see how your current role can evolve into a source of energy, fulfilment, and growth.
Feel free to reach out if you’d like to explore your next steps together—I’d love to support you in crafting a role that aligns with who you are.
