Mothers' job crafting and work-to-family enrichment: a self-concept perspective

PurposeBased on the self-concept perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the process of working mothers who conduct job crafting to build new role identities and self-efficacy, which ultimately affects work-to-family enrichment. The paper further explores the moderating role of inclusive leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data at two time points. The sample for the study consisted of 216 professional working mothers in China who returned to work after the birth of their first child.FindingsResults show that working mothers' job crafting had a positive effect on work-to-family enrichment. In addition, working mothers' role identity and role self-efficacy played mediating roles between the links. Finally, inclusive leadership moderates the indirect effect of task crafting and relational crafting on work-to-family enrichment through role identity and role self-efficacy. The positive indirect relationships are stronger in high levels of inclusive leadership.Practical implicationsThe employers should provide opportunities, support, and freedom for working mothers to craft their jobs according to their individual demands for better self and home outcomes.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the job crafting of working mothers. The authors extend the consequences of job crafting to the nonwork domain. In addition, this study uncovers the influence of job crafting from the perspective of self-concept (i.e. role identity and role self-efficacy). Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the moderating role played by inclusive leadership in this process.