How different forms of job crafting relate to job satisfaction: The role of person-job fit and age

The purpose of our research is to explore the role of different job crafting strategies on employees’ person-job fit and job satisfaction within the background of the changing nature and demands of jobs. By integrating the original conceptualization of job crafting and job demands-resources theory, we examine whether three dimensions of job crafting (i.e., task, relational, and cognitive crafting) foster job satisfaction via perceived person-job fit and how employees’ age moderates these mediated relationships. Using a sample of 379 Chinese employees from diverse industries and occupations, the findings indicated that person-job fit mediated the relationships between all three forms of job crafting and job satisfaction. Moreover, the relationships of task and relational crafting with person-job fit were stronger among younger employees, and the relationship of cognitive crafting with person-job fit was stronger among older employees. Employees’ age further moderated the indirect effects of the three forms of job crafting on job satisfaction via person-job fit. We provide insights into how organizations can help employees of all ages benefit from utilizing different job crafting strategies, and discuss future directions for job crafting research.