Job Crafting and Working Through Cancer: Rewriting the Script of Work and Wellbeing

Imagine this: You’ve just received a life-changing diagnosis. Suddenly, the things that once seemed central, meetings, deadlines, performance metrics, feel distant, even trivial. Yet, for many people living with cancer, work remains more than a paycheck. It’s identity, purpose, structure. It’s the sense of normalcy amidst chaos. But how do you reconcile work with the physical, emotional, and existential challenges cancer brings?

This is where job crafting steps in, not as a buzzword, but as a profound act of agency.

What is Job Crafting?

Coined by Wrzesniewski and Dutton (2001), job crafting is the process of employees actively shaping the boundaries and meaning of their jobs to better align with their strengths, values, and circumstances. It’s not about rewriting your job description; it’s about reframing your relationship with work.

Job crafting can happen in three ways:

• Task crafting: Altering what you do (e.g., delegating certain tasks, prioritizing others).

• Relational crafting: Changing who you interact with (e.g., seeking support from empathetic colleagues).

• Cognitive crafting: Shifting how you see your work (e.g., from “just a job” to a source of purpose during adversity).

For employees living with cancer, these micro-adjustments aren’t perks, they’re survival strategies.

Why Does Job Crafting Matter for People Working with Cancer?

Living and working with cancer means balancing unpredictable energy levels, treatment schedules, and emotional fatigue. The traditional top-down approach, where roles are rigid, can feel suffocating. Research in occupational & health psychology shows that autonomy and perceived control are strong predictors of resilience and engagement, even under strain (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Job crafting gives people back a sense of control in a situation that feels otherwise uncontrollable.

Consider this: When individuals with chronic illnesses engage in job crafting, studies show reductions in burnout and improvements in work engagement and wellbeing (Tims et al., 2013). Why? Because they are creating fit between who they are now and what the job demands.

The Psychology Behind the Power

Job crafting taps into Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which argues that humans have three basic psychological needs:

• Autonomy: The feeling of choice and control.

• Competence: The sense of being effective.

• Relatedness: The feeling of connection to others.

Cancer often threatens all three. Job crafting restores them: Choosing when and how to work fosters autonomy, leveraging strengths despite illness nurtures competence, and intentionally building supportive relationships satisfies relatedness.

A Thought-Provoking Question: Whose Job Is It to Craft?

Traditionally, we think of job crafting as an employee-driven process. But when someone is facing a serious health condition, responsibility also lies with employers and managers. This isn’t just about “reasonable adjustments” as per legal frameworks; it’s about cultivating psychological safety, where employees feel they can craft their roles without stigma or fear.

The future of compassionate workplaces isn’t built on rigid job descriptions, it’s built on negotiated, living roles that flex with human realities.

Practical Ways to Craft Your Job When Working Through Cancer

• Energy mapping: Align your most critical tasks with your peak energy windows.

• Treatment transparency: Where safe, communicate upcoming medical commitments early to avoid last-minute conflicts.

• Supportive alliances: Identify colleagues who can share tasks or provide backup, relational crafting at its best.

• Purpose reframing: Ask yourself: What part of my work feels meaningful now? Pour energy there.

The Bigger Picture

Cancer changes lives, but it doesn’t have to erase identity or agency. Through job crafting, work becomes more than an obligation, it becomes a resource for resilience, connection, and meaning.

The question we should all ask, employers, HR leaders, colleagues, is this: How can we make workplaces flexible enough that anyone, at any point, can craft their role without fear? Because job crafting isn’t just for people with cancer; it’s the cornerstone of humane, future-ready work.