Job Crafting and Psychological Distress: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Employee psychological health has become an urgent concern for organizations, yet less is known about how employees can proactively protect their own psychological health through day-to-day work redesign. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines whether three forms of job crafting (i.e., relational, task, and cognitive crafting) negatively associate with psychological distress through need-related mechanisms (i.e., belongingness, job autonomy, and self-efficacy). Using three-wave survey data from 883 employees in Mainland China, we find that relational crafting negatively associates with psychological distress through belongingness, task crafting through job autonomy, and cognitive crafting through self-efficacy. These findings clarify how proactive work redesign may help protect psychological health. This study contributes to revealing pathways linking job crafting to psychological distress. The practical implications for job crafting and employee well-being are also discussed.