Pandemics related-demands upon managers and job crafting in the production sector in Poland

Managers' behaviour is an important determinant of operational performance of manufacturing companies as it is crucial for workforce management. In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, this group of workers is particularly exposed to high occupational overload, so there is a need to focus on the ways they can proactively activate personal resources to deal with crisis demands. Proactivity and job crafting are among the key elements ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of managers in conditions of high demands. Drawing on the job demands-resources theory (JD-R), this study investigates how distinct new demands upon managers and managers' organizational identification impact on the managers' job crafting. Data were collected during pandemics' outburst using the computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) with 147 middle and senior managers from manufacturing companies in Poland, while SEM used to test hypothesized research model. The results show that COVID-19 hindering demands related to general overload increase job crafting only when managers possess high level of organizational identification, while challenging demands connected to information and communications technology use directly leverage job crafting. The findings guide manufacturers that they should be very careful in applying hindering demands in unprecedented environmental changes and always focus on managers' additional personal resources in that context. There should be also more awareness of different types of excessive demands and different psychological mechanism they trigger.