Sustainable Work Well-Being: Integrating Job Crafting and Planetary Health into Practice

Sustainable work well-being is a holistic concept rooted in an individual’s capacity to manage work tasks effectively while maintaining health and motivation. In today’s evolving work environments, challenges such as globalization, digitalization, and climate change require organizations and individuals to adapt proactively. One way to achieve this is through job crafting, which empowers employees to tailor their work in ways that enhance their engagement and satisfaction. Integrating planetary health into workplace strategies further strengthens well-being by fostering a connection between work, personal health, and environmental sustainability. Planetary health refers to the interdependence between human well-being and the natural environment. A sustainable approach to work considers how organizations and individuals can reduce environmental impacts while improving work well-being.

Understanding Work Ability and Well-Being

Work ability forms the foundation of sustainable work well-being. It refers to a person’s ability to perform and manage their work tasks while maintaining their health and effectiveness. The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health emphasizes that work ability is influenced by multiple factors, including health, competencies, values, and workplace conditions.

The Work Ability House Model offers a structured framework for maintaining employees’ work ability Model is pictured as a house with interconnected floors, each representing essential components affecting long-term work ability – together with family and social networks. An individual is regarded as an active participant in this model. The model consists of health and functional capacities, competence, work experiences and learning and values, attitudes and motivation and the workplace factors, such as effective management, work environment, work itself and work community. (Ilmarinen 2019; Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.)

Recognizing that work ability is shaped by continuously changing organizational and societal environments is crucial. Factors like economic trends, digital transformation, and climate change impact workplaces and require adaptive strategies to sustain well-being.

Job Crafting as a way to increase Work Well-Being

Job crafting empowers employees to reshape their roles by modifying tasks, relationships, or perspectives to better suit their strengths and needs (Tims & Bakker, 2010). This can involve adjusting workloads, seeking support, or reframing job meaning to enhance motivation and job satisfaction. For instance, an employee experiencing high job demands could practice job crafting by delegating less critical tasks to a colleague or proposing a more realistic project timeline. Alternatively, an employee lacking job resources might seek additional feedback or mentorship from their supervisor to gain clarity and confidence in their role

Job crafting has significant benefits for both individuals and organizations. It enhances work engagement, motivation, and well-being, while also improving job performance and satisfaction (Tims et al., 2012). For organizations, fostering job crafting contributes to greater flexibility, efficiency, and employee commitment, creating a win-win scenario for both parties.

Planetary Health and Work Well-Being

Planetary health and well-being stems from recognizing the deep interdependence between humans and the natural world. Essential natural systems sustain life by providing clean water, oxygen, and food, while also acting as a buffer against floods, storms, and other extreme weather events. Interaction with diverse natural environments enriches the human microbiota, bolstering our immunity and shielding us from various illnesses. As integral components of the natural system, humans rely entirely on the vitality and resilience of these ecosystems. (The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare 2024.) This also contributes to sustainable work well-being. Clean air, access to green spaces, and stable environmental conditions reduce health risks, enhance mental well-being, and promote overall work ability.

Organizations are increasingly integrating sustainability into their strategies by adopting green practices, promoting eco-friendly workspaces, and encouraging environmentally conscious behaviors. At the individual level, employees can incorporate sustainability into their daily work routines through small, meaningful changes. Organizations that prioritize planetary health not only contribute to environmental sustainability but also create healthier, more resilient workplaces.

We as humans can affect the environment through our actions both locally and globally. Environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss demand immediate actions from us all. Planetary health and well-being help us to find solutions for mitigating global warming, overconsumption of natural resources and environmental pollution and to ensure preconditions for wellbeing for both people and planet. (The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare 2024.)

Key aspects of planetary health and wellbeing are strong sustainability, fairness, a systemic approach and recognizing needs for change (The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare 2024). Many organizations are adapting to market demands for sustainable products and services, positioning occupational health at the forefront of the green economy shift. Others are proactively integrating climate and health initiatives into their strategies or leveraging expertise to guide industry innovation. (Adshead 2022.)

Addressing health and environmental issues can yield synergistic benefits, such as improved mental health through nature and cleaner air via renewable energy. Businesses are driving this change while their role in enhancing health is increasingly acknowledged by investors. (Adshead 2022.) Broadly speaking, it is the responsibility of organizations to take into account aspects of planetary health and wellbeing at the organizational level. At the individual level, employees also have opportunities to contribute to the footprint they leave on the planet.

Practical Ways to Promote Sustainable Work Well-Being

Job crafting strategies can also be looked from the perspective of planetary health promotion. By embracing different job crafting strategies within planetary perspective, employees and organizations alike can create more meaningful and effective workplaces.

Employees and organizations can take several steps to align workplace practices with sustainability goals (Kämäräinen et al 2024):

• Increasing nature connection through shared outdoor activities, which can improve well-being, sleep quality, and lower blood pressure.

• Traveling to work by bike or walking—if possible, through a park or forest.

• Working from home to avoid unnecessary private car use when job tasks allow.

• Avoiding waste, such as ensuring coffee is not discarded unnecessarily, to minimize its impact on global biodiversity.

• Enjoying work meals as picnics in nature with colleagues.

• Getting inspired by plant-based, seasonal, and local foods.

• Activating your senses in nature, for example, by listening to natural sounds and noticing scents.

• Organizing litter walks with co-workers during breaks using litter pickers.

• Taking short outdoor breaks in nature to boost your day.

• Ending the workday with a restorative 20-minute walk in nature.

By incorporating these practices, workplaces can simultaneously promote work well-being and contribute to planetary sustainability.

Conclusion

Sustainable work well-being requires a comprehensive approach that integrates work ability, job crafting, and planetary health. Organizations and employees alike play a role in fostering environments that support both individual and ecological well-being. By embracing job crafting and sustainable workplace practices, we can increase the overall work well-being.

What steps can you and your organization take today to support sustainable work well-being?

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Authors: Irina Katajisto-Korhonen, Marion Karppi, Sanni-Sisko Koistinen (Turku University of Applied Sciences)

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Resources:

Adshead, F. 2022. The Future of Work, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability: Time to Act on Climate and Health. The Society of Occupational Medicine. 15.11.2024: https://www.som.org.uk/sites/som.org.uk/files/OH_ESG_final.pdf

Bakker, A. B. & Demerouti, E. 2014. Job Demands-Resources Theory. In Chen, P. Y. & Cooper, C. L. (ed.) 2014. Work and wellbeing: Wellbeing: A complete reference guide, Volume III. John Wiley & Sons, Lgd. DOI: 10.1002/9781118539415.wbwell019

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. 4. The assessment and support of working ability in occupational health care. https://www.ttl.fi/en/learning-materials/tyoote-operating-model/4-the-assessment-and-support-of-working-ability-in-occupational-health-care

Ilmarinen, J. 2019. From work ability research to implementation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16, 2882.

Kämäräinen, H., Lipponen, M. & Vehmasto, E. 2024. Planetary well-being tip cards. Natural Resources Institute Finland. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024110589244

The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024. Planetary health and wellbeing. 15.11.2024: https://thl.fi/en/about-us/about-thl/goals-for-influencing/planetary-health-and-wellbeing

Tims, M. & Bakker, A. B. 2010. Job crafting: Towards a new model of individual job redesign. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 36, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v36i2.841

Tims, M., Bakker, A. B. & Derks. D. 2012. Development and validation of the job crafting scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 80, 1, 173-186.

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