The relationship between career calling and job crafting: a systematic literature review

The relationship between career calling and job crafting has gained increasing attention in vocational psychology. This systematic literature review examines existing quantitative studies that explore the relationship between these two constructs. Career calling is conceptualized as a deep sense of purpose and sense of commitment to work, while job crafting refers to proactive behaviors that individuals engage in to shape their job roles. The review includes 15 empirical studies, highlighting common findings on the association between the constructs, theoretical frameworks, and associated variables such as work meaning, career commitment, and person-environment fit. Overall, career calling and job crafting are positively associated in 12 studies with medium to high correlations. While most studies suggest that perceiving a calling leads to greater job crafting, some findings indicate that job crafting behaviors can also foster a stronger sense of calling. The review also identifies methodological limitations, including the predominance of cross-sectional designs and differences in definitions and measurement tools. Future research should employ longitudinal approaches to better understand the dynamics between career calling and job crafting.