The mediating role of psychological empowerment in the relationship between job crafting and employee performance perception

Introduction: Employee performance is a key indicator of organizational effectiveness. One important factor shaping employee performance is job design. This study examines the relationship between job crafting-a bottom-up approach to job design that has received increasing attention in recent years-and employees' perceptions of performance, as well as the mediating role of psychological empowerment in this relationship. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, survey data were collected from 403 participants in the information technology (IT) sector, where creativity and innovation are core characteristics of the work. Five-point Likert scales were used for the Job Crafting Scale, Psychological Empowerment Scale, and Performance Scale. Reliability and validity were supported. The proposed research model was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: < 0.001). However, psychological empowerment was not significantly associated with either performance dimension, and the indirect effects were non-significant (confidence intervals included zero). Discussion: The findings revealed positive, statistically significant relationships among job crafting, contextual performance, task performance, and psychological empowerment. However, the hypotheses that psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between job crafting and performance were not supported. Results indicate that proactive, bottom-up work design can improve performance independently of empowerment mechanisms, potentially reflecting autonomy and dynamic demands in IT work.