Empowering older workers through self-regulation: how job crafting and leisure crafting enhance mindfulness and well-being at work

Abstract The capacity for self-regulation is crucial for older workers to maintain adaptability and well-being under aging-related challenges. Building on recent research suggesting that practices of self-regulation can enhance self-regulatory capacity, our study employs self-regulation theory to investigate how two distinct self-regulatory practices—job crafting (JC) and leisure crafting (LC)—support older workers in enhancing their work well-being through the lens of self-regulatory capacity, specifically mindfulness. Within this theoretical framework, we further explore the combined effects of JC and LC on adaptation to the aging process. A three-wave time-lagged survey was conducted among 227 older Chinese workers from science and technology enterprises. The results from latent structural equation modeling indicate that mindfulness at work mediates the relationship between crafting practices (both JC and LC) and work well-being. Moreover, JC and LC exhibit a compensatory relationship in facilitating mindfulness at work, which in turn promotes the work well-being of older workers. These findings offer a novel perspective grounded in self-regulation theory, highlighting how JC and LC contribute to successful aging by strengthening mindfulness capacity.