Learning on the go! Increased job crafting in healthcare sector

Purpose The purpose is to explore the job crafting behavior that arises as a consequence of rapid learning. Design/methodology/approach Focused group discussion (FGDs) and in-depth interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals in three hospitals in India. Data was collected between July 2021 and February 2022 during second wave of pandemic. Findings It was found that healthcare professionals exhibited task, relational and cognitive crafting of the job as an outcome of instant contextual learning and crafted their tasks, relations and cognitive abilities to take proactive measures, related to patient and attendant care. Research limitations/implications Due to prevalence of COVID-19 protocols wider sampling was not feasible. A comparative study with a control group not having underwent rapid learning would have brought out final nuance. Practical implications This study highlights the role mentoring, job shadowing, workshop, simulation as means of enhancing rapid learning. Social implications In crisis situations how extra manpower can be successfully deployed by way of capability enhancement mechanism and this will lead to effective handling of emergency situations in future. Originality/value This paper rests on an under-researched area at the junction of crisis management, organizational learning, and job crafting. It’s different from the phenomenon of usual long term learning and gradual job crafting.