Bach and the Fine Art of Job Crafting
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In 1722, the committee seeking a new Music Director for the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, was in a quandary. This renowned position had been established in 1518, and, having been vacant for six months, it was crucial to fill it as soon as possible. At least three “top” choices had all turned the job down, including Georg Phillip Telemann, Christoph Graupner, and Johann Friedrich Fasch. The committee reluctantly agreed to hire their last choice, considered by some on the committee to be “a mediocrity.”
His name? Johann Sebastian Bach.
To be sure, the “city fathers” had reason to be reluctant. First, the position called for a composer, but at the time Bach was better known as an organist and harpsichordist. Second, he did not have a University education and was thus considered ignorant (a cautionary tale to MAPPsters, MBAs, PhDs, JDs, etc.). And last but not least, Bach occasionally had a hot temper, particularly with those whom he considered to be musically incompetent.
Bach was equally dubious about the job, due to the required educational duties (teaching Latin to University students, a distasteful task by all accounts), managerial responsibilities for both the church and the city, and the reputedly bad condition of the school building. However, this prominent position would allow him to send his children to the University and would significantly increase his income to help support his growing family (Bach eventually had 22 children, and although fewer than half of them lived to adulthood, many of them became prominent musicians in their own right). His former ideal position at Cöthen, Germany, in the Court of Prince Leopold, was dissolving for a variety of reasons, and he knew he had to seek his fortunes elsewhere. And so to Leipzig he went. He continually sought other employment opportunities until his “advanced years” (ageism in the 1700s?) prevented him from leaving his position at Leipzig, and he remained there as Music Director for over 30 years, to the end of his life.
What does one do when stuck in a less-than-satisfactory job for over 30 years? One job crafts! Job crafting is a relatively new term used to describe workplace innovations that have actually been occurring for centuries, and possibly since the eons of time. According to Moore, “Job crafting is about taking proactive steps and actions to redesign what we do at work, essentially changing tasks, relationships, and perceptions of our jobs. The main premise is that we can stay in the same role, getting more meaning out of our jobs simply by changing what we do and the ‘whole point’ behind it.” Berg, Dutton, and Wrzesniewski asserted that, “Job crafting captures the active changes employees make to their own job designs in ways that can bring about numerous positive outcomes, including engagement, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving.”
Job crafting strategies can focus on three core categories –Task Boundaries, Relational Boundaries, and Cognitive Reframing.
Task Boundaries
In this first category, employees can expand or contract the tasks assigned to them, as permitted by management – and better yet, as collaborated with management – to make their jobs more interesting and fulfilling. For example, one marketing coordinator began performing event planning duties simply because she really enjoyed it. She has consequently “become the go-to person for event planning, and I like my job much more because of it.”
I personally experienced this in my “day job” at Safechecks. Although officially wearing the hat of “marketing/sales,” I began coordinating the travel arrangements for conferences (primarily because I didn’t like the arrangements being made for me – try getting to LAX during morning rush hour traffic instead of later in the afternoon…). I became exceedingly expert in almost all-things travel, which made my job more interesting. My willingness to take on this additional responsibility gave me excellent skills in navigating tricky travel situations, such as getting home from Mazatlán when a flight I was about to board was suddenly canceled (and I helped other stranded passengers do the same, cell phones in hand).
Bach himself engaged in “task boundary crafting” extensively, and thrived! Because of his distaste and boredom with many of his assigned duties, he began additional creative tasks such as composing music, which brought the world literally hundreds of great works. His compositions included over 300 cantatas and the Mass in B minor, which, per Ted Libbey writing for NPR, is “as lofty in design, scope and expression as anything written by the hand of man.” Bach also produced the Goldberg Variations in Leipzig, which to this day are considered some of the greatest keyboard works ever composed, are core within piano repertoire, and have been recorded by many of the greatest pianists of the last 80 years.
Relational Boundaries
Another category of job crafting, as studied by Berg et al., involves people changing “their relationships at work by altering the nature or extent of their interactions with other people.” This concept was exemplified by a maintenance technician who began training new people hired into his department. He said, “When I first came here, we started using the new higher-speed equipment. Then lots of new guys came in. So I started helping them learn the job. Now it’s just expected that I train the new guys. I did this in my previous job, so I have experience with it, and I like it because I’m able to help and work with guys from different backgrounds.” This technician’s behavior and attitude are manifestations of diversity and inclusion, even though those aspirations may not have been part of his initial motivations in reaching out to his new colleagues.
Again, I experienced this expansion of relational boundaries in my “day job” when I began working with the president of the company to research and create fraud prevention PowerPoint presentations. This experience recently came in very handy when the president’s Internet malfunctioned, and he was not able to get online for a Zoom presentation at a Treasury Management conference. Being online in a different location, I saw a disaster brewing when he was still not online a few minutes after the presentation was supposed to have started. I quickly RemotePC’d his presentation to my computer, then, with the conference host’s permission, I gave his presentation – which I was able to do because I had created it!
Again, Bach set an example in the crafting and expansion of relational boundaries when he began consulting to makers of instruments on the construction of organs, to which he brought amazing innovations and increased excellence that persist to this day. Bach also began renting musical instruments, and publishing and selling books containing the words to his cantatas and other works. All of this expanded his relationships, moving him beyond his composing and bringing him into more extensive contact with those experiencing his music.
Cognitive Reframing
Last, but certainly not least, is the cognitive reframing of our perspective regarding our jobs. In an oft-quoted example, hospitals with cleaning crews who have a sense of purpose and view themselves as integral to the healing process have lower infection and mortality rates. As expressed by a staff member assigned to clean up vomit and excrement in the oncology ward, “My job is equally important to the physician. I help these people feel human. At their lowest and most vulnerable point, I help them maintain their dignity…My role is crucial to the healing process.” By taking a broader perspective of our work and our contributions, we can find avenues for meaning and creativity in our everyday work lives.
Indeed, Bach took a very broad view of his work and his life. Early in his career he walked - yes, walked - two hundred miles to hear Dietrich Buxtehude, the famed organist of his day, play evening devotionals at a Cathedral in Lubeck, Germany in preparation for Advent. Bach had grudgingly been given permission to leave his duties as Church organist in Arnstadt, Germany for one month in order to go on this excursion. Upon hearing Buxtehude perform, he begged his employers for another month's leave of absence, even at the risk of being fired, in order to listen and learn from the great organist. The inspirations of the event filled his soul, later leading him to proclaim that his life’s purpose was, per Kavanaugh, to “compose well-regulated church music to the glory of God.” Bach’s manuscripts were well-known to begin with the initials J.J. which stood for Jesu Juva, Latin for “Help me, Jesus.” The end of his compositions frequently bore the initials S.G.D. - Soli Deo Gloria: To God alone, the glory. His religious faith imbued his thoughts, actions, and compositions. Yes, a broad view, indeed.
Onward and Upward….
To be sure, my favorite example of Bach’s job crafting came before his days in Leipzig, when he left his first job as organist in Weimer and traveled to Cöthen to become the Music Director, composer, and conductor in the Court of Prince Leopold in 1718. Bach’s life and love was the organ, which he called the “mother of all instruments.” Yet, when he arrived in Cöthen, he discovered that the court did not have an organ (In 1718, there were no cell phones, Internet, or even automobiles for investigating the full circumstances of employment…perhaps Bach assumed that everyone would, of course, have an organ...). The position being highly favorable in all other respects, Bach turned his creative hand to composing music for orchestral ensembles, and birthed, among hundreds of other compositions, the six Brandenburg Concertos. These are some of my personal favorites, and have been performed countless times by the best orchestras in the world. They are a perennial “must have” among classical music lovers. At Cöthen, he also composed the famous Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, and the Well-Tempered Clavier, which is considered, per Greenberg, “the single most influential and pedagogically important keyboard work ever composed.”
So, what do we do when life hands us an employment lemon? Make lemonade…or tea with a slice of lemon…or lemon bars…or…job craft! Hundreds of years before the term was invented, when Bach found himself in a less-than-desirable position, he engaged in job crafting to create a rich, fulfilling life for himself, his family, and eventually…the world! Regardless of whether our influence becomes as extensive as Bach’s, there is much we can do to take positive action to make our everyday work lives more abundant and fulfilling.
References
BACH
Deutsch Welle. (1994, December 7). 290 years ago: Bach becomes cantor of St. Thomas' church: DW: 26.04.2013. DW.COM. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/290-years-ago-bach-becomes-cantor-of-st-thomas-church/a-16774935.
Gojko, E. (2009, April 20). Bach & Prince Leopold. Bach Contatas Website. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/Bach-Leopold.htm.
Greenberg, R. (1998). Bach and the high Baroque. The Great Courses. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/bach-and-the-high-baroque.
Greenberg, R. (2013). The 23 greatest solo piano works. The Great Courses. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-23-greatest-solo-piano-works.
Kavanaugh, P. (1996). Spiritual lives of the great composers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan PublishingHouse.
Libby, P. (2019, April 25). Johann Sebastian Bach – A healer in his time. Circulation Research. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315025
Libbey, T. (2009, April 7). Bach's mass in b minor: A cathedral in sound. NPR. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/102784645/bachs-mass-in-b-minor-a-cathedral-in-sound.
Oryx Music Productions. (2002, October 4). Bach’s Employment in Weimar. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from https://baroquemusic.org/bachweimar.html.
Oxford Bach Soloists. (2016, December 17). Bach in Leipzig. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://www.oxfordbachsoloists.com/2016/12/17/bach-in-leipzig/.
Schwarm, B. (2019, September 18). The well-tempered clavier, BWV 846–893. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Well-Tempered-Clavier-BWV-846-893
JOB CRAFTING
Berg, J. M., Dutton, J. E., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2008). What is job crafting and why does it matter. Retrieved from the website of Positive Organizational Scholarship on April, 15, 2011.
Moore, C. (2021, May 10). What is job crafting? PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/job-crafting/.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, NY: Atria Paperback.
About the Author: As a resilience and well-being advisor and fraud prevention expert, Robin is passionate about teaching and inspiring organizations to become more Humane, Ethical, and Resilient by enabling individuals to thrive and live joyfully by learning to use the building blocks of resilience and by discovering and developing their personal character strengths.
Robin has worked with SAFEChecks, a company specializing in fraud prevention, since 2002. She is the primary editor of Frank Abagnale's The Fraud Bulletin which is used by government agencies such as the FBI and Federal Reserve, as well as by organizations throughout the United States.
Additionally, Robin is also a Suzuki violin teacher and Co-Director of the Suzuki Music Program of Los Angeles. To quote Pablo Casals, "Perhaps it is music that will save the world...." Along with applied positive psychology and the science of well-being!
Robin can be contacted at Robin@RobinLearningSystems.com
