Burnout and connectedness among Australian volunteers: A test of the Job Demands–Resources model

Perceived superior trust and organizational commitment among public employees: The mediating role of burnout and the moderating role of public service motivation

The significance of trust as a vital element in the workplace, fostering a strong bond between leaders and their teams, and generating positive organizational outcomes is emphasized in this research. Leveraging the job demand-resource (JD-R) theory, the study employs a dual methodology: experimental (Studies 1 and 2) and field survey (Study 3), to investigate how trust perceived from superiors influences the organizational dedication of public sector employees. It also examines burnout's role as an intermediary and the influence of public service motivation (PSM) as a conditional factor. The key outcomes are: (1) enhanced organizational dedication can result from trust perceived from superiors; (2) this trust indirectly affects dedication through the lens of burnout; and (3) PSM plays a critical role in moderating the impact of perceived superior trust on organizational dedication. By elucidating the dynamic between perceived superior trust and organizational dedication, and its influence, this study presents novel strategies to boost organizational commitment among public employees.

The Influence Mechanism of Owners' Safety Management Behavior on Construction Workers' Safety Citizenship Behavior

The safety citizenship behavior (SCB) of construction workers can improve project safety performance. This study explored how construction company owners' safety management behavior contributes to the development and encouragement of SCB. It combined the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) and Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theories to propose relevant hypotheses and develop a theoretical model to examine the effect of owners' safety management behavior on construction workers' SCB. Data from 534 construction workers were collected through questionnaires. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and the Structural Equation Model (SEM) were used for empirical analysis. It was found that the owner's safety management behavior positively affected the construction workers' SCB. In particular, work engagement played an intermediary role, while power distance exhibited a moderating effect. A few noteworthy findings are that proactive safety behavior is significantly positively influenced by organization and coordination, prosocial safety behavior is significantly positively influenced by safety funding investment, and high power distance is not always bad for construction workers' safety citizenship behavior. By determining the connection between owners' safety management behavior and construction workers' SCB, this study offered a fresh perspective on promoting construction workers' proactive behavior and put forward suggestions for owners to improve project safety management.

The impact of online office on social anxiety among primary and secondary school teachers-Considering online social support and work intensity

The COVID-19 has had a major impact on the global education system. In order to ensure the normal implementation of education courses, governments and education departments around the world have taken corresponding emergency measures. Based on data from 384 validated questionnaires, this study explored the effects of teleworking practices, work intensity, and online social support on social anxiety among primary and secondary school teachers. The results found that teleworking was more likely to cause social anxiety among teachers, while work intensity could promote social anxiety and online social support could reduce the probability of social anxiety. Work intensity can weaken the influence of partner support on social anxiety. Moreover, the model path coefficients differed across work styles. Based on the results, this study proposes some policy recommendations in order to provide theoretical guidance for improving social anxiety among primary and secondary school teachers and promoting the quality of educational work.

Where there is a will, there's a way: Job search clarity, reemployment crafting and reemployment quality

Job hunting is regarded as a self-regulatory process. However, few studies have examined the mechanism underlying the job search goal-performance relationship from the perspective of the self-regulatory behavior of reemployment crafting (RC). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of RC in the relationship between job search clarity (JSC) and reemployment quality (RQ) and the moderating role of the reemployment context. A three-wave study was conducted among 295 rural migrant workers who had experienced unemployment to successful reemployment in China. Model 4 and Model 9 from SPSS macro PROCESS were used to test the moderated mediation model. The findings indicated that (1) JSC was positively correlated with RQ; (2) seeking resources (SR) and seeking challenging demands (SCD) fully mediated the relationship between JSC and RQ; (3) supportive environment (SEn) and challenging environment (CEn), independently, have moderating effect on the relationship between JSC and SR, as well as the relationship between JSC and SCD; and (4) the mediating effect of SR as well as SCD was significant and greater when SEn and CEn were both at high levels. This study contributes to goal-setting theory and highlights the important roles of RC and the reemployment context.

The influence of pandemic-related workplace safety practices on frontline service employee wellbeing outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of frontline employee (FLEs) to infections and other hazards and highlighted the importance of workplace safety practices (WSP) for service organizations. In response to the critical issue of service safety, we developed and empirically tested a model proposing that WSPs negatively influence FLE perceptions of pandemic related threats and positively influence their perceptions of organizational supportiveness (POS). In turn, these perceptions have time-lagged effects on two aspects of FLE wellbeing-reduced emotional exhaustion and increased work engagement. Utilizing data from a two-wave (separated by a month) survey panel consisting of 310 FLEs across the United States, we found evidence for all hypothesized relationships. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of our findings and provide suggestions for future research on service safety on the organizational frontlines.

Curvilinear relationship between ambidextrous leadership and employee silence: mediating effects of role stress and relational energy

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the U-shaped relationship between ambidextrous leadership and employee silence by examining power distance orientation as a boundary condition and role stress and relational energy as mediators.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested the theoretical model with 212 matched samples collected across three-wave-data from 21 companies and branches in China.

Findings

Results revealed that ambidextrous leadership showed a U-shaped relationship with employee silence through role stress and relational energy. Moreover, the authors found that the curvilinear relationship was more significant for employees higher in power distance orientation.

Practical implications

Organizations should be aware of the negative side of ambidextrous leadership as well as its stimulation on employee silence. The leaders should pay more attention to subordinates and judge whether they are under too much stress, as well as treat employees more cautiously in both work and non-work situations.

Originality/value

This study provides a first step to the understanding of curvilinear influence of ambidextrous leadership through investigating the mediating effects of role stress and relational energy, and integrating the moderating role of power distance orientation in the process.

Hairdressers as a source of social support: A qualitative study on client disclosures from Australian hairdressers' perspectives

Hairdressing is one of the few non-health professional occupations where workers physically interact with clients, who are often comfortable in confiding private information to them. Despite this, relatively little is known about how hairdressers understand and experience this role as informal confidants. This study aimed to address this using an in-depth qualitative approach to capture what hairdressers are hearing from clients, and how hairdressers respond and feel about supporting clients. Participant led interviews with prompt questions were conducted in South Australia in 2019, transcribed and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results indicate clients disclose information about family, health, identity, mental health and women's health. Important themes generated in relation to the role of hairdressers included: their need to have a client focus; blurring role boundaries; behaving like a therapist and, providing a place of safety and advice, while also maintaining confidentiality. Hairdressers reported feeling undervalued, emotionally drained, and in need of support in their role, but conversely, also reported having good job satisfaction. Further research is needed to examine whether hairdresser-client interactions may promote better mental and physical health outcomes for clients due to psychological buffering arising from the social support provided by hairdressers, as well as the impact on hairdressers and implications for their training.

"You Don't Look Dyslexic": Using the Job Demands-Resource Model of Burnout to Explore Employment Experiences of Australian Adults with Dyslexia

BACKGROUND

Employment and job security are key influences on health and wellbeing. In Australia, little is known about the employment lifecycle of adults with dyslexia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Using a qualitative research design, this study sought to explore the experiences faced by adults with dyslexia seeking and retaining employment. In-depth interviews were conducted with a cohort either currently or previously in the labour market. We used the Job Demands Resource Model of Burnout (JD-R Model) to explore links between workplace characteristics and employee wellbeing. Deductive content analysis attained condensed and broad descriptions of participants' workplace experiences.

RESULTS

Dyslexic adults (n = 14) participated; majority employed part/full-time and experienced challenges throughout their employment; exhaustion and burnout at work were reported, also fear and indecision about disclosure of dyslexia. A minority reported receiving positive, useful support from team members following disclosure.

CONCLUSION

The JD-R Model provided a guiding framework. We found participants experienced a myriad of challenges that included risk of mental exhaustion, discrimination, limited access to support and fatigue, leaving them vulnerable to job burn-out. Dyslexia does not have to be a major barrier to success in any occupation. Yet, when in supportive, informed workplace environments, employees with dyslexia thrive.

Toward a better understanding of the health impairment process. Types of demand and burnout component matter

The aim of the study was to better understand the health impairment process, postulated by Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Previous studies on the process have not clearly explained which types of job demands (challenge vs. hindrance) lead to depression and which burnout component (exhaustion or disengagement from work) mediates job demands-depression link. The direct and indirect (mediated via exhaustion and disengagement from work) effects of challenge and hindrance stressors (included 6 different demands) on depression were investigated in this 1-year cross-lagged study. Data were collected among 752 social service workers in Poland. Structural equation modeling confirmed a slightly different effects of challenge and hindrance stressors (T1) on the two components of job burnout (T2) and depression (T2). Hindrance (but not challenge) stressors were related to high depression. Hindrance stressors intensified exhaustion and disengagement from work, while challenge stressors were only associated with high exhaustion. Exhaustion (but not disengagement from work) was related to depression. These findings support the mediation function of burnout in the health impairment process but only in relation to exhaustion. They also showed that the challenge-hindrance distinction is justified also in the JD-R model. The implications for theory and research on the mental health of employees, as well as for human management practice are discussed.

Development and Initial Validation of an Acute Readiness Monitoring Scale in Military Personnel

Personnel in many professions must remain "ready" to perform diverse activities. Managing individual and collective capability is a common concern for leadership and decision makers. Typical existing approaches for monitoring readiness involve keeping detailed records of training, health and equipment maintenance, or - less commonly - data from wearable devices that can be difficult to interpret as well as raising privacy concerns. A widely applicable, simple psychometric measure of perceived readiness would be invaluable in generating rapid evaluations of current capability directly from personnel. To develop this measure, we conducted exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 770 Australian military personnel. The 32-item Acute Readiness Monitoring Scale (ARMS) demonstrated good model fit, and comprised nine factors: overall readiness; physical readiness; physical fatigue; cognitive readiness; cognitive fatigue; threat-challenge (i.e., emotional/coping) readiness; skills-and-training readiness; group-team readiness, and equipment readiness. Readiness factors were negatively correlated with recent stress, current negative affect and distress, and positively correlated with resilience, wellbeing, current positive affect and a supervisor's rating of solider readiness. The development of the ARMS facilitates a range of new research opportunities: enabling quick, simple and easily interpreted assessment of individual and group readiness.

Teachers' teleworking job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

This research takes insights from the job demand resource model to examine the teleworking job satisfaction of teachers for the period of COVID-19 pandemic. This study evidenced that teachers' satisfaction with teleworking has been reduced as a consequence of the job demand increase. In contrast, access to adequate resources has allowed them to confront the challenges of teleworking, thus increasing their job satisfaction. The adverse effect of job demands on teleworking job satisfaction is buffered by job resources as teachers' required extra means to confront unexpected and increased job demands. The technological gap between younger and older teachers was uncovered.

Social Embeddedness of Firefighters, Paramedics, Specialized Nurses, Police Officers, and Military Personnel: Systematic Review in Relation to the Risk of Traumatization

Background: Firefighters, paramedics, specialized nurses working in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Operating Rooms (OR), and Emergency Rooms (ER), police officers and military personnel are more frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events than the general population; they are considered high-risk professionals. To reduce the risk of traumatization it is of great importance to be embedded in a social environment with supportive relationships. Methods: We performed a systematic review (based on the PRISMA-Guidelines) looking for social connections within the environment in which high-risk professionals are embedded (work, home, community), to obtain evidence on the impact of these connections on the risk of traumatization. Additionally, we aim to identify relevant supportive relationships in the professionals' environments. We identified the relevant scientific literature by searching, without time, and language restriction, five electronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, and Web of Science. These databases were last searched in January 2019. Results: A qualitative analysis of the 89 eligible (out of 9,047 screened) studies shows that for firefighters, paramedics, and emergency nurses social connections in their work environment are predominantly supportive relationships and may protect them against traumatization. In other occupations (OR-nurses, ICU-nurses, police officers), however, social connections at work are not only a source of support but are also a source of stress. For military personnel study results are inconclusive as to whether their social connections at work or at home support them against traumatization. In so far as connections are supportive, their sources vary greatly from one occupational group to another; they differ between work vs. home as well as within work between peers vs. supervisor. Conclusions: Being embedded in a social environment, i.e., having social connections, is important but not always sufficient to protect high-risk professionals against traumatization. For, while these connections may be the antecedents of supportive relationships, they can also be the antecedents of damaging relationships. Additionally, the sources of supportive relationships differ among groups. This suggests that knowledge of how the social structures of the occupational groups differ may increase our understanding of the impact of social connections and relationships, including socialization, on the risk of traumatization of high-risk professionals.

Drivers for Non-Profits’ Success: Volunteer Engagement and Financial Sustainability Practices through the Resource Dependence Theory

The strategies that non-profit organizations choose for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability are of the utmost importance for successful work. The main purpose of this study was to investigate feasible strategies for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability. Interviews were conducted to obtain data on the experience of volunteer managers in dealing with volunteers and financial matters together. Qualitative data analysis methods were used to code and analyze the data. Significant themes emerged from the data gathered through interviews that highlighted the strategies for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability chosen by the managers of non-profit organizations. From the manager’s perspective, the following strategies were considered important for engaging volunteers at non-profit organizations (NPOs): ‘building the skill sets of volunteers’, ‘fulfilling ulterior motives’, and ‘administering a culture of administrative support’. Moreover, ‘local fundraising preference’, ‘transparency’, and ‘building trust’ were regarded as successful strategies for maintaining financial sustainability. The findings of this study showed that, to function smoothly, non-profit organizations need to follow certain strategies to be cautious about volunteers as well as finance. The findings provide fruitful implications for practitioners and policy makers, and these are discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the limitations addressed in the study suggest a future direction for research in terms of study design and more focus on study informants.

The Effects of Service Employee Resilience on Emotional Labor: Double-Mediation of Person-Job Fit and Work Engagement

This study examined the effect of service employees’ resilience on deep acting in the job demands–resources model (JD-R model). It set and verified person–job fit and work engagement as double-mediation factors between service employees’ resilience and deep acting. To accomplish this, surveys targeting service employees working in the retail finance industry in Korea were administered. The analysis showed that resilience significantly increased person–job fit, and person–job fit improved work engagement. Additionally, it showed that work engagement improved deep acting. With regard to the double-mediation effect, the direct effect of resilience on deep acting was not statistically significant, but the double-mediation effect through person–job fit and work engagement was significant. In other words, person–job fit and work engagement fully mediated the relationship between resilience and deep acting. Additionally, person–job fit alone did not mediate the relationship between resilience and deep acting, but the independent mediation effect of work engagement was significant.

Psychological Resilience of Volunteers in a South African Health Care Context: A Salutogenic Approach and Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry

Volunteering in non-Western countries, such as South Africa, is subject to poor infrastructure, lack of resources, poverty-stricken conditions and often conducted by volunteers from lower socio-economic spheres of society. Sustaining the well-being of volunteers in this context is essential in ensuring their continued capacity to volunteer. To do so, it is important to understand the psychological resilience of these volunteers and the resistance resources they employ to positively adapt to their challenging work-life circumstances. The aim of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore volunteers’ psychological resilience from a salutogenic perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight volunteers servicing government-run hospitals. Data were analysed through phenomenological hermeneutical analysis. Findings show a characteristic work-life orientation to be at the root of volunteers’ resilience. Their work-life orientation is based on a distinct inner drive, an other-directedness and a “calling” work orientation. It is proposed that this work-life orientation enables volunteers in this study context, to cope with and positively adapt to challenging work-life circumstances and continue volunteering. The elements of their work-life orientation are presented as intrapersonal strength resources fundamental to their psychological resilience. It is suggested that organisations invest in developmental interventions that endorse and promote these intrapersonal strengths.

Formal Volunteering Buffers the Negative Impact of Unemployment among Older Workers: A Longitudinal Analysis

Guided by Jahoda's Latent Deprivation Theory, this study examined whether engaging in formal volunteering could moderate the negative impact of unemployment on older workers' mental health. This study also explored the optimal intensity/hours of volunteering required to have a positive effect. This study analyzed six waves (12 years) of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study using fixed effects modeling. The outcome variable was depressive symptoms, and the independent variables were labor force status and volunteering status. Observed time-varying confounders were controlled. There was a significant interaction between engaging in formal volunteering and unemployment status. Unemployed older workers who participated in volunteering fared better than those unemployed workers who did not volunteer. Further, those unemployed older workers who volunteered over 100 hours/year did not benefit from volunteering. Results from this study have important implications for future intervention development targeting the mental health of unemployed older workers.

Burnout and occupational stressors among non-medical occupational health staff

BACKGROUND

The work required to assist individuals in improving their mental health is stressful and known to be associated with burnout. In Japanese companies, non-medical occupational health (OH) staff often take the role of maintaining and improving workers' mental health. However, few studies have examined burnout in this population.

AIMS

To assess the relationship between burnout and occupational stressors among non-medical OH staff.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of OH staff who had participated in mental health seminars between 2016 and 2018. Occupational stressors were assessed using the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire. Burnout was assessed using the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

RESULTS

We administered the survey to 230 non-medical OH staff, of which 188 completed the questionnaire. According to a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, high job demands were associated with greater emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Greater job control was associated only with higher personal accomplishment. Lower job support was associated with greater emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study found relationships between occupational stressors and burnout dimensions among OH staff. To avoid burnout among non-medical OH staff, it is important to take measures against occupational stressors, especially job demands and low levels of job support.

Motivations for Volunteerism, Satisfaction, and Emotional Exhaustion: The Moderating Effect of Volunteers’ Age

This investigation aims to explore the moderating role of volunteers’ age in the relation between motivations for volunteering and, respectively, satisfaction with volunteerism and emotional exhaustion. A longitudinal study was conducted with a sample of 241 Spanish healthcare volunteers. Results show that volunteers’ age moderates the relations between social motivations and satisfaction, and social motivations and volunteers’ emotional exhaustion, and also between growth motivations and satisfaction, and volunteers’ emotional exhaustion. The relationships between security motivations and satisfaction and emotional exhaustion are not moderated by age. Our findings underline that, for younger volunteers, satisfaction decreases when social motives are high, rather than low, and, in the opposite, emotional exhaustion increases when growth motives are high, rather than low. For older volunteers, instead, the only significant effect concern satisfaction, which is higher when social motives are high, rather than low.

Volunteering drivers and continuation will: the role of engagement

Purpose

As volunteering research in nonprofit organizations is growing significantly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of volunteering drivers and work engagement on volunteer continuation will.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on empirical and theoretical perspectives, the authors hypothesized that work engagement mediates the relationship between volunteering drivers and volunteer continuation will. To verify our hypotheses, we examined data collected from 372 active volunteers from Palestinian nonprofit organizations. The authors conducted structural equations modeling (SEM) analyses using the AMOS 24 platform to investigate direct and indirect effects.

Findings

The results of the study show that work engagement is a significant predictor of volunteer continuation will; mediates the relationship between career driver of volunteering and volunteer continuation will; and mediates the relationship between the protective driver of volunteering and volunteer continuation will.

Research limitations/implications

The research design limits establishing cause and effect relationships among the examined variables.

Practical implications

The results of the current study may be of use for nonprofit organizations managers formulating effective recruitment and training policies to retain their volunteers.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the limited empirical body of the volunteering research. The study is novel as it is one of the few studies conducted using data coming from a non-western context.

Chinese College Students' Experiences in the Encounter Group

In theory, the encounter group is well suited to addressing the problems of Chinese college students, but in practice, significant conflicts exist between the nature of the encounter group and the internalized beliefs of this group of students. This brief report identifies six areas of notable conflict in the therapeutic process: freedom of expression, belongingness, learning from diversity, impacts of an exam-oriented education, social inequalities, and indirect communication. The advantages for the encounter group members were the opportunities to enjoy self-expression, gain acceptance regardless of social status, learn about differences between themselves and other members, provide nonstandardized answers, increase the level of self-advocacy, and feel safe directly expressing themselves. On the negative side, group members may have felt distressed due to the conflicts between the basic character of the encounter group and their own cultural beliefs. The limitations of this study are found in the sample types, my multiple roles and biases as the author and group leader, and the features of the encounter groups conducted. Nevertheless, this brief report may increase both therapeutic applicability of the encounter group to Chinese college students and the level of cultural competence in group psychotherapists who may use the encounter group or work with this population.

The Dark and Bright Sides of Personal Use of Technology at Work: A Job Demands–Resources Model

As employees increasingly use technology for personal purposes in the workplace, tensions between proponents of control versus flexibility are rising. Proponents of control emphasize negative consequences and argue for employee restrictions and monitoring, whereas those for flexibility highlight positive consequences and advocate for employee discretion. We build consensus between these two approaches by adopting the job demands–resources model to show why the personal use of technology at work has both negative and positive effects on organizational outcomes, and then, we theorize about several boundary conditions that mitigate or strengthen these effects. We discuss implications for human resource development (HRD) scholars and professionals.

Motivationaler und gesundheitsschädigender Prozess bei Deutschen Hospizhelfern

Zusammenfassung. Eine möglichst lang anhaltende Bindung (Retention) ehrenamtlicher Hospizhelfer an ihre Freiwilligentätigkeit und die Erhaltung der psychischen Gesundheit sind für ambulante Hospizdienste angesichts steigender Zahlen an hochaltrigen Menschen in unserer Gesellschaft sowie zeit- und ressourcenaufwendiger Qualifikation der Ehrenamtlichen wichtige Kenngrößen. Basierend auf dem Job Demands-Resources Modell (JD-R) untersuchte die vorliegende Studie mögliche Prädiktoren für die Absicht, in der Freiwilligentätigkeit zu verbleiben (Retentionsabsicht), und die psychische Gesundheit bei 110 ehrenamtlichen Hospizhelfern. Im Sinne des motivationalen Prozesses zeigten wir einen positiven direkten Effekt der Ressourcen freiwilliger Hospizhelfer auf deren Retentionsabsicht. Zudem fanden wir einen signifikanten negativen indirekten Effekt von Anforderungen auf die psychische Gesundheit der Freiwilligen, welcher über Burnout vermittelt wurde. Insgesamt sprechen die Ergebnisse für eine hohe Ausprägung der Retentionsabsicht von ehrenamtlichen Hospizhelfern und für geringe Burnout-Werte, jedoch bei mehr als einem Viertel der Studienteilnehmer für Depressivitätswerte, die einer weiteren Diagnostik bedürfen.

A conceptual safety-oriented job demands and resources model for the fire service

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop and present a safety-oriented job demands-resources (JD-R) model that supports the notion that excessive job demands in the fire service, when not controlled or countered, may increase firefighter burnout and diminish firefighter safety.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach for the present project includes a review of the JD-R literature and the presentation of a conceptual model specific to fire service organizations.

Findings

A conceptual model, relevant to fire service organizations was derived. The model argues that excessive job demands associated with workload, physical demands, emotional demands, and complexity can result in burnout if not controlled or countered. Safety-specific resources, including recovery, support, safety-specific transformational leadership and safety climate are theorized to buffer these effects and are suggested to enhance firefighter engagement. These effects are argued then to improve firefighter safety. Ultimately, the findings will help guide future research, intervention projects and workplace safety and health management programs and initiatives.

Originality/value

This paper and conceptual model extends the application of the JD-R model to fire service organizations. Further, the conceptual model supports the application of safety-specific job resources vs more traditional job resources as a means to enhance firefighter safety.

I Ain't Gonna Make It. Comparing Job Demands-Resources and Attrition Intention Between Senior Teachers and Senior Employees of Six Other Occupational Categories in Flanders

Teachers are often thought to retire early and have more stress and burnout than other human service professionals. In this article, we investigate attrition intention amongst senior teachers and senior employees of six other blue- and white-collar occupational categories using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. We followed a two-step approach. First, analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis was used to assess differences in the level of job demands, resources, and attrition intention between occupations for male and female employees separately. Subsequently, multiple group path analysis was used to assess the invariance of the JD-R model across occupational groups and genders. We used representative data gathered in Flanders among 6,810 senior employees (45 years or older). Results indicate that there are differences in the determinants of attrition intention between men and women. The differences in attrition intention are minimal between occupations once controlled for job demands and resources. In addition, the JD-R model is largely invariant across white-collar occupations and gender. We provide support for both the energetic and motivational process of the JD-R model.

Work overload, burnout, and psychological ill-health symptoms: a three-wave mediation model of the employee health impairment process

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The study reported here investigated the causal relationships in the health impairment process of employee well-being, and the mediating role of burnout in the relationship between work overload and psychological ill-health symptoms, over time. The research is deemed important due to the need for longitudinal evidence of the health impairment process of employee well-being over three waves of data.

DESIGN

A quantitative survey design was followed. Participants constituted a longitudinal sample of 370 participants, at three time points, after attrition.

METHODS

Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling methods were implemented.

RESULTS

Work overload at time one predicted burnout at time two, and burnout at time two predicted psychological ill-health symptoms at time three. Indirect effects were found between work overload time one and psychological ill-health symptoms time three via burnout time two, and also between burnout time one and psychological ill-health symptoms time three, via burnout time two.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provided supportive evidence for an "indirect-only" mediation effect, for burnout's causal mediation mechanism in the health impairment process between work overload and psychological ill-health symptoms.

Kittler M. The job demands-resources model and the international work context – a systematic review

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a synthesis and evaluation of literature surrounding the job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001) in the first decade since its inception, with particular emphasis on establishing an evidence-based universal application towards different national and international work contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses a systematic review approach following the stages suggested by Tranfield et al. (2003). Based on empirical data from 62 studies, the authors systematically analyse the application of the JD-R model and queries whether it is applicable outside merely domestic work contexts.

Findings

– The authors find convincing support for the JD-R model in different national contexts. However, the authors also found an absence of studies employing the JD-R model in cross-national settings. None of the empirical studies in the sample had explicitly considered the international context of today’s work environment or had clearly associated JD-R research with the IHRM literature.

Research limitations/implications

– Based on the wide acceptance of the JD-R model in domestic work contexts and the increased interest in work-related outcomes such as burnout and engagement in the IHRM literature, the study identifies a gap and suggests future research applying the JD-R model to international work and global mobility contexts.

Originality/value

– This study is the first to systematically assess the application of the JD-R model in domestic and international work contexts based on a systematic review of empirical literature in the first decade since the inception of the model. The study identifies a lack of internationally focussed JD-R studies and invites further empirical research and theoretical extensions.

Effects of positive vs negative forces on the burnout-commitment-turnover relationship

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships among job demands, job resources, burnout, organizational commitment, and staff turnover intentions in a volunteer workforce setting.

Design/methodology/approach

– To test empirically the positive and negative forces on the burnout – commitment – turnover relationship, this study uses 190 questionnaires collected from museum volunteers who also hold paid service jobs. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

– Consistent with previous studies, both job demands and job resources have significant impacts on burnout. Job resources have positive significant impact on organizational commitment. Both burnout and organizational commitment have significant impacts on volunteers’ turnover intentions.

Research limitations/implications

– An integrated understanding would require different theoretical approaches to volunteering in various settings to determine cross-influences. Moderator analyses might clarify the predictability of job demands and resources. A multilevel research design would provide further insights.

Practical implications

– To retain their volunteer workforce, firms should grant volunteers sufficient autonomy and allow them to determine their work processes, which not only reduces burnout but also satisfies psychological control needs. Constructive feedback from colleagues offers better organizational support to volunteers.

Originality/value

– This study identifies and empirically tests key indicators of job demands and job resources for volunteers who also hold paid jobs. It helps explain inconsistent reports of the burnout – organizational commitment link by raising the possibility that it is context specific rather than generic.

The connection between the hassles-burnout relationship, as moderated by coping, and aberrant behaviors and health problems among bus drivers

Driving a bus is a stressful job, and may result in aberrant behaviors or health problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of bus driver burnout on aberrant behaviors and health problems, as well as the role of self-criticism and confrontive and reappraisal coping as moderator variables in the hassle-burnout relationship. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect empirical data from bus drivers working at a Taiwanese motor transport company. The results confirm that burnout has a significantly positive relationship with both health problems and aberrant driving behaviors. In addition, although self-criticism positively moderates the relationship between job hassles and burnout, confrontive and reappraisal coping negatively moderate it.

Investigating the reversed causality of engagement and burnout in job demands-resources theory

Orientation: Reversed causality is an area that has not commanded major attention within the South African context, specifically pertaining to engagement, burnout and job demands resources. Therefore, this necessitated an investigation to elucidate the potential effects.Research purpose: To investigate the reversed causal hypotheses of burnout and engagement in job demands-resources theory over time.Motivation for the study: Organisations and researchers should be made aware of the effects that burnout and engagement could have over time on resources and demands.Research design, approach and method: A longitudinal design was employed. The availability sample (n = 593) included participants from different demographic backgrounds. A survey was used to measure all constructs at both points in time. Structural equation modelling techniques were implemented with a categorical estimator to investigate the proposed hypotheses.Main findings: Burnout was found to have a significant negative longitudinal relationship with colleague support and supervisor support, whilst the negative relationship with supervisor support over time was more prominent. Engagement showed only one significant but small, negative relationship with supervisor support over time. All other relationships were statistically non-significant.Practical/managerial implications: This study makes organisations aware of the relationship between burnout and relationships at work over time. Proactive measures to promote relationships at work, specifically supervisor support, should be considered in addition to combatting burnout itself and promoting engagement.Contribution/value-add: This study provides insights and information on reversed causality, namely, the effects that engagement and burnout can have over time.

Burnout and connectedness in the job demands-resources model: studying palliative care volunteers and their families

This study examined the role of burnout and connectedness in the job demands-resources (JD-R) model among palliative care volunteers. It was hypothesized that (a) exhaustion mediates the relationship between demands and depression, and between demands and retention; (b) cynicism mediates the relationship between resources and retention; and (c) connectedness mediates the relationship between resources and retention. Hypotheses were tested in 2 separate analyses: structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analyses. The first was based on volunteer self-reports (N = 204), while the second analysis concerned matched data from volunteers and their family members (N = 99). While strong support was found for cynicism and connectedness as mediators in both types of analyses, this was not altogether the case for exhaustion. Implications of these findings for the JD-R model and volunteer organizations are discussed.

The Job Demands–Resources model: Challenges for future research

Motivation: The motivation of this overview is to present the state of the art of Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model whilst integrating the various contributions to the special issue.Research purpose: To provide an overview of the JD–R model, which incorporates many possible working conditions and focuses on both negative and positive indicators of employee well-being. Moreover, the studies of the special issue were introduced.Research design: Qualitative and quantitative studies on the JD–R model were reviewed to enlighten the health and motivational processes suggested by the model.Main findings: Next to the confirmation of the two suggested processes of the JD–R model, the studies of the special issue showed that the model can be used to predict work-place bullying, incidences of upper respiratory track infection, work-based identity, and early retirement intentions. Moreover, whilst psychological safety climate could be considered as a hypothetical precursor of job demands and resources, compassion satisfaction moderated the health process of the model.Contribution/value-add: The findings of previous studies and the studies of the special issue were integrated in the JD–R model that can be used to predict well-being and performance at work. New avenues for future research were suggested.Practical/managerial implications: The JD–R model is a framework that can be used for organisations to improve employee health and motivation, whilst simultaneously improving various organisational outcomes.