Who is more susceptible to job stressors and resources? Sensory-processing sensitivity as a personal resource and vulnerability factor.

This study aimed to investigate whether people scoring higher (compared to lower) on sensory-processing sensitivity respond differently to the work environment. Specifically, based on the literature on sensory-processing sensitivity and the Job Demands-Resources model, we predicted that the three components of sensory-processing sensitivity (i.e. ease of excitation, aesthetic sensitivity and low sensory threshold) amplify the relationship between job demands (i.e. workload and emotional demands) and emotional exhaustion as well as the relationship between job resources (i.e. task autonomy and social support) and helping behaviour. Survey data from 1019 Belgian employees were analysed using structural equation modelling analysis. The results showed that ease of excitation and low sensory threshold amplified the relationship between job demands and emotional exhaustion. Low sensory threshold also strengthened the job resources-helping behaviour relationship. This study offered first evidence on the greater susceptibility among highly sensitive persons to the work environment and demonstrated that the moderating role might differ for the three components of sensory-processing sensitivity. Additionally, it adds sensory-processing sensitivity to the Job Demands-Resources model and highlights the idea that personal factors may act both as a personal vulnerability factor and a personal resource, depending on the nature of the perceived work environment.

Not Extent of Telecommuting, But Job Characteristics as Proximal Predictors of Work-Related Well-Being.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the curvilinear relationship between extent of telecommuting and work-related well-being (ie, burnout, work engagement, and cognitive stress complaints), as well as to test whether job characteristics act as explanatory mechanisms underlying this relationship. METHODS: A sample of 878 employees from an international telecommunication company with a long history of telecommuting participated in a survey on psychosocial risk factors and well-being at work. Mediation path analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. RESULTS: Social support from colleagues, participation in decision-making, task autonomy, and work-to-family conflict, but not extent of telecommuting, were directly related to work-related well-being. Extent of telecommuting was indirectly related to well-being via social support. CONCLUSION: Employers should invest in creating good work environments in general, among both telecommuters and nontelecommuters.

Job Demands, Job Resources, Burnout, Work Engagement, and Their Relationships: An Analysis Across Sectors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to gain insight in the importance of job demands and resources and the validity of the Job Demands Resources Model across sectors. METHODS: We used one-way analyses of variance to examine mean differences, and multi-group Structural Equation Modeling analyses to test the strength of the relationships among job demands, resources, burnout, and work engagement across the health care, industry, service, and public sector. RESULTS: The four sectors differed in the experience of job demands, resources, burnout, and work engagement, but they did not vary in how (strongly) job demands and resources associated with burnout and work engagement. CONCLUSION: More attention is needed to decrease burnout and increase work engagement, particularly in industry, service, and the public sector. The Job Demands-Resources model may be helpful in this regard, as it is valid across sectors.