The Role of Personal Demands and Personal Resources in Enhancing Study Engagement and Preventing Study Burnout.

Using a 1-year longitudinal design, we examined the role of personal demands and personal resources in long-term health impairment and motivational processes among master students. Based on the job demands-resources theory and transactional model of stress, we hypothesized that students' personal demands (i.e., irrational performance demands, awfulizing and irrational need for control) predict perceived study demands one year later, and indirectly relate to burnout. Furthermore, we predicted that personal resources indirectly associate with study engagement via students' perceived study resources one year later. These hypotheses were tested in a sample of Dutch master students (N = 220 at T1 and T2) using structural equation modelling. As hypothesized, personal demands and personal resources at T1 predicted study demands and study resources one year later (T2, ß = .25-.42, p <. 05), respectively. Study-home interference [study demand] mediated the association between personal demands and burnout (ß = .08, p = .029), whereas opportunities for development [study resource] mediated the association between personal resources and study engagement (ß = .08, p = .014). Hence, personal demands and personal resources relate indirectly to students' burnout and engagement one year later via a heightened level of specific study demands and study resources. Accordingly, the present research expands the propositions of the JD-R Theory by proposing personal demands as a relevant factor for students' long-term well-being.

The Role of Personal Demands and Personal Resources in Enhancing Study Engagement and Preventing Study Burnout

Using a 1-year longitudinal design, we examined the role of personal demands and personal resources in long-term health impairment and motivational processes among master students. Based on the job demands-resources theory and transactional model of stress, we hypothesized that students’ personal demands (i.e., irrational performance demands, awfulizing and irrational need for control) predict perceived study demands one year later, and indirectly relate to burnout. Furthermore, we predicted that personal resources indirectly associate with study engagement via students’ perceived study resources one year later. These hypotheses were tested in a sample of Dutch master students (N = 220 at T1 and T2) using structural equation modelling. As hypothesized, personal demands and personal resources at T1 predicted study demands and study resources one year later (T2, β = .25–.42, p <. 05), respectively. Study-home interference [study demand] mediated the association between personal demands and burnout (β = .08, p = .029), whereas opportunities for development [study resource] mediated the association between personal resources and study engagement (β = .08, p = .014). Hence, personal demands and personal resources relate indirectly to students’ burnout and engagement one year later via a heightened level of specific study demands and study resources. Accordingly, the present research expands the propositions of the JD-R Theory by proposing personal demands as a relevant factor for students’ long-term well-being. (AU)

Employee Sustainable Performance (E-SuPer): Theoretical Conceptualization, Scale Development, and Psychometric Properties.

Although the concept of employee sustainable performance has received considerable attention in the practitioner literature, academic research still lacks a clear conceptualization and empirical operationalization of this concept. Defining employee sustainable performance as a regulatory process in which an individual worker enduringly and efficiently achieves particular desired work goals while maintaining a satisfactory level of well-being, this paper describes a corresponding instrument called E-SuPer, and examines its psychometric properties. The E-SuPer instrument was tested and cross-validated using two cross-sectional survey studies (n = 153 and n = 160), focusing on factorial validity, internal consistency, and discriminant and concurrent validity. Psychometric findings across the two samples revealed that the E-SuPer instrument consists of one general factor of ten items with good internal consistency. Discriminant validity and concurrent validity with other relevant constructs (task performance, counterproductive work behavior, and employee vitality) were also confirmed, showing promising results. Finally, theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research, are outlined.

In the Eye of the Beholder: Challenge and Hindrance Appraisals of Work Characteristics and Their Implications for Employee's Well-Being.

Previous research on the association between job characteristics and employee well-being has returned mixed results. In particular, the possible impact of individual appraisal of these job characteristics has not been well-acknowledged. To address this limitation, we drew on appraisal theory and examined: (a) how workers appraise particular job characteristics, and (b) how these appraisals affect the relationships between these job characteristics and well-being (i.e., work engagement and burnout). We tested our hypotheses across two studies. In a cross-occupation sample (Study 1, n = 514), we found that job demands and resources can be appraised as both challenges and hindrances. In addition, challenge appraisals can mitigate the detrimental impact of job demands on engagement and burnout; and hindrance appraisals can strengthen the detrimental effects of job demands on burnout. Further, hindrance appraisals of job resources reduce their beneficial effects on engagement and burnout. Study 2 (n = 316 nurses in a hospital) further showed that challenge appraisals of job demands can reduce their impact on burnout while challenge appraisals of job resources will strengthen their positive effect on employee engagement and burnout. We discuss study implications as well as future research directions.

Exploring the Role of Personal Demands in the Health-Impairment Process of the Job Demands-Resources Model: A Study among Master Students.

Research shows that students experience substantial levels of burnout during their studies. This study explores the role of personal demands on students' well-being. After providing a conceptualization of personal demands, we examined the role of personal demands in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Based on the Transactional Model of Stress, we hypothesized that students with high personal demands experience more burnout symptoms because they perceive more elements in their study as demanding (i.e., mediation hypothesis). At the same time, we hypothesized that the associations between study demands and burnout might be stronger for students with high versus low personal demands (i.e., moderation hypothesis). In order to test both hypotheses, we collected data from 578 master students. The data were analyzed with latent moderation and mediation analyses in Mplus. The results showed that students' personal demands predicted burnout symptoms via the perception of study demands. Personal demands did not moderate the relationship between study demands and burnout. The findings of the present study expand the JD-R model by indicating that personal demands relate to burnout symptoms via the perception of study demands. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Positive Psychological Micro-Interventions to Improve the Work-Family Interface: Use Your Resources and Count Your Blessings.

The present study is designed to test the effectiveness of two positive psychological micro-interventions ("use your resources" and "count your blessings") aimed at improving the combination of work and family roles. Based on the Transactional Model of Stress (TMS), the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory and the Work-Home Resources (WH-R) Model, it was expected that the interventions would result in a more positive cognitive appraisal of combining both roles as well as in less work-to-family and family-to-work conflict and more work-to-family and family-to-work enrichment. The hypotheses were tested in a field experiment with three conditions and three measurement waves. In total, 218 working mothers participated in the study. The "use your resources" intervention appeared effective in sorting positive effects on the work-family outcome variables. Participating in the "count your blessing" micro-intervention did not result in a better (appraisal of the) combination of work and family roles. Moreover, for generating positive effects it was important that the participants performed the exercises on a regular basis: the more days women performed the exercise, the stronger the effects. The implications of our findings for future interventions to improve work-family role combining are discussed.

Challenge and hindrance appraisals of job demands: one man's meat, another man's poison?

Background and objectives: Many job stress models assume that all workers experience a particular job demand in the same way - an assumption that may or may not be warranted and that has rarely been tested. Building on appraisal theory, we explore (a) how individuals appraise particular job demands (i.e., as a challenge or as a hindrance) and (b) how these appraisals affect the relationship between job demands and engagement/burnout.Design and Methods: A multi-occupation cross-sectional study was conducted among 527 Chinese workers (321 females, 60.9%; Mage = 32.74, SD = 6.70). The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.Results: We found that the appraisal of job demands (time urgency, role conflict, and emotional demands) as a challenge moderated the associations between these demands and burnout/engagement. Generally, the results indicate that the presence of high job demands was associated with negative outcomes. However, these detrimental effects were weaker if workers appraised these characteristics as being high-challenge.Conclusions: This study extends research on job demands within the challenge-hindrance framework by focusing on the moderating effects of appraisals. Given the important role of appraisal, we conclude that researchers should include appraisal more systematically in their theorizing and research on the effects of job demands on well-being.

To Leave or Not to Leave? A Multi-Sample Study on Individual, Job-Related, and Organizational Antecedents of Employability and Retirement Intentions.

In view of the aging and dejuvenation of the working population and the expected shortages in employees' skills in the future, it is of utmost importance to focus on older workers' employability in order to prolong their working life until, or even beyond, their official retirement age. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between older workers' employability (self-)perceptions and their intention to continue working until their official retirement age. In addition, we studied the role of potential antecedents of their perceived employability at three different levels: training and education in current expertise area as well as in an adjacent expertise area (individual level factor), learning value of the job (job level factor), and organizational career management practices (organizational level factor). Data were collected by means of e-questionnaires that were distributed among two groups of Dutch older (45-plus) white collar workers. The samples consisted of 223 employees of an insurance company, and 325 university workers, respectively. Our research model was tested separately in each sample using Structural Equation Modeling. We controlled for effects of respondents' (self-)perceived health and (self-)perceived financial situation. Similar results were found for both samples. First, the relationship of perceived employability with the intention to continue working until one's retirement age was positive, whereas the relationship between a perceived good financial situation with the intention to continue working until one's retirement age was negative. Secondly, as regards the potential antecedents, results showed that the learning value of the job was positively related to perceived employability. In addition, an employee's perception of good health is a relevant correlate of perceived employability. So, whereas perceived employability contributes to the intention to continue working until one's retirement age, a good financial situation is a push factor to retire early. In order to promote the labor participation of older workers, this study indicates that organizations should focus on the learning possibilities that are inherent to one's job rather than on providing additional training or career management. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of our results to other samples.

Feeling Vital or Fatigued? Relations with Demands and Resources in a University Context.

This study examines whether specific (matching) combinations of demands and resources exist in the prediction of both positive and negative outcomes (i.e., vitality and fatigue) in a university context. In addition, we test the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) Model's key principles in this context to study its relevance, validity, and generalizability. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 397 employees and 497 students at a Dutch university. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses among both employees and students showed matching combinations of demands and resources in the prediction of vitality and fatigue. Specifically, an increase in cognitive demands was particularly associated with more student cognitive vitality when cognitive resources were high. Furthermore, results showed that an increase in cognitive demands was related to less cognitive fatigue in both employees and students when cognitive resources were high. Findings partly confirm our hypotheses in showing the important role of matching resources in the relation between demands and vitality and fatigue in university staff and students. Our study reveals that a sustainable work environment is about maintaining a healthy balance between sufficient, matching resources and demands at work or study.

The Vital Worker: Towards Sustainable Performance at Work.

Vitality at work is an important factor for organizations to build a healthier, more engaged, sustainable, and productive workforce. The organizational and societal relevance of vitality at work is high, particularly with regard to an aging and more diverse workforce. This Special Issue focusses on what might be called sustainable performance at work: Maximizing work performance as well as worker health and well-being through employee vitality. Currently, there are still many gaps of knowledge with regard to the relationship between employee vitality and sustainable performance at work. Examples of knowledge gaps are concerned with potential determinants of vitality at work for different occupational groups (such as older workers, ethnic minority workers, and handicapped workers), pathways linking vitality to sustainable performance, or health effects of interventions targeting employee vitality and/or sustainable performance at work. With this Special Issue, we hope to provide readers with solid new findings extending the current state of knowledge about employee vitality and sustainable work performance.

Authenticity at Work: A Matter of Fit?

Authenticity at work refers to the extent to which a worker feels in touch with their true self while at work. At first sight this concept seems to overlap with the concept of person-environment (P-E) fit, that is, the degree to which an individual experiences good fit with their work environment. Drawing on a sample of 867 Dutch gifted workers, structural equation modeling was used to investigate (i) whether authenticity at work and P-E fit can be distinguished, and (ii) how authenticity at work and P-E fit were associated with employee well-being. As expected, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that authenticity at work and P-E fit were distinct from each other. Moreover, the mediated effect of authenticity at work was stronger for two negative forms of well-being (burnout and boredom) than for two positive forms of well-being (work engagement and job satisfaction). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, especially focusing on the distinction between authenticity and P-E fit.

Correlates of procrastination and performance at work: The role of having "good fit".

Occupational research often emphasizes the importance of workplace characteristics for understanding job stress and employee well-being, but the role of personal characteristics and having a good match with the job is mostly neglected. We explored how job crafting and feelings of being authentic at work were related to work engagement, work engagement of performance, and procrastination. A structural equation model analyzed self-reports from 380 Dutch office employees. Job crafting and authenticity were positively related to work engagement, and high work engagement predicted? better in-role and extra-role performance and less work procrastination. Moreover, performance and procrastination were negatively related. Results emphasize the importance of having a "good fit" between the employment settings and employees to promote engagement. By improving employee's work engagement, organizations might improve the likelihood that personnel respond favorably with organizational goals and reduce the chances of engaging in workplace procrastination.

Transitioning Towards New Ways of Working: Do Job Demands, Job Resources, Burnout, and Engagement Change?

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a mandatory transition to New Ways of Working (NWW) on employees' job demands (i.e., mental demands, workload, and task ambiguity), job resources (i.e., autonomy, supervisor support, coworker support, and possibilities for development), and their levels of burnout and work engagement. Additionally, it was investigated whether the effects of the transition depended on employees' personal resources (Psychological Capital-PsyCap). Design/methodology/approach We investigated an organization in transition. In three waves (one before and two after the transition), data were collected via online surveys among 126 employees of a large Dutch provider of financial services. Findings NWW were beneficial in reducing mental demands and workload and did not harm the relationships with supervisor and coworkers. However, autonomy and possibilities for professional development decreased. Burnout and work engagement remained stable over time. The effects of the transition did not depend on employees' PsyCap. Implications NWW have received a very positive popular press. Scientific evidence for its beneficial and/or adverse effects on worker well-being can help organizations making an informed decision when considering NWW. Moreover, this can help to develop targeted interventions that alleviate the negative consequences (e.g., paying extra attention to professional development). Originality/value This is one of the first longitudinal studies in which employees were followed who transitioned to NWW. Building on the Job Demands-Resources model, this study provides a comprehensive picture of the effects of NWW.

Different types of employee well-being across time and their relationships with job crafting.

We used and integrated the circumplex model of affect (Russell, 1980) and the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1998) to hypothesize how various types of employee well-being, which can be differentiated on theoretical grounds (i.e., work engagement, job satisfaction, burnout, and workaholism), may differently predict various job crafting behaviors (i.e., increasing structural and social resources and challenging demands, and decreasing hindering demands) and each other over time. At Time 1, we measured employee well-being, and 4 years later at Time 2, job crafting and well-being, using a large sample of Finnish dentists (N = 1,877). The results of structural equation modeling showed that (a) work engagement positively predicted both types of increasing resources and challenging demands and negatively predicted decreasing hindering demands; (b) workaholism positively predicted increasing structural resources and challenging demands; (c) burnout positively predicted decreasing hindering demands and negatively predicted increasing structural resources, whereas (d) job satisfaction did not relate to job crafting over time; and (e) work engagement positively influenced job satisfaction and negatively influenced burnout, whereas (f) workaholism predicted burnout after controlling for baseline levels. Thus, work engagement was a stronger predictor of future job crafting and other types of employee well-being than job satisfaction. Although workaholism was positively associated with job crafting, it also predicted burnout. We conclude that the relationship between job crafting and employee well-being may be more complex than assumed, because the way in which employees will craft their jobs in the future seems to depend on how they currently feel. (PsycINFO Database Record

High Job Demands, Still Engaged and Not Burned Out? The Role of Job Crafting.

PURPOSE: Traditionally, employee well-being has been considered as resulting from decent working conditions arranged by the organization. Much less is known about whether employees themselves can make self-initiated changes to their work, i.e., craft their jobs, in order to stay well, even in highly demanding work situations. The aim of this study was to use the job demands-resources (JD-R model) to investigate whether job crafting buffers the negative impacts of four types of job demands (workload, emotional dissonance, work contents, and physical demands) on burnout and work engagement. METHOD: A questionnaire study was designed to examine the buffering role of job crafting among 470 Finnish dentists. RESULTS: All in all, 11 out of 16 possible interaction effects of job demands and job crafting on employee well-being were significant. Job crafting particularly buffered the negative effects of job demands on burnout (7/8 significant interactions) and to a somewhat lesser extent also on work engagement (4/8 significant interactions). Applying job crafting techniques appeared to be particularly effective in mitigating the negative effects of quantitative workload (4/4 significant interactions). CONCLUSION: By demonstrating that job crafting can also buffer the negative impacts of high job demands on employee well-being, this study contributed to the JD-R model as it suggests that job crafting may even be possible under high work demands, and not only in resourceful jobs, as most previous studies have indicated. In addition to the top-down initiatives for improving employee well-being, bottom-up approaches such as job crafting may also be efficient in preventing burnout and enhancing work engagement.

Watching the paint dry at work: psychometric examination of the Dutch Boredom Scale.

Boredom at work is a state of employee unwell-being that is characterized by relatively low arousal and high dissatisfaction. At present little is known about boredom at work. In order to facilitate future research, the current study introduces a brief self-report questionnaire that assesses boredom at work, the Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS). We argue that (1) boredom at work can be distinguished empirically from related concepts such as work engagement and job burnout; (2) boredom at work results from having an unchallenging, "passive" job; and (3) the subsequent lack of challenge in the form of boredom may result in dissatisfaction with the job and with the organization. Using data from 6315 employees, factor analysis supported the factorial and discriminant validity of the DUBS vis-à-vis engagement and burnout. As expected, structural equation modeling revealed that demands and resources were negatively associated with boredom. Moreover, boredom at work was negatively related with job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and positively with turnover intention. These findings support the validity of the DUBS. Future research may focus on underemployment as an antecedent of boredom at work, and on the effects of boredom on job performance.

Work-family interface from a life and career stage perspective: the role of demands and resources.

Work-family conflict and enrichment are experiences that occur daily and have substantial consequences for employees, their families, and the organizations that employ them. The aim of the current review is to make a link between life and career stage, work and family conditions, and the work-family interface. The basic proposition is that life stages partly determine career development, and consequently the specific working conditions (job demands and job resources) and family conditions (family demands and family resources) that individuals are exposed to. As a result, the specific demands and resources in the work and family domains determine to what extent individuals experience that work and family are conflicting or enriching life domains. In this review we suggest that individuals in early adulthood will experience high inter-role conflict and low facilitation due to high demands and low resources in both life domains, while individuals in late adulthood will experience the opposite pattern; that is, low conflict and high facilitation due to low demands and high resources in both domains. Individuals in middle adulthood will experience high work-family conflict but also high family-work facilitation due to the presence of high job demands and resources in both life domains. Integrating life and career stage perspectives and the experience of work-family interface is of notable practical utility because it provides a mechanism to make more informed decisions about the relative need for and corresponding benefits of work-family programs.

To stop or not to stop, that's the question: about persistence and mood of workaholics and work engaged employees.

BACKGROUND: Although workaholics and work engaged employees both work long hours, they seem to have a different underlying motivation to do so. The mood as input model might offer an explanation for the difference in work persistence of these employees. This model suggests that the interplay of mood and "persistence rules" (enough and enjoyment rules) may lead to different kinds of persistence mechanisms. PURPOSE: The aims of this study are to present a scale for measuring persistence rules, the Work Persistence rules Checklist (WoPeC), to analyze its psychometric properties and to test the mood as input model in relationship with workaholism and work engagement. METHOD: Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Results of a confirmatory factor analysis in study 1 provided support for the hypothesized factor structure of the WoPeC. In study 2, it appeared that the use of an enough and an enjoyment rule for determining when to continue working is related to workaholism and work engagement, respectively. Furthermore, it was hypothesized and found that negative mood is related to workaholism, whereas positive mood is associated with work engagement. The expected interactions between mood and persistence rules on workaholism and work engagement were not demonstrated. CONCLUSION: Mood and persistence rules seem relevant for explaining the difference between workaholism and work engagement.

Work-family conflict in Japan: how job and home demands affect psychological distress.

The aim of the present study was to examine how job and home demands are related to psychological distress in a sample of Japanese working parents with preschool children (n=196). We expected that job and home demands are partially related to psychological distress through work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC), respectively. Structural equation modeling showed that, as expected, home demands were partially related to psychological distress, both directly and indirectly through FWC. In contrast, job demands were only directly related to psychological distress. The differences between the roles of FWC and WFC are discussed using identity theory.

Convergence of self-reports and coworker reports of counterproductive work behavior: a cross-sectional multi-source survey among health care workers.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of counterproductive work behavior (CWB) are criticized for overreliance on single-source self-reports. This study attempts to triangulate on behaviors and perceptions of the work environment by linking job incumbent self-report with coworker report of the job incumbent's behaviors. Theoretical framework is the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) Model, which proposes in general that specific job resources should match specific job demands to reduce deviant behavioral outcomes such as CWB. OBJECTIVES: To test the extent to which job incumbent self-report and coworker report of CWB in health care work converge, and the extent to which job incumbent-reported work-related antecedents (i.e., job demands and job resources) similarly predict both self-reported and coworker-reported behaviors (in line with DISC theory). DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey with anonymous questionnaires was conducted, using data from two different sources (self-reports and coworker reports). SETTINGS: A large organization for residential elderly care in the Northern urban area in The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Self-report and coworker questionnaires were distributed to 123 health care workers, of which 73 people returned the self-report questionnaire (59% response rate). In addition, 66 out of 123 coworker questionnaires were returned (54% coworker response rate). In total 54 surveys of job incumbents and coworkers could be matched. METHODS: Next to descriptive statistics, t-test, and correlations, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. RESULTS: Correlations and a t-test demonstrated significant convergence between job incumbent and coworker reports of CWB. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that both job incumbent and coworker data consistently demonstrated CWB to be related to its work-related antecedents. Specifically, findings showed that both physical and emotional job resources moderated the relation between physical job demands and CWB. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings provide stronger evidence that (multi-source measured) CWB is associated with job demands and job resources than has been provided in the past. Moreover, the present study implies that DISC theory has the potential of making a profound contribution to our understanding of counterproductive working behaviors in health care work. Future longitudinal studies should investigate this kind of relations more intensely.