Job Demands-Resources model
Encyclopedia
The job demands-resources model (JD-R; ; ) is a business model
than can be used to improve employee well-being and performance in a wide range of occupations.
The JD-R was introduced as an alternative to other models of employee well-being, such as the demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model. The authors of the JD-R model argue that these models “have been restricted to a given and limited set of predictor variables that may not be relevant for all job positions” . Therefore, the JD-R incorporates a wide range of working conditions into the analyses of organizations and employees. Furthermore, instead of focusing solely on negative outcome variables (e.g., burnout, ill health, and repetitive strain) the JD-R model includes both negative and positive indicators and outcomes of employee well being.
• Evidence for the buffer effect of job resources: recent studies have found strong support for the proposed interaction between job demands and job resources in their relationship with employee well being (see ).
• Evidence for the salience of job resources in the context of high job demands: one previous study outside the framework of the JD-R model has supported the hypothesis that resources gain their salience in the context of high demands (see . Studies using the JD-R model have shown that job resources particularly have an impact on work engagement when job demands are high (see ); and ).
(see also www.arnoldbakker.com)
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
than can be used to improve employee well-being and performance in a wide range of occupations.
The JD-R was introduced as an alternative to other models of employee well-being, such as the demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model. The authors of the JD-R model argue that these models “have been restricted to a given and limited set of predictor variables that may not be relevant for all job positions” . Therefore, the JD-R incorporates a wide range of working conditions into the analyses of organizations and employees. Furthermore, instead of focusing solely on negative outcome variables (e.g., burnout, ill health, and repetitive strain) the JD-R model includes both negative and positive indicators and outcomes of employee well being.
Basic assumptions
The JD-R model can be summarized with a short list of assumptions/premises .“Job resources particularly influence motivation or work engagement when job demands are high”
This assumption is based on the premises of the conservation of resources (COR) theory . According to this theory, people are motivated to obtain, retain and protect their resources, because they are valuable. Hobfoll argues that resource gain, acquires its saliency in the context of resource loss. This implies that job resources gain their motivational potential particularly when employees are confronted with high job demands. For example, when employees are faced with high emotional demands, social support of colleagues might become more visible and more instrumental.Evidence
• Evidence for the dual process: a number of studies have supported the dual pathways to employee well being proposed by the JD-R model. It has been shown that the model can predict important organizational outcomes (e.g., . Taken together, research findings support the JD-R model’s claim that job demands and job resources initiate two different psychological processes, which eventually affect important organizational outcomes (see also , ). When both job demands and resources are high, high strain and motivation is to be expected. When both are low, absence of strain and motivation is to be expected. Consequently, the high demands-low resources condition should result in high strain and low motivation while the low demands-high resources condition should have as a consequence low strain and high motivation.• Evidence for the buffer effect of job resources: recent studies have found strong support for the proposed interaction between job demands and job resources in their relationship with employee well being (see ).
• Evidence for the salience of job resources in the context of high job demands: one previous study outside the framework of the JD-R model has supported the hypothesis that resources gain their salience in the context of high demands (see . Studies using the JD-R model have shown that job resources particularly have an impact on work engagement when job demands are high (see ); and ).
Advantages
The JD-R model satisfies the need for specificity by including various types of job demands and resources, depending on the occupational context under study. Thus, the JD-R model encompasses and extends both models and is considerably more flexible and rigorous.Practical implications
The JD-R model assumes that whereas every occupation may have its own specific working characteristics, these characteristics can be classified in two general categories (i.e. job demands and job resources), thus constituting an overarching model that may be applied to various occupational settings, irrespective of the particular demands and resources involved. The central assumption of the JD-R model is that job strain develops – irrespective of the type of job or occupation – when (certain) job demands are high and when (certain) job resources are limited. In contrast, work engagement is most likely when job resources are high (also in the face of high job demands). This implies that the JD-R model can be used as a tool for human resource management.(see also www.arnoldbakker.com)