Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test.

The job demands-resources model is refined and extended with theory regarding appraisal of stressors to account for inconsistencies in relationships between demands and engagement, and the revised theory is tested using meta-analytic structural modeling.

Abstract

We refine and extend the job demands-resources model with theory regarding appraisal of stressors to account for inconsistencies in relationships between demands and engagement, and we test the revised theory using meta-analytic structural modeling. Results indicate support for the refined and updated theory. First, demands and burnout were positively associated, whereas resources and burnout were negatively associated. Second, whereas relationships among resources and engagement were consistently positive, relationships among demands and engagement were highly dependent on the nature of the demand. Demands that employees tend to appraise as hindrances were negatively associated with engagement, and demands that employees tend to appraise as challenges were positively associated with engagement. Implications for future research are discussed.