Job Dem

Journal of Managerial Psychology
When do job demands particularly predict burnout?: The moderating role of job
resources
Despoina Xanthopoulou Arnold B. Bakker Maureen F. Dollard Evangelia Demerouti Wilmar B. Schaufeli
Toon W. Taris Paul J.G. Schreurs
Article information:
To cite this document:
Despoina Xanthopoulou Arnold B. Bakker Maureen F. Dollard Evangelia Demerouti Wilmar B. Schaufeli
Toon W. Taris Paul J.G. Schreurs, (2007),"When do job demands particularly predict burnout?", Journal of
Downloaded by SAUDI DIGITAL LIBRARY (SDL) At 08:21 28 August 2015 (PT)
Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 Iss 8 pp. 766 - 786

Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683940710837714
Downloaded on: 28 August 2015, At: 08:21 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 53 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 3730 times since 2007*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Arnold B. Bakker, Evangelia Demerouti, (2007),"The Job Demands-Resources model: state of the art",
Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 Iss 3 pp. 309-328 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
Arnold B. Bakker, Evangelia Demerouti, (2008),"Towards a model of work engagement", Career
Development International, Vol. 13 Iss 3 pp. 209-223 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430810870476
Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Michael P. Leiter, Christina Maslach, (2009),"Burnout: 35 years of
research and practice", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss 3 pp. 204-220 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966406
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:586319 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.
*Related content and download information correct at time of download.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0268-3946.htm
JMP
22,8 When do job demands
particularly predict burnout?
The moderating role of job resources
766
Despoina Xanthopoulou and Arnold B. Bakker
Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Received October 2006
Revised June 2007 Maureen F. Dollard
Accepted June 2007
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
Evangelia Demerouti and Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands and
Research Institute Psychology and Health, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Toon W. Taris
Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and
Paul J.G. Schreurs
Institute of Work and Stress, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on home care organization employees, and examine
how the interaction between job demands (emotional demands, patient harassment, workload, and
physical demands) and job resources (autonomy, social support, performance feedback, and
opportunities for professional development) affect the core dimensions of burnout (exhaustion and
cynicism).
Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses were tested with a cross-sectional design among
747 Dutch employees from two home care organizations.
Findings – Results of moderated structural equation modeling analyses partially supported the
hypotheses as 21 out of 32 (66 per cent) possible two-way interactions were significant and in the
expected direction. In addition, job resources were stronger buffers of the relationship between
emotional demands/patient harassment and burnout, than of the relationship between
workload/physical demands and burnout.
Practical implications – The conclusions may be particularly useful for occupational settings,
including home care organizations, where reducing or redesigning demands is difficult.
Originality/value – The findings confirm the JD-R model by showing that several job resources can
buffer the relationship between job demands and burnout.
Keywords Home care, Stress, Job analysis, Demand management, Resources, The Netherlands
Paper type Research paper
Despoina Xanthopoulou was supported by a grant from the Greek National Scholarships
Journal of Managerial Psychology
Vol. 22 No. 8, 2007 Foundation (IKY). The collaboration between Utrecht University and the University of South
pp. 766-786 Australia was supported by an ARC International Linkage Project (LX0348225), the Dutch
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0268-3946
Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
DOI 10.1108/02683940710837714 Sciences (KNAW).
Research has shown that job demands have a profound influence on burnout and Job demands
indirectly lead to increased absenteeism (e.g. Bakker et al., 2003a) and impaired and burnout
organizational performance (e.g. Bakker et al., 2004). This phenomenon is particularly
evident in home care settings where the repeated confrontation with demanding
patients fosters feelings of exhaustion and cynicism (i.e. burnout; Bakker et al., 2003b;
Büssing and Höge, 2004). Occupational health psychologists have long tried to detect
which job resources may diminish the impact of job demands on burnout. The most 767
studied resources that may act as buffers are job control and social support (Van der
Doef and Maes, 1999). The present study uses the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model
(Demerouti et al., 2001) in the context of home care organizations to test the hypothesis
that different kinds of job resources buffer the impact of different kinds of job demands
on burnout.
Theoretical background
The importance of the buffer hypothesis was initially emphasized in Karasek’s (1979)
Demand –Control model and its extension by Johnson and Hall (1988) – the
Demand-Control-Support (DCS) model. These researchers propose that control and/or
support may offset the negative impact of high job demands (i.e. workload and time
pressure) on negative job strain. However, reviews of DCS research provide only
modest support for its buffer hypothesis (De Lange et al., 2003; Van der Doef and Maes,
1999). Specifically, Van der Doef and Maes (1999) conclude that the buffer hypothesis
has been mainly supported for specific occupational subgroups (in terms of person
characteristics or position in the organization) and when a specific (e.g. time pressure)
instead of a broader (e.g. quality concern) type of demand interacts with a specific type
of control (e.g. authority over pace). Based on the patterns of the significant
interactions found, the so-called “matching hypothesis” was introduced (De Jonge and
Dormann, 2006) according to which buffer effects should occur when similar types of
demands (e.g. emotional demands) match with similar types of resources (e.g.
emotional support), and produce similar types of outcomes (e.g. emotional exhaustion).
De Jonge and Kompier (1997) attribute the limited evidence for the buffer hypothesis
of the DCS model to methodological issues, including the calculation of the interaction
term. Moreover, they point out that the use of representative samples, although
important, may have led to low statistical power in buffer studies because in such
samples participants are exposed to average and not extreme levels of job
characteristics. Therefore, Kristensen (1996) suggested that one way to avoid Type II
errors caused by range restriction is to include sample units that represent large
exposure contrasts on the predictor and moderator variables.
However, the main criticism against the DCS model, which also explains the modest
support for its buffer hypothesis, is that it is too restrictive and therefore unable to
capture the complexity of different work environments (e.g. De Jonge and Kompier,
1997; Van der Doef and Maes, 1999). In fact, the model focuses only on quantitative (i.e.
work pressure) and not qualitative (e.g. emotional) job demands, and includes only two
types of job resources. The study of the processes explaining burnout cannot be
restricted to workload, control and support because: each occupational setting is
characterized by different types and levels of work characteristics (Bakker and
Demerouti, 2007); and many more work-related factors have been identified as
JMP predictors of burnout, including emotional demands and lack of feedback (Lee and
22,8 Ashforth, 1996).
Similar kinds of criticism have been formulated against the
Effort-Reward-Imbalance (ERI) model (Siegrist, 1996) which proposes that adverse
health effects occur when there is an imbalance between (high) efforts and (low)
rewards. Critics again emphasize that the ERI model conceptualizes effort (i.e.
768 demands) and rewards (i.e. resources) in a very general way, and argue that the test of
specific types of efforts and rewards would be more valuable (Van Vegchel et al.,
2005b). Furthermore, the interaction effect between effort and rewards has also
received little empirical support (Van Vegchel et al., 2005a). Because of the limitations
of the DCS and the ERI models, there is a need for a more comprehensive model that
specifies the job demands and resources that characterize the particular occupational
group under study. In this context, the JD-R model may be considered a promising
alternative framework for testing the buffer hypothesis.
The Job Demands-Resources Model

Whereas the JD-R model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007; Demerouti et al., 2001) fits the
tradition of the DCS and the ERI models it 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. For instance, Lewig and Dollard (2003)
showed that the JD-R model resulted in stronger findings in comparison with both the
DCS and the ERI model, emphasizing the value of such a situation/occupation specific
model. The JD-R model proposes that the characteristics of working environments can
be classified into two general categories, job demands and job resources, which
incorporate different specific demands and different specific resources respectively. Job
demands refer to physical, social or organizational job aspects that require sustained
physical and/or psychological effort and are associated with certain physiological
and/or psychological costs. Job resources refer to physical, psychological, social or
organizational job aspects that may: be functional in achieving work-related goals;
reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; and
stimulate personal growth and development (Demerouti et al., 2001, p. 501).
The main proposition of the JD-R model is that the risk of burnout is highest in
working environments where job demands are high and job resources are low (Demerouti
et al., 2001). Complementary to these additive effects, the buffer hypothesis states that
high job resources may offset the negative impact of job demands on burnout (Bakker and
Demerouti, 2007). Results of a study on the JD-R model in home care settings showed that
employees facing high job demands were less exhausted when sufficient job resources
were available (Bakker et al., 2003b). However, in this study the way of testing interaction
effects (i.e. various job demands and job resources were indicators of a latent demands
and a latent resources variable, respectively) did not allow an examination of which
concrete job resources moderated which specific job demands.
A recent study among employees of an institute for higher education provided
stronger support for the buffer hypothesis of the JD-R model (Bakker et al., 2005). Of the
interactions in this study 56 per cent was significant, showing that high levels of
workload, emotional demands, physical demands and work-home interference did not
result in high levels of exhaustion and cynicism if employees experienced adequate levels
of autonomy, received feedback and social support, or had a high-quality relationship Job demands
with their supervisors. However, this study concerned a certain group of employees and and burnout
did not test specific demands (e.g. patient harassment) that typify the health care
occupations, which constitute a classical burnout domain (Büssing and Höge, 2004).
The present study

The central question of our study is whether specific job resources can buffer those job 769
specific demands that are considered burnout inducing for home care employees.
Employees in “caring” occupations are considered to be highly susceptible to burnout,
because they are regularly confronted with demanding patients, who often show no
appreciation for the care they receive (Bakker et al., 2000). Empirical support for the
buffering role of job resources in this context is crucial both theoretically (i.e. enhance
understanding of the mechanisms that lead to burnout) and practically (burnout
prevention). That is because such evidence would indicate that the allocation of specific
job resources could be profitable for employees who must deal with high job demands
(Van der Doef and Maes, 1999).
We examined whether four typical home care job resources can offset the effect of
four typical home care job demands on burnout. Traditionally, burnout is defined as a
syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism towards work and reduced professional efficacy,
occurring among individuals in their work environment (Maslach et al., 1996).
According to Schaufeli and Taris (2005), exhaustion (i.e. energy depletion) and
cynicism (i.e. callous attitudes towards work and clients) are the core dimensions of
burnout. Professional efficacy has consistently been found to show a relatively low
correlation with exhaustion and cynicism and a different pattern of correlations with
other variables (Halbesleben and Buckley, 2004). Additionally, Bakker et al. (2005)
found that job resources did not moderate the relationship between job demands and
professional efficacy. Due to this ambivalent nature of professional efficacy, we
followed Schaufeli and Bakker’s (2004) recommendation and examined only the core
dimensions of burnout in the present study.
Four job demands (emotional demands, patient harassment, workload and physical
demands) and four job resources (autonomy, social support, performance feedback and
opportunities for professional development) were included in the study. This selection is
supported by previous research that recognized the importance of these job
characteristics for most employees (Hackman and Oldham, 1980; Lee and Ashforth,
1996) and for home care professionals in particular (Bakker et al., 2003b; Büssing and
Höge, 2004). In home care settings, employees are often isolated from the organization and
their colleagues because they work with their patients “behind closed doors” (Barling et al.,
2001). Thus, additional to typical resources like autonomy or instrumental support, which
might be of limited help when employees are alone when facing demanding patients,
other resources like feedback or opportunities for professional development might be
crucial (Büssing and Höge, 2004). For example, when home care employees receive
information from their work environment regarding the ways they have dealt with
difficult situations in the past and how they could have done it better (feedback), or when
they participate in workshops (opportunities for development) and learn how to deal with
“difficult” patients, they may be more prepared to confront such situations. As a result,
they may dispose less energy and feel less cynical about their work, because they are
more effective in dealing with its demanding aspects.
JMP In the context of the JD-R model, job resources by definition act as buffers of job
demands on burnout (Demerouti et al., 2001, p. 501). Thus, where job demands equal
22,8 job resources (in low demands-low resources or high demands-high resources
conditions) low levels of burnout will be experienced (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007;
Van Vegchel et al., 2005b). The latter combination represents the buffer effect and
suggests that although demands are high, high levels of resources prevent the
770 occurrence of burnout. Therefore, the relationship between job demands and burnout
will be particularly strong when job resources are low. This reasoning leads to:
H1. All four job resources will buffer the positive relationship between each of the
four job demands and the two core dimensions of burnout.
Furthermore, since emotional demands originating from the interaction with patients
and harassment from patients are apparently the most qualitatively important
demands in the health care settings (Barling et al., 2001; Büssing and Höge, 2004;
Dollard et al., 2003, 2007) we anticipate that home care employees will mainly use their
job resources in order to mitigate the strong effect of these two specific job demands. If
home care employees recognize these two job demands as the most crucial threats of
their well-being, they will initially try to protect themselves from these demands as a
form of coping (Aspinwall and Taylor, 1997). This leads to:
H2. Job resources will buffer the relationship between emotional demands/patient
harassment and burnout more strongly than the relationship between
workload/physical demands and burnout.
Method
Procedure and participants
The present study was conducted among Dutch home care professionals. McClelland and
Judd (1993) argued that moderator effects are easier to detect when extreme values of each
predictor variable co-occur with extreme values of the other predictor variable. Our
sampling units were selected accordingly. The study focused on two home care
organizations that were chosen from a total of 98 participating organizations. Out of these
organizations we selected the one with the highest mean scores on the job demands and
the lowest mean scores on the job resources and the one with the lowest mean scores on
the demands and the highest mean scores on the resources tested. Thus, we avoided range
restriction by capturing the extreme ends of the work characteristics under study.
All employees of both organizations received questionnaires and postage-paid return
envelopes at their home addresses, together with a letter that explained the purpose of the
study and invited them to participate. The confidentiality and the anonymity of the
answers were emphasized. From the first organization, 520 employees (out of 1,126; 46 per
cent response rate) filled in and returned the questionnaire; and from the second
organization 310 employees (out of 617; 50 per cent response rate) filled in and returned
the questionnaire. Thus, a total of 830 employees (48 per cent response rate) participated
in the study. From those, 83 participants were excluded because they held positions in
which they did not directly work with patients (e.g. administration). Our final sample
comprised 747 employees. Their main tasks were taking care of clients with health
impairments, and helping them with their daily functioning at home (e.g. eating, washing,
conducting household chores). The large majority of the participants were women
(N ¼ 730, 98 per cent), and their mean age was 45 years (SD ¼ 9:7). Their mean tenure in
the specific organizations was 9.5 years (SD ¼ 7:32), and their mean working experience Job demands
in home care organizations was 10.3 years (SD ¼ 7:6). and burnout
Measures
Burnout. The core dimensions of burnout were assessed with the Dutch version
(Schaufeli and Van Dierendonck, 2000) of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General
Survey (Schaufeli et al., 1996). Exhaustion was measured with five items, such as: “I 771
feel emotionally drained from my work”. Cynicism was assessed with four items,
including: “I have become less enthusiastic about my work”. All items are scored on
scale ranging from 0 (“never”) to 6 (“every day”). High scores on exhaustion and
cynicism signify burnout.
Job demands. Workload was measured with the Dutch version (Furda, 1995) of
Karasek’s (1985) Job Content Instrument. Quantitative job demands were measured
with five items, including “My work requires working very hard” (1 ¼ “never.
4 ¼ “always”). Physical demands were assessed with a seven-item scale, based on the
empirical work of Hildebrandt and Douwes (1991). Participants were asked to indicate
how physically demanding seven work situations (like “working in a bending
position”) were on a scale ranging from 0 (“barely demanding”) to 4 (“extremely
demanding”). Emotional demands were assessed with the five-item scale of Bakker
et al. (2003b). An example is: “Do you face emotionally charged situations in your
work?” (1 ¼ “never”, 5 ¼ “always”). Patient harassment was assessed with an adapted
Dutch version (Van Dierendonck et al., 1996) of Mechanic’s (1970) scale. The scale
contains seven items that describe different types of patient aggressive behavior, such
as “A patient who threatens you physically” (1 ¼ “never”, 5 ¼ “very often”).
Job resources. Autonomy (skill discretion and decision authority) was assessed with
the Dutch version (Furda, 1995) of Karasek’s (1985) Job Content Instrument. The scale
consists of nine items, including “I can decide myself how I execute my work”
(1 ¼ “never”, 4 ¼ “always”). Social support was measured with Van Veldhoven and
Meijman’s (1994) ten-item scale. A sample item is “Can you ask your colleagues for help
if necessary?” (1 ¼ “never”, 5 ¼ “always”). Performance feedback was measured with
a three-item scale (Bakker et al., 2003b), partly based on Karasek’s (1985) Job Content
Instrument. An example item is “I receive sufficient information about the results of
my work” (1 ¼ “never”, 5 ¼ “always”). Finally, opportunities for professional
development were assessed with a seven-item scale constructed by Bakker et al.
(2003b). A sample item is “My work offers me the opportunity to learn new things”
(1 ¼ “totally disagree”, 5 ¼ “totally agree”).
Strategy of analysis
To test our hypotheses, we conducted moderated structural equation modeling (MSEM),
using the AMOS software package (Arbuckle, 2005). The covariance matrix was analysed
using maximum-likelihood estimation. We followed the MSEM procedure proposed by
Mathieu et al. (1992) because it is considered both accurate, as well as easy to implement
and least likely to produce convergence problems (Cortina et al., 2001). For each
hypothesized interaction effect we tested a model that included three exogenous (job
demands, job resources and their interaction), and two endogenous (exhaustion and
cynicism) factors. Preliminary regression analyses showed that a dummy organization
variable explained 7 per cent of the variance in exhaustion, while education,
JMP organizational tenure and organization (dummy) together explained 6.8 per cent of the
22,8 variance in cynicism. Therefore, we controlled for these variables in all models.
In total, we tested 16 different models, one for each possible interaction between the
four job demands and the four job resources. Each exogenous variable had only one
indicator that was the standardized scale score of the respective factor (Mathieu et al.,
1992). The indicator of the latent interaction factor was the multiplication of the
772 standardized scale scores of the respective job demand and job resource tested. For the
two endogenous latent variables, we followed Bagozzi and Edwards’ (1998)
recommendation to use partial disaggregation models. Thus, instead of including all
five items of the exhaustion scale as indicators of the latent exhaustion factor, we formed
two parcels by combining the first three and the last two items of the scale. We followed
the same strategy for the cynicism factor and we created two composites by combining
the first two and last two items of the scale. The model included direct paths from the
three exogenous to the two endogenous factors. The job demands and job resources
factors were allowed to correlate, whilst correlations between job demands/job resources
and the interaction term were expected to be zero. Further, the residual errors of the two
outcome variables were allowed to correlate. Finally, the paths from the latent exogenous
variables to their indicators were fixed using the square roots of the scale reliabilities,
whilst the error variances of each indicator were set equal to the product of their variances
and one minus their reliabilities. We refer to Cortina et al. (2001) for the calculation of the
reliability score of the interaction term.
The fit of the models was assessed with the x2 statistic, the Confirmatory Fit Index
(CFI), the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and the Parsimony
Goodness-of-Fit Index (PGFI). CFI values that exceed 0.90, RMSEA values as high as 0.08,
and PGFI of around 0.50 signify good fit (Byrne, 2001). A significant interaction effect is
evident when the path coefficient from the latent interaction factor to the endogenous
factors is statistically significant. The final step for supporting a significant interaction is
to test the model with and without the path from the latent interaction factor to the
endogenous factors, and compare the two models on the basis of the x2 statistic. The
alpha level of significance for the interaction effects was set at 0.05. In order to detect
which of the significant effects were the most prominent, we applied Bonferroni correction
and focused on significant interactions at the stricter 0.003 level. Bonferroni correction
was used in order to aid decision making with regard to the most crucial effects, and not
to assess evidence of interaction effects in our data (Perneger, 1998).
Results
Descriptive statistics
Table I presents the means, standard deviations and correlations among the variables,
as well as internal consistencies of the scales. Correlational analyses were as expected
with all job demands being positively and all job resources being negatively correlated
with both exhaustion and cynicism (Demerouti et al., 2001). Further, job demands
correlated negatively with job resources in most cases (Bakker et al., 2003b).
Direct effects
Results of the MSEM analyses are presented in Tables II-V. Results regarding the
control variables are not presented, but can be obtained from the first author.
Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1 Organizational
tenure 9.52 7.32 –
2 Education 5.68 3.78 2 0.09 * –
3 Organization
(dummy) 0.39 0.49 0.07 2 0.08 * –
4 Workload 2.52 66 0.11 * * 0.07 2 0.19 * * (0.88)
5 Physical
demands 2.13 0.87 2 0.06 2 0.13 * * 2 0.01 0.23 * * (0.86)
6 Emotional
demands 2.28 0.60 2 0.04 0.11 * * 2 0.20 * * 0.40 * * 0.18 * * (0.72)
7 Patient
harassment 1.65 0.39 2 0.07 0.19 * * 2 0.24 * * 0.41 * * 0.16 * * 0.73 * * (0.65)
8 Autonomy 2.53 0.42 0.04 0.07 2 0.22 * * 20.08 * 2 0.13 * * 0.14 * * 0.08 * (0.71)
9 Social support 3.91 0.59 2 0.03 0.01 2 0.02 20.17 * * 2 0.12 * * 2 0.11 * * 2 0.13 * * 0.28 * * (0.80)
10 Performance
feedback 2.60 0.97 0.05 2 0.01 0.23 * * 20.23 * * 2 0.09 * 2 0.18 * * 2 0.19 * * 0.32 * * 0.31 * * (0.83)
11 OPDa 3.13 0.85 0.09 * * 2 0.14 * * 0.00 20.21 * * 2 0.12 * * 2 0.18 * * 2 0.24 * * 0.46 * * 0.30 * * .41 * * (0.89)
12 Exhaustion 1.73 1.16 0.03 0.04 2 0.26 * * 0.47 * * 0.21 * * 0.45 * * 0.42 * * 2 0.15 * * 2 0.20 * * 2 0.28 * * 20.28 * * (0.84)
13 Cynicism 1.20 1.05 0.10 * * 0.10 * * 2 0.22 * * 0.35 * * 0.12 * * 0.31 * * 0.39 * * 2 0.24 * * 2 0.30 * * 2 0.33 * * 20.43 * * 0.56 * * (0.76)
Notes: aOPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01

and burnout
consistencies (Cronbach’s
Job demands
deviations, internal
Means, standard
alphas on the diagonal)
the variables (n ¼ 747)

and correlations among
773
Table I.
22,8
JMP
774
Table II.
workload and job

structural equation
resources (n ¼ 747)
Results of moderated
modeling: interactions of
Exhaustion Cynicism
Unstandardized path coefficient (standard Unstandardized path coefficient (standard Fit
Predictors errors), and standardized path coefficients errors), and standardized path coefficients x2 CFI RMSEA PGFI
Workload 0.55 (0.04) 0.46 * * * 0.39 (0.05) 0.31 * * *

Autonomy 20.24 (0.05) 2 0.20 * * * 20.48 (0.06) 2 0.37 * * *
Workload £ autonomy 20.04 (0.05) 2 0.03 20.10 (0.06) 2 0.08
R2 35% 35% 138.03 0.94 0.07 0.51
Workload 0.55 (0.04) 0.46 * * * 0.38 (0.05) 0.31 * * *
Social support 20.19 (0.04) 2 0.17 * * * 20.37 (0.05) 2 0.32 * * *
Workload £ social support 20.18 (0.05) 2 0.15 * * * 20.13 (0.05) 2 0.11 *
R2 35% 30% 113.21 0.95 0.06 0.51
Workload 0.55 (0.05) 0.46 * * * 0.38 (0.05) 0.31 * * *
Performance feedback 20.21 (0.04) 2 0.18 * * * 20.36 (0.05) 2 0.30 * * *
Workload £ performance
feedback 20.09 (0.04) 2 0.08 * 20.09 (0.05) 2 0.07
R2 33% 28% 134.82 0.94 0.07 0.51
Workload 0.51 (0.04) 0.43 * * * 0.31 (0.05) 0.25 * * *
OPD 20.28 (0.04) 2 0.24 * * * 20.56 (0.05) 2 0.46 * * *
Workload £ OPD 20.10 (0.04) 2 0.09 * * 20.11 (0.04) 2 0.10 * *
R2 36% 41% 119.18 0.95 0.07 0.51
Notes: Results regarding the control variables included in the models (organizational tenure, education and organization) are not presented due to space
limitations. For details see results section; OPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; x2= chi-square; CFI ¼ Confirmatory Fit Index;
RMSEA ¼ Root Mean Square Error of Approximation; PGFI ¼ Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index; the df of all models is 29; *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01;
* * *p , 0.003
Exhaustion Cynicism
Unstandardized path coefficient Unstandardized path coefficient
(standard errors), and standardized path (standard errors), and standardized path Fit
Predictors coefficients coefficients x2 CFI RMSEA PGFI
Physical demands 0.21 (0.04) 0.20 * * * 0.15 (0.05) 0.11 * *

Autonomy 2 0.22 (0.05) 2 0.21 * * * 20.50 (0.06) 20.38 * * *
Physical demands £ autonomy 2 0.15 (0.05) 2 0.14 * * * 20.18 (0.06) 20.15 * * *
R2 24% 32% 119.50 0.94 0.07 0.51
Physical demands 0.26 (0.05) 0.21 * * * 0.17 (0.05) 0.13 * * *
Social Support 2 0.23 (0.04) 2 0.20 * * * 20.39 (0.05) 20.34 * * *
Physical demands £ social
support 2 0.12 (0.06) 2 0.09 * 20.10 (0.06) 20.08
R2 20% 23% 100.68 0.95 0.06 0.51
Physical demands 0.26 (0.05) 0.21 * * * 0.18 (0.05) 0.14 * * *
Performance feedback 2 0.30 (0.05) 2 0.25 * * * 20.43 (0.05) 20.35 * * *
Physical demands £ performance
feedback 2 0.11 (0.05) 2 0.09 * 20.07 (0.06) 20.05
R2 20% 21% 119.62 0.94 0.07 0.51
Physical demands 0.23 (0.05) 0.18 * * * 0.13 (0.05) 0.10 * *
OPD 2 0.38 (0.05) 2 0.32 * * * 20.64 (0.05) 20.51 * * *
Physical demands £ OPD 2 0.01 (0.05) 2 0.01 0.03 (0.05) 0.03
R2 25% 37% 130.75 0.94 0.07 0.51
limitations. For details see results section; OPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; x2 ¼ chi-square; CFI ¼ Confirmatory Fit Index;
* * *p , 0.003
and burnout
Job demands
physical demands and

structural equation
job resources (n ¼ 747)

Table III.
775
22,8
JMP
776
Table IV.
structural equation
job resources (n ¼ 747)

emotional demands and
Exhaustion Cynicism
Emotional demands 0.69 (0.05) 0.58 * * * 0.56 (0.06) 0.44 * * *

Autonomy 2 0.44 (0.05) 20.36 * * * 2 0.63 (0.06) 20.49 * * *
Emotional demands £ autonomy 2 0.13 (0.06) 20.10 * 2 0.21 (0.06) 20.16 * * *
R2 48% 47% 118.79 0.95 0.06 0.51
Social support 2 0.19 (0.04) 20.17 * * * 2 0.37 (0.05) 20.32 * * *
Emotional demands £ social
support 2 0.15 (0.05) 20.13 * * 2 0.16 (0.06) 20.13 * *
R2 38% 32% 94.28 0.96 0.06 0.52
Performance feedback 2 0.22 (0.05) 20.19 * * * 2 0.39 (0.05) 20.32 * * *
Emotional demands £
performance feedback 2 0.05 (0.05) 20.05 2 0.11 (0.06) 20.10 *
R2 36% 29% 135.30 0.94 0.07 0.51
OPD 2 0.28 (0.04) 20.24 * * * 2 0.55 (0.05) 20.46 * * *
Emotional demands £ OPD 2 0.08 (0.05) 20.07 2 0.22 (0.05) 20.19 * * *
R2 39% 44% 118.74 0.95 0.06 0.51
limitations. For details see results section; OPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; x2= chi-square; CFI ¼ Confirmatory Fit Index;
* * *p , 0.003
Exhaustion Cynicism
Patient harassment 0.63 (0.06) 0.52 * * * 0.65 (0.06) 0.52 * * *

Autonomy 2 0.37 (0.05) 20.30 * * * 20.57 (0.06) 20.45 * * *
Patient harassment £ autonomy 2 0.09 (0.06) 20.07 20.28 (0.07) 20.21 * * *
R2 40% 55% 155.61 0.93 0.08 0.51
Social support 2 0.18 (0.04) 20.16 * * * 20.33 (0.05) 20.29 * * *
Patient harassment £ social
support 2 0.18 (0.06) 20.14 * * 20.22 (0.06) 20.17 * * *
R2 35% 41% 125.45 0.94 0.07 0.51
Performance feedback 2 0.24 (0.05) 20.20 * * * 20.37 (0.08) 20.30 * * *
Patient harassment £ performance
feedback 2 0.08 (0.06) 20.07 20.13 (0.06) 20.10 *
R2 32% 37% 176.36 0.92 0.08 0.50
OPD 2 0.25 (0.05) 20.22 * * * 20.49 (0.05) 20.41 * * *
Patient harassment £ OPD 2 0.11 (0.05) 20.09 * 20.33 (0.05) 20.27 * * *
R2 33% 51% 147.60 0.94 0.07 0.51
limitations. For details see results section; OPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; x2 ¼ chi-square; CFI ¼ Confirmatory Fit Index;
* * *p , 0.003
and burnout
Job demands
patient harassment and

job resources (N ¼ 747)

structural equation
Table V.
777
JMP Organization was a significant predictor of exhaustion (2 0.12 , g , 2 0.35,
22,8 p , 0.001), and of cynicism (2 0.09 , g , 2 0.31, p , 0.01) in all models tested. This
is due to the oversampling of extreme observations in our study. Further, variance in
cynicism was also explained by organizational tenure (0.12 , g , 0.17, p , 0.001) in
all the models tested, and education (0.07 , g , 0.10, p , 0.05) in 11 out of the 16
models. Results regarding the direct effects of the work characteristics were in line
778 with previous studies with the JD-R model (for an overview, see Bakker and Demerouti,
2007). Specifically, Tables II– V show that in general, job demands were the strongest
predictors of exhaustion, whereas (lack of) job resources were the most important
predictors of cynicism. Compared to the other job demands, physical demands had the
weakest relationship with exhaustion (Table II), whilst harassment had the strongest
relationship with cynicism (Table V). Moreover, emotional demands and patient
harassment were the strongest predictors of exhaustion and cynicism, as expected for
this particular occupational group (Tables II-V).
Interaction effects
Results of MSEM analyses provided partial support for our first hypothesis. Table II
shows that all job resources except autonomy buffered the relationship between
workload and exhaustion, whilst social support and opportunities for development
buffered the relationship between workload and cynicism. Table III shows that
autonomy, social support and feedback interacted with physical demands in predicting
exhaustion, but only autonomy moderated the relationship between physical demands
and cynicism. Further, autonomy and support buffered the relationship between
emotional demands and exhaustion, whilst all job resources interacted with emotional
demands in predicting cynicism (Table IV). Finally, patient harassment interacted with
support and opportunities for development in predicting exhaustion, and with all job
resources in predicting cynicism (Table V). After Bonferroni correction, autonomy,
social support and opportunities for professional development proved to be the most
crucial buffers of the relationship between the different job demands and the core
dimensions of burnout.
All models fitted the data well (Tables II– V). When MSEM analysis resulted in a
significant interaction effect, x2 difference tests showed that the fit of the models with
the path from the latent interaction factor to the endogenous factors was significantly
better than the models without this path, thus further supporting these interaction
effects. To conclude, 21 out of 32 (66 per cent) interactions were significant, providing
some evidence for our hypothesis. At the p , 0.003 level, MSEM resulted in 8 out of 32
(25 per cent) significant interactions, which still supports our hypothesis. Significant
interactions were probed with the simple effects approach, and were plotted by using
one standard deviation above and one below the mean of the predictor and moderator
variables (Aiken and West, 1991). Plotting procedures further substantiated our
findings because they showed that all significant interactions were in the expected
direction. Namely, high job demands coincided with high levels of exhaustion and
cynicism only when job resources were low. For illustrative purposes, Figures 1 and 2
display one representative interaction effect for each burnout dimension. The plots for
the remaining interaction effects are available from the first author.
Job demands
and burnout
779
Figure 1.
Interaction effect of
physical demands and
performance feedback on
exhaustion
Figure 2.
Interaction effect of
patient harassment and
opportunities for
professional development
on cynicism
Strength of interaction effects

In order to test our second hypothesis regarding the issue whether the interactions
between emotional demands/patient harassment and job resources impact burnout
more strongly than the interactions between workload/physical demands and job
resources, we compared the standardized coefficients of the respective interaction
effects. In total, we compared 16 different dyads of effects for exhaustion and 16 for
cynicism. In order to compare the magnitude of two standardized coefficients we used
a form of the Wald test (Field, 2005). Namely, we calculated the difference of the two
coefficients, and then we divided it by the pooled standard error per parameter (i.e. the
mean of the two standard errors of the respective parameters, when N is the same).
This formula results in a z-statistic.
Calculations showed that in six independent tests there was a statistically
significant difference in the strength of the interaction effects under comparison.
Specifically, the emotional demands £ opportunities for development effect was
significantly stronger than the workload £ opportunities for development effect on
cynicism (z ¼ 2:00, p ¼ 0:02), and stronger than the physical demands £ opportunities
for development effect on cynicism (z ¼ 3:20, p ¼ 0:001). Furthermore, the patient
JMP harassment £ autonomy effect was stronger than the workload £ autonomy effect on
22,8 cynicism (z ¼ 2:00, p ¼ 0:02). Finally, the patient harassment £ opportunities for
development interaction effect was stronger than the workload £ opportunities for
development effect on cynicism (z ¼ 3:78, p ¼ 0:0001), stronger than the physical
demands £ opportunities for development effect on cynicism (z ¼ 3:00, p ¼ 0:001),
and stronger than the physical demands £ opportunities for development effect on
780 exhaustion (z ¼ 1:60, p ¼ 0:05). The above results reveal than in all six cases the
interaction effects between emotional demands/patient harassment and job resources
on burnout were statistically stronger than the interaction effects between workload/
physical demands and job resources, partially supporting our second hypothesis.
Discussion
The central aim of the present study was to test the buffer hypothesis of the JD-R
model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007; Demerouti et al., 2001) in a sample of home care
professionals. Particularly, the study investigated, for the first time, specific
interactions between several job demands and several job resources that are crucial
for home care employees, and assumed that job resources can buffer the effect of job
demands on burnout. Support for the buffer hypothesis contributes to the development
of the JD-R model in two ways. First, significant interaction effects between different
types of job demands and resources increase our insight in the mechanisms that lead to
burnout. Secondly, support for the buffer hypothesis is of practical value, because it
suggests that the allocation of job resources may mitigate the role of job demands, thus
preventing employees from developing high levels of burnout (Van der Doef and Maes,
1999). This is especially important for home care employees who, due to the unique
demands of their job, are expected to be susceptible to burnout (Bakker et al., 2003b;
Büssing and Höge, 2004).
Meaning of the interactions

MSEM analyses resulted in significant two-way interactions, showing that different
combinations of various work characteristics predict exhaustion and cynicism.
Although results do not confirm our hypothesis that all job resources buffer the effect
of all job demands on burnout, the percentage of interactions found (66 per cent and
25 per cent after Bonferroni correction) may be considered substantial. Most
importantly, all significant effects showed the same pattern and were in the expected
direction. Thus, the JD-R model (Demerouti et al., 2001) is empirically empowered
because the results sustain its buffer hypothesis. Further, these results extend previous
research on the JD-R model by focusing on home care employees and by providing
partial support for the buffering role of previously under-studied moderators (e.g.
opportunities for professional development) in the relationship between under-studied
job demands (e.g. patient harassment) and burnout (Büssing and Höge, 2004).
Further, our second hypothesis that job resources will be stronger buffers of the
relationship between emotional demands/patient harassment and burnout is partially
confirmed, since, if differences were significant, these types of demands produced the
most robust interaction effects. Results indicated that it is mostly when home care
employees face emotionally charged situations or aggressive behaviors from patients that
they profit from autonomy they have over their work, support from their colleagues, or
knowledge on ways to deal with such difficult situations. As a result, they confront these
situations more effectively, and prevent themselves from high levels of burnout. This Job demands
mechanism may be explained as a form of proactive coping (Aspinwall and Taylor, 1997). and burnout
Employees probably recognize the potential demands in advance, and activate resources
that may undermine the negative effects of these demands, before these effects even occur.
Our findings also suggest that while job resources buffer the impact of job demands
on cynicism, they are less successful in buffering the impact of job demands on
exhaustion. This finding may be explained by the fact that cynicism, which is 781
conceived as a form of extreme and negative psychological distancing and indifference
towards the object of the job (Maslach et al., 2001) is a crucial risk for home care
employees due to the high levels of emotional demands they face (Büssing and Höge,
2004; Dollard et al., 2003, 2007). Thus, employees primarily use their resources in order
to avoid such negative distancing, because indifference towards their patients is
against the main objectives of their job.

Generally, our results support the DCS model principles, since they show that
autonomy and support were amongst the most important buffers of job demands on the
core dimensions of burnout. However, autonomy did not buffer the effect of workload on
either burnout dimension. This is surprising as this interaction effect constitutes the
central hypothesis of the DCS model (e.g. Van der Doef and Maes, 1999; De Lange et al.,
2003). Nevertheless, we should also note that many other studies did not support this
interaction either (De Rijk et al., 1998; Taris, 2006). A reason for this non-finding may be
that the autonomy home care employees experience while working alone, may not allow
them to modify the amount of their workload. To conclude, the present results underpin
the conceptual idea of the DCS model, but at the same time extend it regarding several
main points of criticism (De Jonge and Kompier, 1997; Van der Doef and Maes, 1999). Our
results sustain the buffer hypothesis for different combinations of job demands and
resources. Thus, the present study not only captures the complexity of the home care
setting environment, but also supports the proposition that context-specific models like
the JD-R model are valuable especially for tests of homogenous groups, and thus, can be
particularly useful in designing interventions for reducing burnout.
Finally, it is interesting that our findings do not fully support the “matching”
hypothesis (De Jonge and Dormann, 2006; Van der Doef and Maes, 1999). According to
this hypothesis, resources are most likely to moderate the relationship between
demands and outcomes if resources, demands and strains all match (e.g. are all at the
emotional level). Observation of our most robust findings reveals that such a match is
not a precondition for finding buffer effects. For example, emotional demands
interacted with professional development (i.e. a cognitive type of resource) in
predicting cynicism (i.e. a behavioral outcome). This finding, which is in line with
previous studies (Bakker et al., 2005), further substantiates the JD-R model regarding
the role of job resources that by definition can act as buffers in the relationship between
any type of demand and any type of outcome.
Limitations
The main limitation of the study is its cross-sectional nature, which excludes any causal
inferences regarding the relationships tested. Future studies should examine the
longitudinal effects of job demands-resources interactions on burnout. Further,
oversampling extreme observations is a valuable tool for determining whether a
hypothesize effect exists, as well as the direction of the effect (McClelland and Judd, 1993).
JMP However, this technique can only lead to cautious conclusions regarding the standardized
22,8 effect size in terms of the percentage of variance explained, as well as regarding the
generalizability of the findings to the general population (Preacher et al., 2005). Moreover,
the results of the present study concern the specific group of home care employees, further
restricting their generalization to the working population. However, the characteristics of
our study sample generally resemble the characteristics of “caring” occupations, which
782 constitute a big labor market section dominated by female employees (AZWinfo, 2003).
Further studies on the buffer hypothesis of the JD-R model in different occupational
settings are needed in order to strengthen our findings. Based on the present results as
well as on previous studies with the same scope (Bakker et al., 2005), we expect that the
buffer hypothesis will generally be supported, but perhaps for different job demands and
job resources, depending on the occupational setting under study.
Practical implications and future research

This study showed that job demands are the strongest predictors of burnout, and
therefore the initial concern of organizations should be to avoid overwhelming levels of
job demands in order to prevent employees’ health impairment. Home care
organizations should pay special attention to emotional demands and harassment
from patients, which appear to be the main predictors of home care employees’ burnout
levels. However, if restriction of job demands is impossible, our results suggest that
organizations should consider providing a sufficient amount of job resources (e.g.
autonomy, support, opportunities for development) to employees, in order to offset the
negative effect of job demands on burnout. However, the latter proposition should be
considered with caution since there is a lack of evaluation studies of interventions that
promote the reinforcement of job resources levels (Kompier and Kristensen, 2001).
Another reason to be cautious is that not all hypothesized interactions proved to be
significant in this study. Future studies should focus on the theoretically most
prominent interactions depending on the occupational setting. Further, employees
differ in terms of their personal characteristics, which determine their adaptation to the
same working conditions. For example, Schaubroeck and Merritt (1997) found that job
control mitigates the effects of high demands on stress among individuals with high
self-efficacy, but it has stress-enhancing effects among those with low job self-efficacy.
Such findings suggest that future studies should further expand the JD-R model by
also testing the role of personal resources in the health impairment process.
References
Aiken, L.S. and West, S.G. (1991), Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions,
Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Arbuckle, J.L. (2005), Amos 6.0 User’s Guide, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL.
Aspinwall, L.G. and Taylor, S.G. (1997), “A stitch in time: self-regulation and proactive coping”,
Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 121 No. 3, pp. 417-36.
AZWinfo (2003), “Arbeidsmarktinformatie Zorg en Welzijn: Verplegende en Verzogende Beroepen”
(“Labor market information Care and Well-Being: Nursing and Caring Professions”),
available at: www.azwinfo.nl/beschrijvingen/verplegende-en-verzorgende-beroepen.php
(accessed January 2005).
Bagozzi, R.A. and Edwards, J. (1998), “A generalized approach for representing constructs in
organizational research”, Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 45-87.
Bakker, A.B. and Demerouti, E. (2007), “The Job Demands-Resources model: state of the art”, Job demands
Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 309-28.
and burnout
Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. and Euwema, M.C. (2005), “Job resources buffer the impact of job
demands on burnout”, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 170-80.
Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., De Boer, E. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2003a), “Job demands and job
resources as predictors of absence duration and absence frequency”, Journal of Vocational
Behavior, Vol. 62 No. 2, pp. 341-56. 783
Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E., Taris, T., Schaufeli, W.B. and Schreurs, P. (2003b), “A multi-group
analysis of the Job Demands-Resources model in four home care organizations”,
International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 16-38.
Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. and Verbeke, W. (2004), “Using the Job Demands-Resources model to
predict burnout and performance”, Human Resource Management, Vol. 43 No. 1,

pp. 83-104.
Bakker, A.B., Kilmer, C.H., Siegrist, J. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2000), “Effort-reward imbalance and
burnout among nurses”, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 884-91.
Barling, J., Rogers, G.A. and Kelloway, K.E. (2001), “Behind closed doors: in-home worker’s
experiences of sexual harassment and workplace violence”, Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 255-69.
Büssing, A. and Höge, T. (2004), “Aggression and violence against home care workers”, Journal
of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 206-19.
Byrne, B.M. (2001), Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and
Programming, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
Cortina, J.M., Chen, G. and Dunlap, W.P. (2001), “Testing interaction effects in LISREL:
examination and illustration of available procedures”, Organizational Research Methods,
Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 324-60.
De Jonge, J. and Dormann, C. (2006), “Stressors, resources and strain at work: a longitudinal test
of the triple match principle”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 91 No. 5, pp. 1359-74.
De Jonge, J. and Kompier, M.A.J. (1997), “A critical examination of the Demand-Control-Support
model from a work psychological perspective”, International Journal of Stress
Management, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 235-58.
De Lange, A.H., Taris, T.W., Kompier, M.A.J., Houtman, I.L.D. and Bongers, P.M. (2003), “The
very best of the millennium: longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support)
model”, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 282-305.
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., Nachreiner, F. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2001), “The job
demands-resources model of burnout”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 86 No. 3,
pp. 499-512.
De Rijk, A.E., Le Blanc, P.M., Schaufeli, W.B. and De Jonge, J. (1998), “Active coping and need for
control as moderators of the job demand-control model: effects on burnout”, Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 71 No. 1, pp. 1-18.
Dollard, M.F., Dormann, C., Boyd, C.M., Winefield, H.R. and Winefield, A.H. (2003), “Unique
aspects of stress in human service work”, Australian Psychologist, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 84-91.
Dollard, M.F., LaMontagne, A.D., Caulfield, N., Blewett, V. and Shaw, A. (2007), “Job stress in the
Australian and international health and community services sector: a review of the
literature”, International Journal of Stress Management.
Field, A. (2005), Discovering Statistics using SPSS: (and Sex, Drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll), Sage,
London.
JMP Furda, J. (1995), “Werk, Persoon en Welzijn: Een Toets van het JD-C model” (“Work, personality,
and well-being: a test of the JD-C model”), unpublished doctoral dissertation, Utrecht
22,8 University, Utrecht.
Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Buckley, R.M. (2004), “Burnout in organizational life”, Journal of
Management, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 859-79.
Hackman, J.R. and Oldham, G.R. (1980), Work Redesign, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
784 Hildebrandt, V.H. and Douwes, M. (1991), Lichamelijke Belasting en Arbeid: Vragenlijst
Bewegingsapparaat (Physical Demands at Work: A Questionnaire), Studies S 122-3,
Directoraat-Generaal van de Arbeid, Voorburg.
Johnson, J.V. and Hall, E.M. (1988), “Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular
disease: a cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population”,
American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 78 No. 10, pp. 1336-42.

Karasek, R.A. (1979), “Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job
redesign”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 285-308.
Karasek, R.A. (1985), Job Content Instrument: Questionnaire and User’s Guide (Rev. 1.1),
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Kompier, M.A.J. and Kristensen, T.S. (2001), “Organizational work stress interventions in a
theoretical, methodological and practical context”, in Dunham, J. (Ed.), Stress in the
Workplace: Past, Present and Future, Whurr Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 164-90.
Kristensen, T.S. (1996), “Job stress and cardiovascular disease: a theoretic critical review”,
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 246-60.
Lee, R.T. and Ashforth, B.E. (1996), “A meta-analytic examination of the three dimensions of
burnout”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 81 No. 2, pp. 123-33.
Lewig, K.A. and Dollard, M.F. (2003), “Emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion and job
satisfaction in call centre workers”, European Journal of Work and Organizational
Psychology, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 366-92.
McClelland, G.H. and Judd, C.M. (1993), “Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and
moderator effects”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 114 No. 2, pp. 376-90.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E. and Leiter, M.P. (1996), Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual, 3rd ed.,
Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W.B. and Leiter, M.P. (2001), “Job burnout”, Annual Review of Psychology,
Vol. 52, pp. 397-422.
Mathieu, J.E., Tannenbaum, S.I. and Salas, E. (1992), “Influences of individual and situational
characteristics on measures of training effectiveness”, Academy of Management Journal,
Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 828-47.
Mechanic, D. (1970), “Correlates of frustration among British general practitioners”, Journal of
Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 87-104.
Perneger, T.V. (1998), “What is wrong with Bonferroni adjustments”, British Medical Journal,
Vol. 136 No. 7139, pp. 1236-8.
Preacher, K.J., Rucker, D.D., MacCallum, R.C. and Nicewander, W.A. (2005), “Use of the extreme
groups approach: a critical re-examination and new recommendations”, Psychological
Methods, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 178-92.
Schaubroeck, J. and Merritt, D. (1997), “Divergent effects of job control on coping with work
stressors: the key role of self-efficacy”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 40 No. 3,
pp. 738-54.
Schaufeli, W.B. and Bakker, A.B. (2004), “Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with Job demands
burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study”, Journal of Organizational Behavior,
Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 293-315. and burnout
Schaufeli, W.B., Leiter, M.P., Maslach, C. and Jackson, S.E. (1996), “Maslach Burnout Inventory –
general survey”, in Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E. and Leiter, M.P. (Eds), The Maslach Burnout
Inventory: Test Manual, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
Schaufeli, W.B. and Taris, T.W. (2005), “The conceptualization and measurement of burnout: 785
common ground and worlds apart”, Work and Stress, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 256-62.
Schaufeli, W.B. and Van Dierendonck, D. (2000), Maslach Burnout Inventory: Nederlandse Versie
(Maslach Burnout Inventory: Dutch version), Swets and Zeitlinger, Lisse.
Siegrist, J. (1996), “Adverse health effects of high effort/low-reward conditions”, Journal of
Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 27-41.

Taris, T.W. (2006), “Bricks without clay: on urban myths in occupational health psychology”,
Work and Stress, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 99-104.
Van der Doef, M.P. and Maes, S. (1999), “The job demands-control (-support) model and
psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research”, Work and Stress,
Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 87-114.
Van Dierendonck, D., Schaufeli, B. and Sixma, H. (1996), “Burnout among general practitioners: a
perspective from equity theory”, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 1,
pp. 86-100.
Van Vegchel, N., De Jonge, J. and Landsbergis, P.A. (2005a), “Occupational stress in (inter)action:
the interplay between job demands and job resources”, Journal of Organizational Behavior,
Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 535-60.
Van Vegchel, N., De Jonge, J., Dormann, C. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2005b), “Enhancing the
Effort-Reward Imbalance Model by specifying its components: a longitudinal study
among human service workers”, submitted for publication.
Van Veldhoven, M. and Meijman, T.F. (1994), Het meten van psychosociale arbeidsbelasting met
een vragenlijst: De Vragenlijst Beleving en Beoordeling van de Arbeid (VBBA) (The
Measurement of Psychosocial Strain at Work: The Questionnaire Experience and
Evaluation of Work), Nederlands Instituut voor Arbeidsomstandigheden, Amsterdam.
About the authors

Despoina Xanthopoulou is post doc researcher at the Department of Work and Organizational
Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She received her PhD in work and
organizational psychology from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Her main research interests
include job and personal resources, positive emotions, work engagement, job performance, recovery
from work and multilevel designs. She is also active in organizational consultancy. Despoina
Xanthopoulou is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: xanthopoulou@fsw.eur.nl
Arnold B. Bakker is Full Professor at the Department of Work and Organizational
Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and general director at the
Centre for Organisational Behaviour (c4ob), Zaltbommel, The Netherlands. He received his PhD
in social psychology from the University of Groningen. His research interests include positive
organizational psychology (e.g. flow and engagement at work, performance), burnout, crossover
of work-related emotions, and internet applications of organizational psychology. His research
has been published in journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Vocational
Behavior, and Human Relations.
Maureen F. Dollard is Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Applied
Psychological Research and the Work and Stress Research Group at the University of South
JMP Australia. She received her PhD from the University of Adelaide. She has written over 70 book
chapters, articles, and books. Her main research interest concerns job conditions and their impact
22,8 on worker health and well-being. She is lobbying for a comprehensive national system for
surveillance of work-related psychosocial risk factors in Australia, and for an international
system. She is interested in developing more embracing knowledge development processes in
work and organizational psychology that encompass eastern, rural and indigenous issues and
which examine the impact of work globalization.
786 Evangelia Demerouti is Associate Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht
University, The Netherlands. She received her PhD in burnout from Oldenburg University,
Germany. Her main research interests concern topics from the field of work and health including the
job demands – resources model, burnout, work-family interface, crossover of strain, flexible working
times and shift-work, and job performance. Her articles have been published in journals including
Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Management, and Journal of Applied Psychology.
Wilmar B. Schaufeli is Full Professor for Work and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht
University, The Netherlands. He worked in the areas of clinical psychology, and work and
organizational psychology at Groningen University and Nijmegen University, respectively.
Currently he is visiting professor at Loughborough Business School, UK, and Jaume I
Universitat, Spain. For almost two decades he is an active and productive researcher in the field
of occupational health psychology, who published over 250 articles, chapters and books. Initially,
his research interest was particularly on job stress and burnout, but in recent years this shifted
towards positive occupational health issues such as work engagement. He has been actively
involved in psychotherapeutic treatment of burned-out employees and is now engaged in
organizational consultancy. In addition, he held various managerial positions in (inter)national
professional organizations. For more information see: www.schaufeli.com
Toon W. Taris is Full Professor in Work and Organizational Psychology at the Department of
Work and Organizational Psychology of the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He
holds a MA degree in Administrative Science from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, and received a PhD degree in Psychology in 1994 from the same university. His
research interests include work motivation, work stress, learning at work, and longitudinal
research methods. He has published extensively on these and other topics in books and journals
such as the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Personnel Psychology, and the Journal of Applied
Psychology. Further, he serves on the boards of several national and international journals,
including Psychology and Health and the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and
Health. He is currently Deputy Editor of Work and Stress.
Paul J.G. Schreurs is Director of the Institute for Work and Stress in Utrecht, and was
Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences of Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
He published several articles on stress and coping, developed a screening instrument for
stress-related diseases, presented the TV course “How to handle stress” and is the author of the
Dutch coping questionnaire “Coping with stress”. He is involved in research on the relation
between work circumstances, productivity and health and advises on organization and
individual level. As a clinical psychologist, he developed psychological treatments for
stress-related diseases, such as burnout and depression, on the basis of cognitive behavior
therapy.
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
This article has been cited by:
1. Monica Molino, Arnold B. Bakker, Chiara Ghislieri. 2015. The role of workaholism in the job demands-
resources model. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping 1-15. [CrossRef]
2. Alejandro Orgambídez-Ramos, Pedro J. Pérez-Moreno, Yolanda Borrego-Alés. 2015. Estrés de rol y
satisfacción laboral: examinando el papel mediador del engagement en el trabajo. Revista de Psicología del
Trabajo y de las Organizaciones 31, 69-77. [CrossRef]
3. Amanda Shantz, Kerstin Alfes. 2015. Work engagement and voluntary absence: The moderating role of
job resources. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 24, 530-543. [CrossRef]
4. Osman M. Karatepe, Hasan Kilic. 2015. Does Manager Support Reduce the Effect of Work–Family
Conflict on Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intentions?. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality
& Tourism 14, 267-289. [CrossRef]
5. Luo Lu, Hui Yen Lin, Chang-Qin Lu, Oi-Ling Siu. 2015. The moderating role of intrinsic work value
orientation on the dual-process of job demands and resources among Chinese employees. International
Journal of Workplace Health Management 8:2, 78-91. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
6. Michael T. Sliter, Elizabeth M. Boyd. 2015. But we’re here to help! Positive buffers of the relationship
between outsider incivility and employee outcomes. European Journal of Work and Organizational
Psychology 24, 225-238. [CrossRef]
7. Alain Marchand, Pierre Durand, Victor Haines, Steve Harvey. 2015. The multilevel determinants of
workers’ mental health: results from the SALVEO study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
50, 445-459. [CrossRef]
8. Laura Bermejo-Toro, María Prieto-Ursúa, Vicente Hernández. 2015. Towards a model of teacher well-
being: personal and job resources involved in teacher burnout and engagement. Educational Psychology
1-21. [CrossRef]
9. Fotios Anagnostopoulos, Evangelia Demerouti, Panagiota Sykioti, Dimitris Niakas, Panagiotis Zis. 2015.
Factors Associated with Mental Health Status of Medical Residents: A Model-Guided Study. Journal of
Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings . [CrossRef]
10. P. Trivellas, N. Kakkos. 2015. Understanding the impact of procedural justice, job characteristics, and
resources on emotional exhaustion and its marketing-related implications. Anatolia 26, 45-60. [CrossRef]
11. Kim J. P. M. van Erp, Sonja Rispens, Josette M. P. Gevers, Evangelia Demerouti. 2014. When bystanders
become bothersome: The negative consequences of bystander conflict and the moderating role of
resilience. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 1-18. [CrossRef]
12. Lucy T.B. Rattrie, Markus G. Kittler. 2014. The job demands-resources model and the international work
context – a systematic review. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research
2:3, 260-279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
13. Amanda Shantz, Kerstin Alfes, Gary P. Latham. 2014. The Buffering Effect of Perceived Organizational
Support on the Relationship Between Work Engagement and Behavioral Outcomes. Human Resource
Management n/a-n/a. [CrossRef]
14. Mara Bria, Florina Spânu, Adriana Băban, Dan L. Dumitraşcu. 2014. Maslach Burnout Inventory –
General Survey: Factorial validity and invariance among Romanian healthcare professionals. Burnout
Research 1, 103-111. [CrossRef]
15. Sarah-Jane Cullinane, Janine Bosak, Patrick C. Flood, Evangelia Demerouti. 2014. Job design under lean
manufacturing and the quality of working life: a job demands and resources perspective. The International
Journal of Human Resource Management 25, 2996-3015. [CrossRef]
16. Maja Tadić, Arnold B. Bakker, Wido G. M. Oerlemans. 2014. Challenge versus hindrance job demands
and well-being: A diary study on the moderating role of job resources. Journal of Occupational and
Organizational Psychology n/a-n/a. [CrossRef]
17. Hyung In Park, Annalyn C. Jacob, Stephen H. Wagner, Mavis Baiden. 2014. Job Control and
Burnout: A Meta-Analytic Test of the Conservation of Resources Model. Applied Psychology 63:10.1111/
apps.2014.63.issue-4, 607-642. [CrossRef]
18. Christian Schmitz, Shankar Ganesan. 2014. Managing Customer and Organizational Complexity in Sales
Organizations. Journal of Marketing 141003110212000. [CrossRef]
19. Scott Moodie, Simon Dolan, Roland Burke. 2014. Exploring the causes, symptoms and health
consequences of joint and inverse states of work engagement and burnout. Management Research: Journal
of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management 12:1, 4-22. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
20. Arnold B. Bakker, Evangelia DemeroutiJob Demands-Resources Theory 1-28. [CrossRef]
21. Tineke Hagen, Stefan Bogaerts. 2014. Work Pressure and Sickness Absenteeism Among Judges.
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 21, 92-111. [CrossRef]
22. M. Jasperse, P. Herst, G. Dungey. 2014. Evaluating stress, burnout and job satisfaction in New Zealand
radiation oncology departments. European Journal of Cancer Care 23:10.1111/ecc.2014.23.issue-1, 82-88.
[CrossRef]
23. Dwayne Devonish. 2013. Job demands, health, and absenteeism: does bullying make things worse?.
Employee Relations 36:2, 165-181. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
24. Müjdelen Yener, Özgün Coşkun. 2013. Using Job Resources and Job Demands in Predicting Burnout.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 99, 869-876. [CrossRef]
25. Luo Lu, Cary L. Cooper, Hui Yen Lin. 2013. A cross-cultural examination of presenteeism and
supervisory support. Career Development International 18:5, 440-456. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
26. Tsung-Yu Wu, Changya Hu, Chun-Chi Yang. 2013. Abusive Supervision and Workload Demands from
Supervisors: Exploring Two Types of Supervisor-related Stressors and their Association with Strain.
Stress and Health 29:10.1002/smi.v29.3, 190-198. [CrossRef]
27. Garry B. Hall, Maureen F. Dollard, Anthony H. Winefield, Christian Dormann, Arnold B. Bakker.
2013. Psychosocial safety climate buffers effects of job demands on depression and positive organizational
behaviors. Anxiety, Stress & Coping 26, 355-377. [CrossRef]
28. Michel Rod, Nicholas J. Ashill. 2013. The impact of call centre stressors on inbound and outbound call‐
centre agent burnout. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal 23:3, 245-264. [Abstract] [Full
Text] [PDF]
29. Anja Van den Broeck, Joris Van Ruysseveldt, Els Vanbelle, Hans De WitteThe Job Demands–Resources
Model: Overview and Suggestions for Future Research 83-105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [PDF]
30. Hong Ren, Mark C. Bolino, Margaret A. Shaffer, Maria L. Kraimer. 2013. The influence of job demands
and resources on repatriate career satisfaction: A relative deprivation perspective. Journal of World Business
48, 149-159. [CrossRef]
31. Alma M. Rodríguez-Sánchez, Jari J. Hakanen, Riku Perhoniemi, Marisa Salanova. 2013. With a little
help from my assistant: buffering the negative effects of emotional dissonance on dentist performance.
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology n/a-n/a. [CrossRef]
32. Silvia Simbula, Chiara Panari, Dina Guglielmi, Franco Fraccaroli. 2012. Teachers’ Well-being and
Effectiveness: The Role of the Interplay between Job Demands and Job Resources. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences 69, 729-738. [CrossRef]
33. LEON de BEER, SEBASTIAAN ROTHMANN, JACO PIENAAR. 2012. A CONFIRMATORY
INVESTIGATION OF A JOB DEMANDS-RESOURCES MODEL USING A CATEGORICAL
ESTIMATOR 1. Psychological Reports 111, 528-544. [CrossRef]
34. Timothy Bartram, Gian Casimir, Nick Djurkovic, Sandra G. Leggat, Pauline Stanton. 2012. Do
perceived high performance work systems influence the relationship between emotional labour, burnout
and intention to leave? A study of Australian nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68:10.1111/
jan.2012.68.issue-7, 1567-1578. [CrossRef]
35. Maureen F. Dollard, Michelle R. Tuckey, Christian Dormann. 2012. Psychosocial safety climate
moderates the job demand–resource interaction in predicting workgroup distress. Accident Analysis &
Prevention 45, 694-704. [CrossRef]

36. Erik Berntson, Linda Wallin, Annika Härenstam. 2012. Typical Situations for Managers in the Swedish
Public Sector: Cluster Analysis of Working Conditions Using the Job Demands-Resources Model.
International Public Management Journal 15, 100-130. [CrossRef]
37. Nicholas J. Ashill, Michel Rod. 2011. Burnout processes in non-clinical health service encounters. Journal
of Business Research 64, 1116-1127. [CrossRef]
38. Gene M. Alarcon. 2011. A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources, and attitudes. Journal
of Vocational Behavior 79, 549-562. [CrossRef]
39. Cristian Balducci, Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Franco Fraccaroli. 2011. The job demands–resources model
and counterproductive work behaviour: The role of job-related affect. European Journal of Work and
Organizational Psychology 20, 467-496. [CrossRef]
40. Arnold B. Bakker, Lieke L. ten Brummelhuis, Jelle T. Prins, Frank M.M.A. van der Heijden. 2011.
Applying the job demands–resources model to the work–home interface: A study among medical residents
and their partners. Journal of Vocational Behavior 79, 170-180. [CrossRef]
41. Marilyn Macdonald, Ariella Lang, Jo-Anne MacDonald. 2011. Mapping a Research Agenda for Home
Care Safety: Perspectives from Researchers, Providers, and Decision Makers. Canadian Journal on Aging /
La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 30, 233-245. [CrossRef]
42. Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold B. Bakker. 2011. The Job Demands–Resources model: Challenges for future
research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 37. . [CrossRef]
43. Maxime A. Tremblay, Deanna Messervey. 2011. The Job Demands-Resources model: Further evidence
for the buffering effect of personal resources. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 37. . [CrossRef]
44. Sara Jansen Perry, Cristina Rubino, L. A. Witt. 2011. General job performance of first-line supervisors:
the role of conscientiousness in determining its effects on subordinate exhaustion. Stress and Health
27:10.1002/smi.v27.2, e83-e93. [CrossRef]
45. Osman M. Karatepe. 2011. Do job resources moderate the effect of emotional dissonance on burnout?.
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 23:1, 44-65. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
46. Arnold B. Bakker, Simon L. Albrecht, Michael P. Leiter. 2011. Work engagement: Further reflections
on the state of play. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 20, 74-88. [CrossRef]
47. Nadine Genet, Wienke GW Boerma, Dionne S Kringos, Ans Bouman, Anneke L Francke, Cecilia
Fagerström, Maria Melchiorre, Cosetta Greco, Walter Devillé. 2011. Home care in Europe: a systematic
literature review. BMC Health Services Research 11, 207. [CrossRef]
48. Georgia Pomaki, Anita DeLongis, Daniela Frey, Kathy Short, Trish Woehrle. 2010. When the going
gets tough: Direct, buffering and indirect effects of social support on turnover intention. Teaching and
Teacher Education 26, 1340-1346. [CrossRef]
49. Andrew Hede. 2010. The dynamics of mindfulness in managing emotions and stress. Journal of
Management Development 29:1, 94-110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
50. Arnold B. Bakker, Marc van Veldhoven, Despoina Xanthopoulou. 2010. Beyond the Demand-Control
Model. Journal of Personnel Psychology 9, 3-16. [CrossRef]
51. Jos Akkermans, Veerle Brenninkmeijer, Roland W.B. Blonk, Lando L.J. Koppes. 2009. Fresh and
healthy?. Career Development International 14:7, 671-699. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Job Dem

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Job Dem

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Journal of Managerial Psychology

Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 Iss 8 pp. 766 - 786

Evangelia Demerouti and Wilmar B. Schaufeli

The Job Demands-Resources Model

The present study

Notes: aOPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01

alphas on the diagonal)

the variables (n ¼ 747)

workload and job

Workload 0.55 (0.04) 0.46 * * * 0.39 (0.05) 0.31 * * *

Physical demands 0.21 (0.04) 0.20 * * * 0.15 (0.05) 0.11 * *

physical demands and

job resources (n ¼ 747)

job resources (n ¼ 747)

Emotional demands 0.69 (0.05) 0.58 * * * 0.56 (0.06) 0.44 * * *

Patient harassment 0.63 (0.06) 0.52 * * * 0.65 (0.06) 0.52 * * *

patient harassment and

job resources (N ¼ 747)

Strength of interaction effects

Meaning of the interactions

against the main objectives of their job.

Practical implications and future research

predict burnout and performance”, Human Resource Management, Vol. 43 No. 1,

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 78 No. 10, pp. 1336-42.

Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 27-41.

About the authors

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Prevention 45, 694-704. [CrossRef]

You might also like

Notes: aOPD ¼ Opportunities for Professional Development; p , 0.05; *p , 0.01