The Job Demands-Resources model: A three-year cross-lagged study of burnout, depression, commitment, and work engagement

TLDR

The JD‑R model integrates human thriving and ill‑health, bridging negative and positive psychology. The study longitudinally tested the JD‑R model’s motivational and health‑impairment processes in Finnish dentists and examined whether home resources and demands additionally influence these processes. Cross‑lagged analyses over two waves spanning three years were used to test the hypotheses. Results confirmed both processes: job resources boosted future work engagement and organizational commitment, while job demands predicted burnout and subsequent depression; job resources had a weak negative effect on burnout, and home resources/demands did not affect the processes, underscoring the central role of work characteristics for health and well‑being.

Abstract

Abstract By using a full panel design in a representative sample of Finnish dentists (N=2555), the present study aimed to test longitudinally the motivational and health impairment processes as proposed in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. The second aim was to investigate whether home resources and home demands have an additional influence on both processes over time. The hypotheses were tested with cross-lagged analyses based on two waves over a three-year period. The results supported both the motivational process and the health impairment process. Job resources influenced future work engagement, which, in turn, predicted organizational commitment, whereas job demands predicted burnout over time, which, in turn, predicted future depression. In addition, job resources had a weak negative impact on burnout. Home demands and home resources did not influence the motivational or health impairment process over time. The results support the central role of work characteristics for health and well-being. By integrating both human thriving and ill-health in the same model, the JD-R model may help to bridge the gap between "negative" and "positive" psychology.