Review of Conservation of Resources Theory in Job Demands and Resources Model

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and conceptualize the reciprocal relationship between work engagement and job crafting. Despite the fact that both constructs are essential for comprehending employee motivation and proactive work behaviors, the existing research has examines their relationship in a fragmented fashion, either positioning work engagement as a predictor of job crafting or by examining its consequences. This paper integrates empirical evidence to explain the bidirectional association between the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) theories. Design/Methodology/Approach: A literature review was performed including papers published from 2010 to 2024. The search was conducted in Scopus employing the terms "job crafting," "work engagement," and "reciprocal relationship." After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 empirical studies were examined. The research were categorized into three groups: work engagement as a predictor of job crafting, job crafting as a predictor of work engagement, and a reciprocal relationship. Findings: The review reveals that work engagement plays a dual role in relation to job crafting. Work engagement serves as a predictor that fosters proactive behaviors, prompting employees to reconsider their activities, relationships, and cognitive perceptions. Consequently, job crafting improves psychological empowerment, job resources, and meaningful work, all of which promote work engagement. A positive gain spiral is created by this cyclical interaction, whereby motivated workers create actions that increase their resources, which in turn boost engagement and support long-term performance and well-being. Originality/Value: This research significantly contributes by bringing together disparate information and providing a reciprocal analysis of the relationship between work engagement and job crafting. It expands JD–R and COR theories by emphasizing the reciprocal development of professional and personal resources. The outcomes of the study suggest groundwork for future longitudinal and intervention studies, providing employers with valuable insights into how to enhance employee engagement over the long term through job crafting initiatives.

Based on the perspective of conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study adopts a multilevel approach to examine the influences of employees’ personal resources (i.e., work engagement and intrinsic motivation) and external resources (i.e., transformational leadership) on knowledge sharing. This study conducts a survey to explore the interrelationships among transformational leadership, work engagement, intrinsic motivation, and knowledge sharing. The sample includes 33 healthcare work groups consisting of 214 group members. The results show that an individual’s personal and external resources are positive and benefit the promotion of knowledge sharing. As for personal resources, work engagement has a positive impact on knowledge sharing by increasing intrinsic motivation. Regarding external resources, transformational leadership acts as a facilitator for knowledge sharing. Specifically, the conditional indirect effects of work engagement on knowledge sharing through intrinsic motivation are more positive under high levels of transformational leadership, rather than low levels of transformational leadership. Based on the COR theory, this is the first study to argue that knowledge sharing could be considered as an active activity and that individuals could be eager to perform knowledge sharing when they possess significant personal and external resources. The results of this study provide new insights into knowledge sharing.

Purpose Drawing from the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the authors’ study examines the impact of high commitment HR management (HCHRM) practices and psychological capital (PsyCap) on job autonomy and job demands in predicting burnout in frontline food service employees. Design/methodology/approach A moderated mediation model was developed and tested on 257 Australian workers employed in the food service industry. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings There was support for the mediation effect of HCHRM on burnout, via two sequential mediators: job autonomy and job demands. PsyCap was found to buffer (moderation) the effect of job demands on burnout. Frontline employees also perceived HCHRM to be a “negative signal” that was implemented for the good of management. Research limitations/implications The authors are aware of the potential of common method variance due to the cross-sectional research design. Future research should adopt a longitudinal research design or collect data from several sources of informants. As the authors did not find support for the optimistic perspective hypothesis, despite its theoretical and empirical relevance under JD-R and COR perspectives, they call for further research exploring the link between HRM, job design and psychological conditions in promoting employee wellbeing. Practical implications Burnout is one of the most common and critical health issues faced by frontline food service employees. Food service organizations have to strategize their management practices to reduce employees' experience with burnout by implementing high commitment enhancing HR practices and developing employees' PsyCap. Originality/value This study provided a better understanding of how (macro) HCHRM practices as an organizational resource reduce burnout of frontline food service employees via two (micro) mediators: job autonomy and job demands. PsyCap is an important personal resource that lessens burnout, consistent with the COR theory. These findings contribute to the literature on strategic HRM and its relationship to employee wellbeing.

Absenteeism associated with accumulated job demands is a ubiquitous problem. We build on prior research on the benefits of counteracting job demands with resources by focusing on a still untapped resource for buffering job demands-that of strengths use. We test the idea that employees who are actively encouraged to utilize their personal strengths on the job are better positioned to cope with job demands. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we hypothesized that job demands can accumulate and together have an exacerbating effect on company registered absenteeism. In addition, using job demands-resources theory, we hypothesized that perceived organizational support for strengths use can buffer the impact of separate and combined job demands (workload and emotional demands) on absenteeism. Our sample consisted of 832 employees from 96 departments (response rate = 40.3%) of a Dutch mental health care organization. Results of multilevel analyses indicated that high levels of workload strengthen the positive relationship between emotional demands and absenteeism and that support for strength use interacted with workload and emotional job demands in the predicted way. Moreover, workload, emotional job demands, and strengths use interacted to predict absenteeism. Strengths use support reduced the level of absenteeism of employees who experienced both high workload and high emotional demands. We conclude that providing strengths use support to employees offers organizations a tool to reduce absenteeism, even when it is difficult to redesign job demands.

This study investigates how perceived work from home (WFH) stress affects job and life satisfaction and the role of specific personal and job resources in stress and job and life satisfaction for WFH employees. The rising demand for WFH due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in employees’ job and overall life satisfaction. We conducted a quantitative survey of 283 first-time WFH employees in Bangladesh, applied the job demands–resources (JD-R) and conservation of resources (COR) theories, and employed a partial least squares–structural equation model. The results indicate that high stress resulting from WFH reduces job and life satisfaction; under such unusual work conditions, job satisfaction is a strong predictor of life satisfaction. Moreover, the effects of personal resources, such as job competence and perceived hope, on life satisfaction become operational through perceived supervisor support, perceived WFH stress and job satisfaction. Our study contributed to the literature by applying the JD-R and COR theories in a new WFH context to suggest that job resources, such as perceived supervisor support, become more effective when an employee is exposed to WFH for the first time, and some personal resources, such as job competence, become dependent on job resources.

The study examined the effect of psychological capital on work engagement and employees’ affective organizational commitment of employees in the weaving canters of the Handloom sector in Sri Lanka. Further, it attempts to find out the effect of psychological capital on work engagement and affective organizational commitment of employees of the Handloom industries in Sri Lanka. The study expands the literature on relevance by contextualizing it in one of Sri Lanka's indigenous sectors of the Handloom industry based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory and the Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) Theory. Data was collected from 361 employees in the Handloom industry in Sri Lanka by applying the second thumb rule of Ringle et al (2012). The quantitative analytical technique was employed in this study through Smart Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling. The study revealed that psychological capital has positively related to affective organizational commitment and work engagement, the association between psychological capital and affective organizational commitment was mediated by work engagement. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on both the JD-R theory and COR theory by expanding the theoretical understanding of the mediation effect of work engagement in the relationship between psychological capital and affective organizational commitment.

Purpose Integration of religiosity and positive emotions at workplace sheds light on the intersection of faith and professional well-being where these two factors lead to increased job satisfaction, higher productivity and improved overall mental health. The study examines the relationship between religiosity, positive emotions and work engagement among academics in Algeria. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the job demands-resources (JD-R) model of work engagement. The study uses a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire with stratified random sampling to collect data from 356 academics at public universities in Algeria. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with Smart PLS 3. Findings The results indicate that religiosity is positively associated with work engagement, and positive emotions mediate the relationship between religiosity and work engagement. The study also illustrates that job demands (workload) moderate the relationship between positive emotions and work engagement. Originality/value The study highlighted that role of religiosity and positive emotions as essential factors in increasing academics' work engagement and contributes to the COR theory and JD-R model of work engagement.

Background: Poland has lower ratios of employed registered nurses per 1,000 inhabitants than the EU average. Polish nurses work under miserable conditions without assisting personnel, and they reconcile their professional demands with responsibilities for their families; 96% of them are women.Rationale/Aims: This study uses Hobfoll’s conservation of resources (CORs) theory to explain the role of various resources in the improvement of work conditions in the nursing profession. Work-family conflict (WFC) and family work conflict (FWC) threaten to deplete nurses’ resources. This paper set out to (1) examine the extent to which perceived job demands (workload and interpersonal conflicts at work) and engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption) are associated with turnover intentions (the intention to leave the present workplace and the intention to leave the nursing profession); (2) attempt to determine whether levels of WFC and FWC moderate these associations.Design/Method: This study comprised 188 female registered nurses. The inclusion criterion was to live with a partner and/or have children.Results: WFC was moderately related to FWC. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that only high job demands and low vigor were significantly associated with turnover intentions. WFC was experienced more intensively than FWC. Job demands, vigor, dedication, and turnover intentions had a strong effect on WFC, while absorption had a strong effect on FWC. However, levels of WFC and FWC did not significantly moderate these associations.Originality/Conclusion: The study produces new knowledge by examining a constellation of job demands, work engagement and WFC, which reflect the management of personal resources. Results from such a constellation in nurses from countries with a post-transformational economic system have not previously been discussed in the light of COR theory. Most importantly, we conclude that WFC does not intensify turnover intentions.

Hotel employees experienced a devastating dilemma working under the COVID-19 pandemic circumstances. Multidimensional work stressor has become a common issue for hotel management as a result of the global crisis and uncertainty. The aim of this study is to apply the conservation of resources (COR) theory and the buffering hypothesis as relevant boundary conditions to influence the relationship of multidimensional work stressors, organizational commitment (OC), and employee-related behavior for hotel employees in Indonesia. This study collected 222 data from hotel employees working in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic and used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The finding highlights the significant effect of multidimensional work stressors on OC. Employee job performance and subjective well-being were positively affected by OC while showing a negative effect on turnover intention. However, the OC was insignificant as a mediating effect between multidimensional occupational stressors and employee-related behavior. This study constructed a mediation model by introducing the potential mediating effect of OC to reveal the relationship between stressors and behavior variables. Furthermore, implications are provided for both theory and management, and directions for future research are offered.

In the past 50 years, research has shown that the workplace has an impact on workforce engagement and stress. Professional demands including workload, constraints of time, and challenging physical conditions have been connected negatively to work engagement and positively to burnout. On the other hand, employment resources typically have a favorable effect on wellbeing. In fact, it has been found that resources like job control, decision-making power, and task variety have a good impact on work engagement and a detrimental effect on burnout. Recent studies have demonstrated a negative correlation between work engagement and burnout symptoms, which may either help or hurt one's ability to perform at work, organizational commitment, and wellbeing. The job demands-resources (jd-r) model suggests that various. According to the job demands-resources (JD-R) model different energy-driven and motivational processes are in play between work engagement and burnout symptoms and related to job demands and resources. JDR Model will be apply in this study. The information will be gathered via an organized questionnaire. In this study non-probability purposive sampling will be used. Latest version of Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS for data analysis will be used. Process Macro of Prof. Andrew Hayes will be used to test the hypothesis.

In the increasingly commercialized healthcare environment in China, doctor-patient relationship (DPR) is a job demand for doctors that is linked to various motivational outcomes. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, and the conservation of resources theory, we develop a preliminary conceptual model that links Leader Member Exchange (LMX) as a job resource, and DPR as a challenge job demand, to the levels of work engagement and turnover intentions of doctors working in this healthcare environment. Using two-wave data collected from 381 doctors in a public hospital, we found support for the hypothesized model. Results of a series of SEM analyses revealed that LMX was positively related to DPR and work engagement, while DPR partially mediates the path from LMX to work engagement. In addition, LMX is negatively related to turnover intentions through DPR and subsequently work engagement. Theoretically, this study contributes to the development of the JD-R model by investigating the concept of challenge job demand, and its role in the motivational process, with new evidence from healthcare occupations in China. Practically, this study contributes to the limited number of studies on managing the changing nature of the DPR in China, and in seeking potential solutions based on established organizational constructs.

IntroductionThe dynamic changes that occur in the world of work have posed new challenges for occupational health research (Kompier, 2006). Several researchers have argued that the popular models of job stress (e.g., Job Demands-Control model or Effort-Reward Imbalance model) may have limitations in capturing the new, complex, and often distinctive determinants of job stress and occupational well-being (Hellgren, Sverke, & Naswall, 2008; Ballducci, Schaufeli, & Fraccaroli, 2011). For that reason, more context-specific models of job stress have recently been developed. One of them is the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). This model assumes that each work environment has its own set of job characteristics that determine employees' health and well-being. Job characteristics can be divided into job demands and job resources. According to the JD-R model job demands are connected with poor health, whereas job resources are related to positive work attitudes. In addition to researching direct relationships between job demands and health problems, the JD-R model tries to identify potential mediators which indirectly affect the relationship. One of the most frequently studied mediators in the context of the JD-R model is job burnout.Several studies done on various occupational groups have confirmed that high job demands result in job burnout and this in turn leads to health problems (the so-called energetic process) (e.g., Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). However, most of these studies were conducted in Western (not Eastern) parts of Europe (e.g., Finland, Holland) and have not included police officers. Based on previous investigations, it can be assumed that this group is particularly exposed to high job demands and therefore is also at a great risk of suffering from physical and mental health problems related to high job demands (Colwell, 2009). Police officers are also particularly susceptible to job burnout (Kop, Euwema, & Schaufeli, 1999). Mental health problems among police officers have been observed in numerous studies conducted in various countries, including the USA (Pendleton, Stotland, Spiers, & Kirsch, 1989), Germany (Schmidtke, Fricke, & Lester, 1999), the United Kingdom (Collwell, 2009), Turkey (Gul & Delice, 2011), and also Poland (Dudek, Waszkowska, & Hanke, 1999).Moreover, in previous studies on JD-R mainly mental, not physical aspects of health were taken into consideration. The present research aims to verify the JD-R model and attempts to seek further insights into the processes that lead to poor health through job burnout. It tests how job burnout mediates the negative impact of job demands on mental health (as measured by rates of depression) and physical health (as measured by self-reported physical health complaints) in a group of Polish police officers.The JD-R Model as Theoretical Framework of ResearchThe JD-R model is an attempt to develop earlier occupational stress concepts, including the Job Demands-Control model (JD-C, Karasek & Theorell, 1990), the Job Demands-Control-Support model (DCS, Johnson & Hall, 1988), the Effort-Reward Imbalance model (ERI, Siegrist, Starke, Chandola, Godin, Marmot, Niedhammer, & Peter, 2004) and the Conservation of Resources theory (COR, Hobfoll, 1989). The JD-R model assumes that each occupation involves specific job demands which, in conditions of poor job resources, may lead to poor health (Bakker et al., 2003). Job demands refer to those physical, social or organizational job aspects that require sustained physical and/or psychological effort and are associated with certain physiological and/or psychological costs (Demerouti et al., 2001, p. 501). They include role stress, bad working conditions, job monotony, a demanding workload, interpersonal conflicts and organizational constraints. Job resources are related to physical, social and organizational aspects of the job 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. …

PurposeBased on the job demands-resources model (JD-R model) and conservation of resources (COR) approach, this study aims to examine how role overload and leader–leader exchange (LLX) affect leaders’ voice rejection, and explore when the positive relationship between role overload and voice rejection is weakened.Design/methodology/approachThis study used three-wave data from 205 leader–employee pairs and tested the hypothesized moderated mediation model using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.FindingsResults revealed that two parallel paths influence leaders’ voice rejection. The first path was “LLX → change self-efficacy → voice rejection”, and the second path was “role overload → emotional exhaustion → voice rejection”. LLX weakened the direct relationship between role overload and emotional exhaustion, and weakened the indirect relationship between role overload and voice rejection via emotional exhaustion.Practical implicationsOrganizations need to provide team leaders with additional resources and reduce their workloads to enhance their effectiveness in fulfilling the role of voice managers.Originality/valueThis study provides a comprehensive explanation, according to the JD-R model and COR theory, of how and when job demand and job resource influence leaders’ voice rejection, thereby enhancing our understanding of the formation. It provides new insights into leader voice rejection.

With the rapid expansion of higher education in China, university teachers are facing increasing workloads and mounting performance pressures, posing significant threats to their occupational health. Consequently, how to enhance job performance while safeguarding faculty well-being has become a critical issue for higher education administrators. This study aims to explore the role of health-promoting leadership (HPL) in addressing the dual challenge of enhancing university teachers' job performance while maintaining their occupational health. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study conceptualizes job burnout as both a core indicator of occupational health and a mediating variable, as well as proposing a dual-path model to examine the direct and indirect effects of HPL on teachers' job performance. A survey of 556 university teachers in Jiangxi Province, China, was conducted; the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0 and AMOS version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The findings suggest that HPL is positively associated with job performance, both directly and indirectly through reduced burnout, supporting a dual-pathway mechanism consistent with COR theory. These results contribute to a better understanding of the potential role of HPL in balancing teacher well-being and performance in the context of Chinese higher education. This study also extends the cross-cultural application of COR theory and provides theoretical and practical insights into how HPL may help alleviate teacher burnout and support the development of health-promoting universities.

An organization expects its employees to comply with job standardization to improve its production efficiency, while also expecting them to make suggestions to improve their job performance. Are the two goals compatible? Does job standardization turn employees into active speakers or stifled ones? This study is about how and why job standardization influences employee voice. I use conservation of resources (COR) theory to articulate competing hypotheses and a mediating process for the individual mechanism of employees’ role orientation in their job. In a three-wave panel survey, 232 employees completed questionnaires. The results indicate that job standardization reduces employee voice by narrowing the employee’s role orientation, in line with the resource conservation argument of COR theory. The results further suggest that job standardization is resource-depleting and causes the employee to focus on resource conservation to fulfill job requirements. The employee is less likely to consume resources and thus less likely to voice ideas and suggestions. This study shifts our understanding of employee voice from individual, interpersonal and organizational antecedents to the neglected antecedent of job characteristics. Given that the effects of job characteristics have often been explained in terms of the job itself, i.e., job characteristics theory, this study provides an alternative explanation in terms of the worker, i.e., resource theory. Organizations standardize jobs in order to improve production; in doing so, however, they create a dilemma: job standardization makes production more difficult to improve because the employees are less likely to voice their concerns. This study provides a specific, job-related way for managers to keep employee voice from being stifled or ignored. I propose that job standardization should consider the relative importance of employee voice and be classified as either discipline-related or job-content-related. Abstract An organization expects its employees to comply with job standardization to improve its production efficiency, while also expecting them to make suggestions to improve their job performance. Are the two goals compatible? Does job standardization turn employees into active speakers or stifled ones? This study is about how and why job standardization influences employee voice. I use conservation of resources (COR) theory to articulate competing hypotheses and a mediating process for the individual mechanism of employees’ role orientation in their job. In a three-wave panel survey, 232 employees completed questionnaires. The results are consistent with the resource conservation argument of COR theory: job standardization is resource-depleting and tends to narrow the role orientation of employees, who thus focus on resource conservation to fulfill job requirements and are in turn less likely to consume resources and voice suggestions. This study provides a specific, job-related way for managers to keep employee voice from being stifled or ignored. Job standardization should consider the relative importance of employee voice and be classified as discipline-related or job-content-related.