Abstract
The job demands-resources (JD-R) model has hardly been studied in volunteer organizations and there is a scarcity of studies evaluating self-compassion as a personal resource within the JD-R model. The present study addresses these gaps in current knowledge, first by examining the applicability of the JD-R model in a crisis line volunteer organization. Second, self-compassion is examined, both in terms of its moderating role on the exhaustion process as well as its role on the motivation process. Structural equation modelling was used for the analyses. The influence on the organizational outcome ‘compassion towards others’ was examined using a multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the JD-R model has an acceptable fit on this sample and supports the central assumption that exhaustion and motivation are two independent but related processes. This study provides evidence that self-compassion is a valuable addition to the JD-R model, as it has an indirect effect on both processes, and increases the explained variance in compassion towards others by 7% through the exhaustion process and by 3% through the motivational process. These findings point to the importance of focusing on self-compassion in training and supervision in volunteer organizations.
Highlights
Self-compassion is a complex concept that contains multiple facets and skills: recognizing suffering, understanding the universality of suffering, feeling for one’s own suffering, tolerating uncomfortable feelings, and acting or being motivated to act to alleviate suffering [27]. Since both the moderating influence of self-compassion on the exhaustion process and its mediating role in the motivational process have been demonstrated, we examined which specific facets of self-compassion contribute to these effects
The findings of this study suggest that the job demands-resources (JD-R) model is applicable to volunteer organizations
Partial evidence was found for the exhaustion process and full evidence was found for the motivational process
Summary
The job demands-resources model (JD-R model) is a well-studied model that provides insight into the factors potentially influencing the well-being of employees, providing direction for interventions to improve their wellbeing [1,2,3] In this model, working conditions are divided into job demands (physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the work that require effort and/or skills) and job resources (those physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the work that help to achieve goals and reduce work-related stress). Both job characteristics may influence the level of employees’ distress and engagement. The JD-R model consists of two underlying psychological processes: the exhaustion and motivational processes
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