Job Demands–Resources Model

Origins and basic structure

Research on work stress long focused on a few specific factors. Robert Karasek's (1979) demand–control model held that strain rises when high demands combine with low decision latitude, and Hackman and Oldham's (1976) job characteristics model focused on motivating job features. Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold Bakker and colleagues (2001) moved beyond models tied to particular variables, proposing a general model grouping all job characteristics into two categories. Job demands are aspects such as workload, time pressure and emotional labor that require sustained effort and carry physiological and psychological costs; job resources are aspects such as support from supervisors and colleagues, feedback, autonomy and development opportunities that help achieve goals, reduce the toll of demands and stimulate learning. This structure lets researchers plug in the specific factors relevant to each occupation.

Dual processes and interaction effects

Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) identified two relatively independent processes: a health-impairment process, in which excessive demands deplete energy and lead to exhaustion and health problems, and a motivational process, in which ample resources foster engagement and vigor that translate into performance. Work engagement is defined by vigor, dedication and absorption, measured with a scale developed by Schaufeli et al. (2002). Resources also buffer the negative effects of demands, and in a study of teachers Bakker et al. (2007) reported a boosting effect: resources raise engagement especially when demands are high. Hobfoll's (1989) conservation of resources theory, which holds that people strive to protect and build resources and that resource loss is central to stress, underpins the model. Meta-analyses by LePine et al. (2005) and Crawford et al. (2010) refined it by showing that challenge demands, which promote growth, and hindrance demands, which obstruct goals, relate to engagement in opposite directions.

Extensions: personal resources and job crafting

Xanthopoulou et al. (2007) added an individual level by showing that personal resources such as self-efficacy and optimism link job resources with engagement. Tims, Bakker and Derks (2012) developed a job crafting scale capturing how employees themselves increase resources, seek challenge demands and reduce hindrance demands. Synthesizing this work, Bakker and Demerouti (2017) recast JD-R as a theory with dynamic relationships: engaged employees create more resources in a gain spiral, while exhausted employees generate more demands in a loss cycle. Alongside self-determination theory and Herzberg's two-factor theory, the model is a leading framework for research on work design and employee experience, tested across many countries and occupations.

FAQ

What is the JD-R model in simple terms?

Work contains demands that drain energy and resources that replenish it; too many demands wear people out, while ample resources draw them into their work.

What are examples of job resources?

Typical examples include support from supervisors and colleagues, feedback on performance, autonomy over how work is done and opportunities to learn and grow.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26

References

1. Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285–308.
2. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250–279.
3. Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.
4. Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.
5. Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92.
6. Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), 293–315.
7. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
8. Bakker, A. B., Hakanen, J. J., Demerouti, E., & Xanthopoulou, D. (2007). Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(2), 274–284.
9. Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2007). The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(2), 121–141.
10. LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & LePine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor–hindrance stressor framework. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 764–775.
11. Tims, M., Bakker, A. B., & Derks, D. (2012). Development and validation of the job crafting scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 173–186.
12. Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834–848.
13. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands-resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273–285.