Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

Work–Life Imbalance as a Moderator in the Relationship Between Resources and Work Engagement

Published Online:August 03, 2015https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000135

Abstract

This study examines the interplay between (a) job resources, (b) personal resources (organizational-based self-esteem, self-efficacy), and personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability), (c) a specific job demand (work–life imbalance), and (d) work engagement, in line with the alternative JD-R model proposed by Bakker (2011). Data was collected from 223 Romanian employees. Results show that work–life imbalance (WLI) undermines the positive relationship between self-efficacy and work engagement. In a three-way Job resources × Personal resources × Job demands interaction, self-efficacy and job resources had a positive relationship with work engagement when work–life imbalance was low. Also, in a three-way Job resources × Personality × Job demands interaction, the association between emotional stability and job resources was positive when work–life imbalance was low.

References

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Bakker, A. B. (2011). An evidence-based model of work engagement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 265–269. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bakker, A. B., Boyd, C. M., Dollard, M., Gillespie, N., Winefield, A. H., & Stough, C. (2010). The role of personality in the JD-R model. A study of Australian academic staff. Career Development International, 15, 622–636. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • 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, 274–284. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bakker, A. B., Leiter, M. P., Bakker, A. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2010). Where to go from here: Integration and future research on work engagement. Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory, and research (pp. 182–185). New York, NY: Psychology Press. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bakker, A. B., & Sanz-Vergel, A. J. (2013). Weekly work engagement and flourishing: The role of hindrance and challenge job demands. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 397–409. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Breslin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cavanaugh, M. A., Boswell, W. R., Roehling, M. V., & Boudreau, J. W. (2000). An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among US managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 65–74. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Jonge, J., & Dormann, C. (2006). Stressors, resources, and strain at work: A longitudinal test of the triple-match principle. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1359–1374. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The job demands-resources model: Challenges for future research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 37, 1–9. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 499–512. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Eurofound . (2012). Fifth European working conditions survey. Luxemburg: Publications Office of the European Union. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Grant, S., & Langan-Fox, J. (2007). Personality and the occupational stressor-strain relationship: The role of the Big Five. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12, 20–33. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Halbesleben, J. R. B. (2010). A meta-analysis of work engagement: Relationships with burnout, demands, resources and consequences. In A. B. BakkerM. P. LeiterEds., Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 102–117). New York, NY: Psychology Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2005). How dentists cope with their job demands and stay engaged: The moderating role of job resources. European Journal of Oral Sciences, 113, 479–487. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hobfoll, S. E., Johnson, R. J., Ennis, N., & Jackson, A. P. (2003). Resource loss, resource gain, and emotional outcomes among inner city women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 632–643. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hu, Q., Schaufeli, W. B., & Tarris, T. W. (2011). The job demands-resources model: An analysis of additive and joint effects of demands and resources. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 181–190. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Inceoglu, I., & Warr, P. (2011). Personality and job engagement. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 10, 177–181. First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Kim, H. J., Shin, K. H., & Swanger, H. (2009). Burnout and engagement: A comparative analysis using the Big Five personality dimensions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 96–104. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kluemper, D. H., Little, L. M., & DeGroot, T. (2009). State or trait: Effects of state optimism on job-related outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 209–231. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & LePine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor-hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 764–775. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Montgomery, A. J., Peeters, M. C. W., Schaufeli, W. B., & den Ouden, M. (2003). Work-home interference among newspaper managers: Its relationship with burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 16, 195–211. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Mowen, J. C. (2000). The 3 M Model of motivation and personality: Theory and empirical applications to consumer behavior. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pett, M. A., Lackey, N. R., & Sullivan, J. J. (2003). Making sense of factor analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Pierce, J. L., Gardner, D. G., Cummings, L. L., & Dunham, R. B. (1989). Organizational-based self-esteem: Construct definition, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 622–648. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Podsakoff, N. P., LePine, J. A., & LePine, M. A. (2007). Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover and withdrawal behavior: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 438–454. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W. B., Xanthopoulou, D., & Bakker, A. B. (2010). Gain spirals of resources and work engagement. In A. B. BakkerM. P. LeiterEds., Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 118–131). New York, NY: Psychology Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schaubroeck, J., Kim, Y. J., & Peng, A. C. (2012). The self-concept in organizational psychology: Clarifying and differentiating the constructs. In G. P. HodgkinsonJ. K. FordEds., International review of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1–38). New York, NY: Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire. A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 701–716. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized self-efficacy scale. In J. WeinmanS. WrightM. JohnstonEds., Measures in health psychology: A user’s portfolio. Causal and control beliefs (pp. 35–37). Windsor, UK: NFER-NELSON. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Van Veldhoven, M., De Jong, J., Broersen, S., Kompier, M., & Meijman, Y. (2002). Specific relationships between psychosocial job conditions and job related stress: A three-level analytic approach. Work and Stress, 16, 207–228. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • 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, 121–141. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar