The Job Demands-Resources Model in emergency service volunteers: Examining the mediating roles of exhaustion, work engagement and organizational connectedness

Abstract

Using a sample of 887 volunteer emergency service workers in South Australia, we conducted a study based on the JD-R framework to examine the roles of three mediators in the relationship between job characteristics and volunteer well-being. These were (i) exhaustion as a mediator in the relationships between job demands and both poor mental health and turnover intentions; and (ii) work engagement and organizational connectedness as mediators in the relationships of job resources (training and organizational support) with happiness and turnover intentions. Organizational connectedness, a relatively new construct, is a positive state of well-being that involves an emotional connection with other workers, with service recipients and with aspects of the task and the organization's values. Results indicated that all three mediators were important in explaining volunteer well-being. Specifically, job demands were positively related to exhaustion, which, in turn, was linked to ill-health and turnover intentions. Job resources were positively related to work engagement and organizational connectedness, which were, in turn, negatively related to turnover intentions. However, while organizational connectedness mediated the relationship between job resources and happiness, this was not the case for work engagement. The roles of these variables in future research in paid and voluntary work are discussed.

Work stress and alcohol use: developing and testing a biphasic self-medication model

“…First, the composite measure provides a broader and more holistic representation of exposure to work stressors. Also, using multiple stressor measures as indicators of an overall work demands construct is an approach used almost exclusively among researchers testing the Job Demands-Resources model (e.g., Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Huynh, Xanthopoulou, & Winefield, 2014). Second, the general goal of this paper is testing two processes that explain how and for whom work stressor exposure is related to alcohol use.…”

The Impact of Personality and Workplace Belongingness on Mental Health Workers' Professional Quality of Life

“…In addition to personality traits, workplace factors also influence individual's professional quality of life (Stamm, 2010). For instance, being connected at work has been associated with fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety (Cockshaw & Shochet, 2010;Cockshaw, Shochet, & Obst, 2013) and burnout (Huynh, Xanthopoulou, & Winefield, 2014). Research has suggested that organisational variables and daily work stressors are more predictive of post-trauma outcomes than individual variables (e.g., personal trauma history, coping strategies; Killian, 2008), but these factors are rarely investigated simultaneously.…”

“…Killian (2008) found that long hours, work drain, and lack of work morale were associated with higher burnout and STS in mental health workers. There is emerging research that sense of belonging in the workplace may mitigate the impact of negative organisational factors in the well-being of mental health workers (e.g., Cockshaw & Shochet, 2010;Huynh et al, 2014). People with a high sense of workplace belonging feel valued, needed, supported, and important to their organisation (Cockshaw & Shochet, 2010).…”

Volunteer Engagement and Retention

“…The current study provides an example of the successful application of the JD-R framework to the volunteer context to better understand antecedents of volunteer engagement, a much-needed research focus (Huynh et al, 2014). The JD-R model provides a simple and flexible framework with which to examine and discuss both negative and positive influences on volunteer engagement.…”

“…Engaged volunteers are also more likely to be satisfied with their volunteer experiences (Huynh, Metzer, & Winefield, 2012), which may lead to them recommending the organization to additional potential volunteers and aid volunteer recruitment efforts. Although interest in volunteer engagement is increasing as evidenced by recent articles on the topic (e.g., Huynh et al, 2014), much investigative work into the antecedents of volunteer engagement remains to be done (Vecina, Chacón, Sueiro, & Barrón, 2012).…”