Abstract
Judges are frequently exposed to judicial stressors and other overwhelming stressors in their daily jobs. Within the challenge-hindrance dichotomy framework, both challenge and hindrance stressors may lead to job burnout of judges. This study conceptualizes meaningful work as a significant personal resource in the expanded job demands-resources (JD-R) model, and investigates whether meaningful work would moderate the effects of challenge and hindrance stressors on job burnout. A two-wave field study with 490 frontline court staffs was conducted in China. The results showed that both challenge and hindrance stressors were positively related to job burnout. Further, meaningful work was found to buffer the negative impact of hindrance stressors (but not challenge stressors) on job burnout. These findings highlight the merit of meaningful work as a valuable personal resource.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The datasets generated during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Abbas, M., & Raja, U. (2019). Challenge-hindrance stressors and job outcomes: The moderating role of conscientiousness. Journal of Business and Psychology, 34(2), 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9535-z
Aguinis, H., Beaty, J. C., Boik, R. J., & Pierce, C. A. (2005). Effect size and power in assessing moderating effects of categorical variables using multiple regression: A 30-year review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 94–107. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.94
Aiken, L. S., West, S. G., & Reno, R. R. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage.
Albrecht, S. L., Green, C. R., & Marty, A. (2021). Meaningful work, job resources, and employee engagement. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(7), 4045. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074045
Allan, B. A., Batz-Barbarich, C., Sterling, H. M., & Tay, L. (2019). Outcomes of meaningful work: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3), 500–528. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12406
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Euwema, M. C. (2005). Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10(2), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.10.2.170
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. I. (2014). Burnout and work engagement: The JD–R approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1, 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091235
Barbier, M., Hansez, I., Chmiel, N., & Demerouti, E. (2013). Performance expectations, personal resources, and job resources: How do they predict work engagement? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(6), 750–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2012.704675
Berg, J. M., Dutton, J. E., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2013). Job crafting and meaningful work. In B. J. Dik, Z. S. Byrne, & M. F. Steger (Eds.), Purpose and meaning in the workplace (pp. 81–104). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14183-005
Brislin, R. W. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In W. Lonner & J. Berry (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 137–164). Sage Publications, Inc.
Carton, A. M. (2018). “I’m not mopping the floors, I’m putting a man on the moon”: How NASA leaders enhanced the meaningfulness of work by changing the meaning of work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 63(2), 323–369. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839217713748
Cavanaugh, M. A., Boswell, W. R., Roehling, M. V., & Boudreau, J. W. (2000). An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.65
Chen, I., & Fellenz, M. R. (2020). Personal resources and personal demands for work engagement: Evidence from employees in the service industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 90, 102600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102600
Cho, S., Noh, H., Yang, E., Lee, J., Lee, N., Schaufeli, W. B., & Lee, S. M. (2020). Examining the job demands-resources model in a sample of Korean correctional officers. Current Psychology, 39(5), 1521–1534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00620-8
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Erlbaum.
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. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364
Demerouti, E., Nachreiner, F., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499
den Broeck, V., De Cuyper, N., De Witte, H., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). Not all job demands are equal: Differentiating job hindrances and job challenges in the job demands-resources model. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19(6), 735–759. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320903223839
Gibson, C. B., Gibbs, J. L., Stanko, T. L., Tesluk, P., & Cohen, S. G. (2011). Including the “I” in virtuality and modern job design: Extending the job characteristics model to include the moderating effect of individual experiences of electronic dependence and copresence. Organization Science, 22(6), 1481–1499. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1100.0586
González-Romá, V., Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Lloret, S. (2006). Burnout and work engagement: Independent factors or opposite poles? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68(1), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2005.01.003
Grant, C. E. M., Chen, G., Cottone, K., Lapedis, D., & Lee, K. (2007). Impact and the art of motivation maintenance: The effects of contact with beneficiaries on persistence behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103(1), 53–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.05.004
Grover, S. L., Teo, S. T. T., Pick, D., & Roche, M. (2017). Mindfulness as a personal resource to reduce work stress in the job demands-resources model. Stress and Health, 33(4), 426–436. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2726
Hackman, R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250–279.
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(3), 632–643. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.3.632
Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J. P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 103–128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640
Jex, S. M. (1998). Stress and job performance: Theory, research, and implications for managerial practice-advanced topics in organizational behavior. Sage Publications Ltd.
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(5), 764–775. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.18803921
LePine, Z. Y., Crawford, E. R., & Rich, B. L. (2016). Turning their pain to gain: Charismatic leader influence on follower stress appraisal and job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 59(3), 1036–1059. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0778
Li, C., & Shi, K. (2003). The influence of distributive justice and procedural justice on job burnout. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 35(05), 677–684.
Li, J., Ma, A., & Lin, Z. (2015). Establishment and analysis of Chinese judges’ occupational stress scale. Frontiers of Legal Research, 3(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.3968/6655
Li, X., Qian, J., Han, Z. R., & Jin, Z. (2016). Coping with abusive supervision: The neutralizing effects of perceived organizational support and political skill on employees’ burnout. Current Psychology, 35(1), 77–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-015-9363-5
Lysova, E. I., Allan, B. A., Dik, B. J., Du, R. D., & Steger, M. F. (2019). Fostering meaningful work in organizations: A multi-level review and integration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110, 374–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.07.004
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008a). Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 498–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.498
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2008b). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. John Wiley & Sons.
Mazzola, J. J., & Disselhorst, R. (2019). Should we be “challenging” employees? A critical review and meta-analysis of the challenge-hindrance model of stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(8), 949–961. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2412
Meng, L., & Ouyang, F. (2020). Fluid compensation in response to disappearance of the meaning of work. PsyCh Journal, 9, 942–943. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.362
Nahrgang, J. D., Morgeson, F. P., & Hofmann, D. A. (2011). Safety at work: A Meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), 71–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021484
O’Brien, K. E., & Beehr, T. A. (2019). So far, so good: Up to now, the challenge–hindrance framework describes a practical and accurate distinction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(8), 962–972. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2405
Podsakoff, M. K. 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(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
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(2), 438–454. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.438
Resnick, A., Myatt, K. A., & Marotta, P. V. (2011). Surviving bench stress. Family Court Review, 49(3), 610–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2011.01396.x
Schaufeli, W. B., & Taris, T. W. (2014). A critical review of the job demands-resources model: Implications for improving work and health (pp. 43–68). Organizational and Public Health.
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Bakker, A. B., & Alez-rom, V. G. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326
Searle, B. J., & Lee, L. (2015). Proactive coping as a personal resource in the expanded job demands-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management, 22(1), 46–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038439
Steger, M. F. (2017). Creating meaning and purpose at work. In The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 60–81). John Wiley & Sons.
Steger, M. F., & Dik, B. J. (2010). Work as meaning: Individual and organizational benefits of engaging in meaningful work. In P. A. Linley, S. Harrington, & N. Garcea (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology and work (pp. 131–142). Oxford University Press.
Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20(3), 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072711436160
Tims, M., Bakker, A. B., & Derks, D. (2012). Development and validation of the job crafting scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 173–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.05.009
Van Wingerden, J., & Poell, R. F. (2019). Meaningful work and resilience among teachers: The mediating role of work engagement and job crafting. PLoS One, 14(9), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222518
Wallace, J. C., Edwards, B. D., Arnold, T., Frazier, M. L., & Finch, D. M. (2009). Work stressors, role-based performance, and the moderating influence of organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 254–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013090
Wang, L., Zhang, X., & Meng, L. (2022). Work meaningfulness disclosure and persistent behavior: Level of action identification as a moderator. PsyCh Journal, 11(1), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.502
Wrzesniewski, A., Lobuglio, N., Dutton, J. E., & Berg, J. M. (2001). Job crafting and cultivating positive meaning and identity in work. In Advances in positive organizational psychology. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2046-410X(2013)0000001015
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. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.14.2.121
Zhang, Y., LePine, J. A., Buckman, B. R., & Wei, F. (2014). It’s not fair… or is it? The role of justice and leadership in explaining work stressor–job performance relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 57(3), 675–697. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.1110
Zhou, H., Liu, J., He, J., & Cheng, J. (2021). Conditional justice: Evaluating the judicial centralization reform in China. Journal of Contemporary China, 30(129), 434–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2020.1827355
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant number: 71701131; 71702105], and Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project [Grant number: 2021ZGL004].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Ethical Statement
The study was informed consent by the Internal Review Board of School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meng, L., Du, J. & Lin, X. Surviving bench stress: Meaningful work as a personal resource in the expanded job demands-resources model. Curr Psychol 42, 17757–17768 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02956-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02956-9