Job Demands-Resources Model

The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is a flexible framework in organizational behavior and occupational health psychology that explains employee well-being and performance through two parallel processes. Introduced by Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, and Schaufeli in 2001 and elaborated by Bakker and Demerouti in 2007, it holds that every job can be described by demands — aspects requiring sustained effort — and resources — aspects that help achieve goals, reduce demands, or stimulate growth. A health-impairment process runs from chronic demands to exhaustion and strain, while a motivational process runs from resources to work engagement and positive outcomes. The two paths interact: resources buffer the impact of demands on strain, and demands can amplify the motivating power of resources. Unlike fixed lists of job features, the JD-R model is deliberately open, letting researchers slot in whatever demands and resources matter in a given occupation.