Return to search

The direct and indirect influences of job demands, engagement and drive on work-life conflict and well-being

In healthy organisations, employee well-being is coexistent with efficient and effective work organisations. Improving employee wellbeing is therefore of significant importance for organisational performance. This study draws on the Job Demands-Resources model which suggests that the balance between job demands and resources impacts on individual well-being. Using an on-line survey (N=162) this study investigated the direct and indirect relationships between job demands, engagement and drive on work-life conflict and well-being. In general, the findings of this study are consistent with the JD-R model; job demands predicted work-life conflict, while the strongest predictor of well-being was the job resource of work engagement. Further, once indirect relationships were considered, it was found that engagement, a construct generally associated with positive outcomes, and overtime hours lead to psychological detachment issues for employees; consequently contributing to their work-life conflict. In addition, work-life conflict was found to mediate the relationships between the job demands of external work pressures and drive and wellbeing, suggesting that being pressured to put one’s work before their other interests and having an excessive work-drive contribute to reduced employee well-being. The unique contribution of this study lies in the assertion that while engagement has positive influence on employee and organisational outcomes, it is important that organisations and individuals ensure that work does not cause a negative spillover into employees’ private life, enabling them to recover after work and be ready for the next day’s challenges. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/10377
Date January 2015
CreatorsHamilton Skurak, Henrieta
PublisherUniversity of Canterbury. Department of Management
Source SetsUniversity of Canterbury
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic thesis or dissertation, Text
RightsCopyright Henrieta Hamilton Skurak, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml
RelationNZCU

Page generated in 0.0021 seconds