Job Demands–Resources Theory: Frequently Asked Questions

Job demands–resources (JD–R) theory is commonly used to predict employee well-being, work behaviors, and performance. This article provides a short description of JD–R theory and discusses issues and questions that have been raised regarding the theory. These issues include the differences between conservation of resources theory and JD–R theory, whether a job resource can be a job demand, the impact of job resources on strain and health, the role of hindrance and challenge job demands in JD– R theory, the relationship between job demands and resources, and the likelihood of work engagement being a redundant concept. We also discuss whether JD–R theory can be falsified, the role of personality in the theory, within- and between-person effects in JD–R theory, the question whether there is a standard JD–R questionnaire, and the existence of loss and gain spirals. Finally, we discuss the use of JD–R theory in domains other than work and answer the question whether JD–R theory is universally applicable.