RESUMEN
The goal of the present study is to examine the moderating role of resources at work or study in the relation between demands, vigor, and fatigue in academic life. Trying to replicate scarce research on both academic and student stress simultaneously, we tested the so-called triple-match principle in an academic context to study whether or not match between specific resources, demands and well-being/health outcomes does really matter. A cross-sectional survey study using online self-completion questionnaires was carried out among 96 academics and 221 engineering students from a technological university (n = 317 in total). Findings showed a moderating, matching, role of resources in the association between demands, vigor, and particularly fatigue. Specifically, high cognitive resources strengthened the positive relation between cognitive demands and cognitive liveliness. In addition, high emotional resources buffered the positive association between emotional demands and successively emotional, cognitive and physical fatigue. This study reveals that matching resources are important in academic life. Therefore, it seems essential to create an appropriate equilibrium between specific resources and corresponding demands to promote academic well-being and health.
Asunto(s)
Emociones , Motivación , Estudios Transversales , Fatiga , Humanos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Carga de TrabajoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: We investigated how matching and non-matching demands and resources are related to emotional exhaustion (EE) in teachers. Theoretically, we draw on the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) model that proposes that demands, resources, and strains are multidimensional and comprise emotional, cognitive, and physical components. We first tested whether resources compensate aversive effects of demands. Second, as proposed by the triple-match principle, we tested whether interaction effects between job demands and resources are most likely if demands, resources, and outcomes relate to the same dimension. METHODS: We retrieved data from 177 school teachers; a subsample was re-examined after a time lag of about 21 month (N = 56). RESULTS: Linear regression analyses reveal concurrent and longitudinal main and interaction effects of teacher-specific emotional and cognitive job demands and resources on EE. CONCLUSION: Results support the compensation principle and triple-match principle. Therefore, the DISC model seems to provide a valuable framework for the study of interaction effects in job stress research and, in particular, for interventions to reduce job strain in teachers.