Drawing on the job demands-resources model and conservation of resources theory, this study investigates how and when the high-performance work systems (HPWS) influence proactive workforce. Using the data obtained from 204 supervisor-employee dyads in China, we developed and tested a moderated mediation model in which leader-member exchange (LMX) moderates the positive relationship between HPWS and proactive behavior via work engagement. Our results demonstrated that the association between HPWS and proactivity was fully mediated by work engagement. We also found that the indirect effect of HPWS on proactivity was significantly weaker among employees with high-quality LMX. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research, are then discussed.

In this study, we show how high-performance work systems (HPWS) in an organization can significantly affect employees' creative performance and burnout. To do this, we propose and test a dual-process framework that is based on HR attribution theory, ability−motivation−opportunity theory, micro- and macro-theoretical perspectives, and the job demands−resources (JD-R) model. Using data from a multisource field study with a sample of 311 participants, we found that HPWS benefited employee creative performance and did not lead to employee burnout. However, HPWS affected both job demands and job resources when employees adopted self-protection and self-enhancement strategies. Also, we found that HPWS had unique indirect effects on employee creative performance via job resources whereas job demands fully mediated the relationship between HPWS and employee burnout. The findings shed light on key aspects of HR attribution theory. We discuss accompanying theoretical and practical implications.

Sales performance is widely regarded as an important index of individual and organizational performance. Sales employees require access to organizational and job resources as well as personal resources in order to function effectively. An individual-level salesperson performance model is proposed that draws from the motivational process represented in the Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Organizational and job resources are conceptualized in terms of employee involvement climate (Riordan, Vandenberg, & Richardson, 2005). Personal resources are conceptualized in terms of employees' psychological capital (Luthans & Youssef, 2004). The model delineates how employee involvement climate influences engagement; how psychological capital influences performance; how employee involvement climate and psychological capital interact to influence employee engagement; and how, in turn, engagement impacts salesperson performance. The model will potentially prove useful to human resource managers, organizational development practitioners, and sales managers aiming to up-skill and more fully involve and engage their salespeople in order to optimize salesperson performance.

Burnout has been related to increased suicidal thoughts, lower self-esteem and dropout in university students. Engagement in students, however, has been underexplored. This study uses the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the Conservational of Resources (COR) model to contribute to the knowledge about burnout and engagement in health profession university students. In particular, the role of personal resources, including psychological flexibility, was examined. Participants were 260 nursing, social work, occupational therapy and psychology students from 10 Australian universities. Regression analyses were used to test the JD-R model with a health profession student sample. The model was extended by including personal resources and testing mediation and moderation hypotheses. Personal resources contributed significant additional variance to the model. Mediation effects of study demands and resources with psychological flexibility were found, while moderation effects were not. The results indicate the validity of the JD-R model in a health profession student population and the important role of personal resources. Further design and evaluation of interventions targeting personal resources and study demands and resources are indicated.

Work stress is widely thought to be a significant problem in the health and community services sector. We reviewed evidence from a range of different data sources that confirms this belief. High levels of psychosocial risk factors, psychological health problems and workers compensation claims for stress are found in the sector. We propose a multilevel theoretical model of work stress to account for the results. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to a climate for psychological health and safety. It reflects the balance of concern by management about psychological health v. productivity. By extending the health erosion and motivational paths of the Job Demands-Resources model, we propose that PSC within work organisations predicts work conditions and in turn psychological health and engagement. Over and above this, however, we expect that the external environment of the sector particularly government policies, driven by economic rationalist ideology, is increasing work pressure and exhaustion. These conditions are likely to lead to a reduced quality of service, errors and mistakes.