Burnout and engagement at work as a function of demands and control

Objectives The present study was designed to test the demand-control model using indicators of both health impairment and active learning or motivatio n. Methods A total of 381 insurance company employees participated in the stud y. Discriminant analysis was used to examine the relationship between job d emands and job control on one hand and health impairment and active learnin g on the other. Results The amount of demands and control could be predicted on the basis o f employees' perceived health impairment (exhaustion and health complaints) and active learning (engagement and commitment). Each of the four combinat ions of demand and control differentially affected the perception of strain or active learning. Job demands were the most clearly related to health im pairment, whereas job control was the most clearly associated with active l earning. Conclusions These findings partly contradict the demand-control model, espe cially with respect to the validity of the interaction between demand and c ontrol. Job demands and job control seem to initiate two essentially indepe ndent processes, and this occurrence is consistent with the recently propos ed job demands-resources model.