Every profession and workplace is naturally unique, but there are some general ways in which we can describe work environments. One way is to look at specific negative aspects - demands, and positive aspects - resources.

Job Demands are the negative features of a work environment that considerably increase the physical and mental load on the employees. Some examples could be too big workload, bullying, or intense time pressure. Job Resources, on the other hand, are the positive aspects that support the growth, development, and achievement of goals of employees. Examples of resources could be a good manager, constructive feedback or training opportunities.

The JDR model proposes two important factors that managers and HR teams can use in their work:

• When Demands are high and the workplace lacks proper Resources, the stress of employees will rise
• When the company has effective resources available to support its employees, the job satisfaction will rise - even if the Demands are high
  

Based on these observations of the JDR model, we can conclude that every workplace should make sure that they are have Job Resources available for their employees - especially when the Demands are high -  because they will keep everyone’s spirits up and improve job satisfaction and motivation, and therefore indirectly improve the overall performance of the organization.

One thing that we want to do with Talbit is making sure that employees have practical and personal Job Resources available through our app: coaching, a handy feedback tool, and revolutionary ways to grow and develop. We believe that this way we can help our customers in creating more positive and productive workplaces. Let us know if you’d like to hear more, and we’d be happy to give you a full product demo!

References: 

Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied psychology, 86(3), 499. 

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands‐resources model: State of the art. Journal of managerial psychology. 

Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Verbeke, W. (2004). Using the job demands‐resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resource Management: Published in Cooperation with the School of Business Administration, The University of Michigan and in alliance with the Society of Human Resources Management, 43(1), 83-104.