This study among 12,359 employees working in 148 organizations tested the interaction hypothesis of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Accordingly, employees endorse most positive work attitudes (task enjoyment and organizational commitment) when job demands and job resources are both high. Results of moderated structural equation modeling analyses provided strong support for the hypothesis: 15 of the 16 hypothesized interactions were significant for task enjoyment and 13 of the 16 interactions were significant for organizational commitment. Job resources (skill utilization, learning opportunities, autonomy, colleague support, leader support, performance feedback, participation in decision making, and career opportunities) predicted task enjoyment and organizational commitment particularly under conditions of high job demands (workload and emotional demands). These findings clearly expand the Demand-Control model and support the JD-R model. Moreover, the results illustrate what managers can do to secure employee well-being.

Most managers are aware that their role is to maximize the efforts of their employees toward achieving the organization’s goals. Although a high workload may be needed to realize these goals, possible side effects include exhaustion and negative work attitudes. What can managers do to secure employee well-being (e.g., task enjoyment and organizational commitment)?

Many previous studies have used the Demand-Control model (DCM; Karasek, 1979; Karasek & Theorell, 1990) to explain employee well-being in the context of high job demands. A central hypothesis in the DCM is that strain will be highest in jobs characterized by the combination of high job demands and low job control. Such jobs are called “high-strain jobs.” In contrast, the active-learning hypothesis in the DCM states that task enjoyment, learning, and personal growth will be highest in jobs characterized by the combination of high job demands and high job control. Although such jobs are intensively demanding, employees with sufficient decision latitude are expected to use all available skills, enabling...