Identifying Job Demands and Resources Typologies and Exploring Their Differences on Employee Health Behaviors

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model has been used extensively to examine well-being across different occupations. The aim of the present study was to advance existing work on the JD-R by using a person-centered (as opposed to variable-focused) approach and through the consideration of health behaviors. The objective of the study was to identify JD-R typologies in office-based employees and to examine their differences in a range of health behaviors. In this cross-sectional study, 399 employees in typically sedentary occupations (M-age = 44.38 years; SDage = 12.79 years; 266 [66.67%] females) completed self-reported measures assessing perceptions of the psychosocial work environment, organizational outcomes, and engagement in health behaviors. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify profiles that best represented employees' experiences of job demands, job resources, and personal resources. Subsequently, differences between classes on health behaviors, work engagement, and burnout were examined. The results revealed three profiles that were distinguished primarily by quantitative differences in terms of demands and resources (balanced, resourceful, and minimally resourced). Resourceful profile members displayed the lowest burnout and highest engagement scores, and both resourceful and balanced profile members reported engagement in a more favorable pattern of health behaviors compared to minimally resourced profile members. This information can be used to inform the focus and design of programs for workplace health promotion and for interventions to improve employee health and well-being.