The present chapter introduced job demands–resources theory, which is an
extension of the job demands–resources model. Overcoming the restricted,
static, and one-sided early models of stress and motivation, JD-R theory
suggests that work characteristics can be organized in two categories: job
demands and job resources. These two categories of work characteristics
can be found in virtually every job and are therefore important because
they are initiators of two different processes: the health impairment and
motivational process. Demands and resources not only have unique effects
on employee health and motivation, they also have joint (interactive) effects
on employee wellbeing. Rather than being mechanistic, the model suggests
that personal resources are also important predictors of motivation, and can
buffer the unfavorable effects of job demands