Differential relationship of challenge and hindrance demands with employee engagement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how job resources may moderate the relationship of two types of job demands (i.e. challenge and hindrance demands) with employee engagement. It is hypothesized that job resources can buffer the association of job hindrances with employee engagement while job resources may escalate engagement in the condition of challenge demands. Design/methodology/approach The population of the study is Scale-I officers of Indian public sector banks (PSBs). The sample included 608 Junior Management Grade–Scale I officers employed in Indian PSBs. Findings Results of the analysis revealed a positive relationship between challenge demands and employee engagement whereas the negative relationship between hindrance demands and employee engagement. Enhancement in the positive conditional effect of challenge demands on employee engagement with the increase in values of the job resources evidenced the boosting role of job resources. Further, condition effect of hindrance demand on employee engagement at different levels of moderator showed that the negative relationship between hindrance demands and employee engagement get weakened with the increase in the level of job resources. Practical implications The results highlighted the situations that may foster or thwart engagement of employees. Present findings could be guiding in several ways for designing interventions to enhance employee engagement using job demands and job resources. Originality/value This study adds to literature through incorporating challenge–hindrance theorization in propositions of job demands-resources model and by exploring two diverse mechanisms (buffering and boost up) which are elicited after interaction of job resources with challenge and hindrance demands in a diverse way.