Explaining Emotional Exhaustion and Work Engagement: The Role of Job Demands-Resources and Type D Personality

The aim of the current study was to show that Type D personality-a personality trait characterized by high levels of negative affectivity and high levels of social inhibition-can explain a significant amount of variance in emotional exhaustion and work engagement above and beyond the variance explained by job demands and job resources. An Internet survey was conducted in a large, representative sample of the Dutch working population. In line with our hypotheses, results showed that when controlling for the effects of job demands and job resources, employees with a Type D personality experience more emotional exhaustion and less work engagement than employees without a Type D personality. The main effects of job demands and job resources were in line with our hypotheses, except for the relation between job demands and work engagement; job demands appeared to enhance work engagement. This study contributes to knowledge in several ways. First, this study shows the importance of Type D personality in the development of emotional exhaustion and work engagement next to job demands and job resources. Second, our results add to a growing body of evidence showing that job demands, job resources, and personality should be incorporated in 1 model in order to predict emotional exhaustion and work engagement in an optimal way.