Job demands and resources, work capabilities, and burnout of industrial psychology and human resource management practitioners

Abstract

Using a person-centered design, this study applies latent class analysis to identify distinct capability sets and examines their associations with job demands and resources, as well as burnout. A cross-sectional survey design was used with 203 industrial psychology and human resource management practitioners in South Africa. The Capability for Work Questionnaire, the Job Demands-Resources Scale, and the Burnout Assessment Tool were administered. Three capability sets were identified using latent class analysis: robust, constrained, and weak. Practitioners with robust and constrained capability sets reported significantly higher levels of co-worker support, role clarity, and autonomy compared to those with a weak capability set. Practitioners with a robust capability set experienced significantly greater career progress than those with constrained and weak capability sets. Importantly, those with a robust capability set (compared to the constrained and weak capability sets) reported significantly lower levels of exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment, and emotional impairment. While individuals with a constrained capability set exhibited lower mental distance and emotional impairment than those with a weak capability set, the robust group consistently demonstrated the most favorable outcomes across all burnout indicators.