Environmental Demands and Resources: A Framework for Understanding the Physical Environment for Work

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory (Demerouti et al., 2001; Bakker and Demerouti, 2017) is an appropriate conceptual framework for understanding the physical environment for work. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual analysis of the multidisciplinary workplace literature was performed to assess the core propositions of JD-R theory as they relate to the workplace environment. Findings The analysis confirms that the workplace environment can be viewed as a composite of environmental demands (which instigate a health impairment process) and environmental resources (which trigger an engagement process). Employees proactively try to improve the suitability of their workspace through environmental crafting, motivated by minimising demands and maximising resources. Originality/value The application of JD-R theory to the workplace environment fills a gap in the literature for a framework which captures the dynamic nature of the employee-workplace relationship.