How job resources influence employee productivity and technology-enabled performance in financial services : the job demands–resources model perspective

Purpose: This study aims to provide insight into the relationship between job resources (job control and possibilities for development at work) and employee performance, measured as employee productivity and technology-enabled performance, by examining the role of employee well-being (work engagement and emotional exhaustion). Design/methodology/approach: The data comprised two overlapping data sets collected from a large financial institution; Study 1 employed survey data (N = 636), whereas study 2 employed register data on job performance collected over a one-year period combined with survey data (N = 143). The data were analysed through structural equation modelling. Findings: Study 1 indicated that job resources were positively associated with technology-enabled performance more strongly through work engagement than emotional exhaustion. Study 2 revealed that emotional exhaustion was associated with lower employee productivity, whereas work engagement was not. Furthermore, the results indicated that job control was related to higher productivity through a lower level of emotional exhaustion. Practical implications: The study's findings point to the importance of developing interventions that decrease emotional exhaustion. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to measure employee productivity longitudinally as a ratio of inputs (working time) to outputs (relevant job outcomes) over one year. This study contributes to the job demands–resources model (JD-R) literature by showing the importance of job control in fostering both employee productivity and more positive perceptions of technology.