ABSTRACT
In view of an increasing shortfall of qualified and competent workers, practitioners as well as
scholars have realized that in order to survive in the dynamic global economy it is crucial to
retain and motivate one’s personnel (Martin, 2005; Ployhart, 2006). It has become
increasingly important to examine the conditions and processes that contribute to the
optimal functioning and happiness of people (Gable & Haidt, 2005; Warr, 2007). In line with
this ‘‘positive psychology’’ movement of focusing on human strengths at work rather than on
weaknesses and ill-health (Cooper, 2005; Gable & Haidt, 2005), we wanted to examine the
causal nature of the relations among job resources and work engagement in a longitudinal
perspective. As earlier organizational research in this area has minimized the role of worker
behaviour in changing his or her own work environment, we will also pay attention to the role
LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
of employees in shaping their own work environment by examining the differences between
stayers versus job changers (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001).
