Job demands, job resources, and burnout among metro site management personnel in China: a cross-sectional study based on the JD-R model

Chunxiao Zhao, Jinghua Qi, Yuehua Chen

Introduction Burnout has been widely examined in healthcare, education, and public-sector occupations, but less is known about employees working in high-risk, project-based environments. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study examined the relationships of job demands and job resources with burnout among metro site management personnel in China. Methods A two-stage cross-sectional survey was conducted. A pilot survey with 140 valid responses was used to refine the measurement scales, followed by a formal survey with 274 valid responses. Burnout was assessed through exhaustion, cynicism, and low professional efficacy. Reliability, validity, correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Results Exhaustion (M = 4.502) and cynicism (M = 4.237) were more pronounced than low professional efficacy (M = 3.638). Job demands were positively associated with burnout, whereas job resources were negatively associated with burnout. Workload showed the largest standardized coefficient among the separate demand-side regression models (β = 0.608). Social support, distributive justice, and career development opportunities showed the strongest negative associations among the resource-side models. Discussion The findings support the applicability of the JD-R framework in high-risk, project-based metro construction settings and highlight workload management and organizational resources as practical priorities. Because the study was cross-sectional and based on self-reported data, the results should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects.