Constellation of psychological vulnerability based on resources and demands of work and their link to emotional exhaustion: a latent profile analysis

Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für angewandte Organisationspsychologie (2025) 56:471–490 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11612-025-00834-z HAUPTBEITRÄGE – THEMENTEIL Constellation of psychological vulnerability based on resources and demands of work and their link to emotional exhaustion: a latent profile analysis Antje Müller1 · Eva-Maria Schulte-Seitz1 · Anja Isabel Morstatt1 · Simone Kauffeld1 Accepted: 29 July 2025 / Published online: 28 August 2025 © The Author(s) 2025 Abstract Against the backdrop of increasing mental health challenges in the workplace, this study, published in the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation., applies latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify employee profiles based on perceived work-related demands and available resources. These were grouped into empirically derived categories aligned with the conceptual framework of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA). LPA conducted with 379 employees revealed four characteristic profiles: Coping with Support, Strained and Unbuffered, Managing under Pressure, and Thriving with Support. These vary in their combinations of demands and resources and show significant differences in emotional exhaustion as part of the burnout risk. The findings underline the central protective role of workplace resources—particularly socio-emotional ones—to avoid emotional exhaustion. Profiles with high resources consistently show lower risk for emotional exhaustion, while profiles with moderate demands but only average resource levels were associated with significantly elevated exhaustion. This suggests that resources need to exceed a critical threshold in order to effectively buffer strain. The findings point to the importance of distinguishing employee groups not only by risk level, but by specific constellations of demands and resources. Organizations should therefore prioritize the systematic development of targeted resource-enhancing interventions to reduce the risk for emotional exhaustion of employees. Keywords Job resources · Job demands · Latent profile analysis · Emotional exhaustion · Mental health · Preventive strategies  Antje Müller 1 Industrial, Organizational and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 19, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany K 472 A. Müller et al. Psychische Gefährdungsmuster in Abhängigkeit von Arbeitsressourcen und -anforderungen und ihr Zusammenhang mit emotionaler Erschöpfung: Eine latente Profilanalyse Zusammenfassung Vor dem Hintergrund zunehmender psychischer Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz untersucht die vorliegende Studie, veröffentlicht in der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation., mithilfe einer Latent-Profile-Analyse (LPA) verschiedene Beschäftigtenprofile auf Basis wahrgenommener arbeitsbezogener Anforderungen und verfügbarer Ressourcen. Die ermittelten Profile wurden in empirisch abgeleitete Kategorien eingeordnet, die sich am konzeptionellen Rahmen der Gemeinsamen Deutschen Arbeitsschutzstrategie (GDA) orientieren. Die LPA, durchgeführt mit 379 Erwerbstätigen, identifizierte vier charakteristische Profile: „Bewältigung mit Unterstützung“, „Belastet ohne Puffer“, „Funktionieren unter Druck“ sowie „Aufblühen mit Unterstützung“. Diese Profile unterscheiden sich in ihrer spezifischen Kombination von Anforderungen und Ressourcen und weisen signifikante Unterschiede im Hinblick auf emotionale Erschöpfung als Indikator für ein Burnout-Risiko auf. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die zentrale Schutzfunktion von arbeitsbezogenen Ressourcen – insbesondere sozial-emotionaler Art – zur Prävention emotionaler Erschöpfung. Profile mit hohen Ressourcen zeigten durchgängig ein geringeres Erschöpfungsrisiko. Auffällig war jedoch, dass selbst bei moderaten Anforderungen ein deutlich erhöhtes Erschöpfungsniveau auftrat, wenn nur durchschnittliche Ressourcen vorhanden waren. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass Ressourcen eine kritische Schwelle überschreiten müssen, um Belastungen wirksam abpuffern zu können. Die Befunde machen deutlich, dass Beschäftigtengruppen nicht nur nach Risikoniveau, sondern anhand spezifischer Konstellationen von Anforderungen und Ressourcen differenziert betrachtet werden sollten. Organisationen sind daher angehalten, gezielte Maßnahmen zur systematischen Stärkung von Ressourcen zu entwickeln, um das Risiko emotionaler Erschöpfung bei Beschäftigten nachhaltig zu reduzieren. Schlüsselwörter Arbeitsanforderungen · Arbeitsressourcen · Emotionale Erschöpfung · Latent Profile Analysis · Psychische Gesundheit · Präventionsstrategien 1 Introduction The world of work is continuously evolving, with recent years marked by unprecedented changes. The COVID19 pandemic, the growing globalization of markets have significantly transformed the way work is conducted, presenting both new opportunities and considerable challenges—especially concerning the mental and physical well-being of employees (Marozva and Pelser 2025; World Health Organization 2022). These developments are unfolding against a backdrop of growing global uncertainty and early signs of regionalization, partly driven by renewed protectionist policy trends (Giles 2025). In this context, issues such as inflation, geopolitical instability, climate change, digitalization, and information overload are gaining relevance. Recent studies show that these factors increasingly affect employee well-being and pose new demands on how workplaces must be structured and managed (Roczniewska et al. 2021; Chen et al. 2025). Organizations with comprehensive wellbeing programs experience higher employee satisfaction, lower turnover intention, reduced burnout risk, and improved productivity (z. B. Gallup 2024; Xanthopoulou et al. 2009). In this sense, recent findings (Akgul et al. 2025) confirm that job resources, such as social support, play a crucial role in reducing burnout and increasing productivity, and meta-analytic results (Bes et al. 2023) confirm the effectiveness K of organizational interventions aimed at reducing exhaustion to promote a healthier and more productive workforce. In addition, numerous reviews emphasize the assumption that continuous exposure to various occupational demands such as workload and job insecurity and other emotional, physical, and cognitive demands lead to exhaustion (e.g., Alarcon 2011; Aronsson et al. 2017; Bakker et al. 2023; Shoman et al. 2021). Along these lines, research building on the job demands-resource model (JD-R) also highlights that job resources, including social support and organizational resources are key factors in reducing burnout and fostering positive work outcomes such as productivity (e.g., Bakker et al. 2014; Demerouti et al. 2001; Schaufeli and Taris 2014). Social support further serves as an important buffer against the negative effects of job demands on employee wellbeing and productivity (Lesener et al. 2019). In light of this research, legal requirements to foster a health (...truncated)