Workplace learning, energy-depletion and psychological fatigue
Workplace learning, energy-depletion and psychological fatigue
A parsimonious, robust and theoretical elaborated model has
been developed to predict psychological fatigue; it also discriminates
between an energy-depleting and a workplace learning process. It was tested
both on three heterogeneous sub-samples taken out of the Flemish Workability
Monitor 2007, and on homogeneous samples representing respondents out of three
sectors of employment. Work pressure, autonomy, learning opportunities and – foremost – work-to-home interference (WHI) were significantly related to fatigue, explaining more than half of the total variance. Emotional load had an indirect relation with fatigue through WHI, and task variety through learning opportunities. Both WHI and learning opportunities acted as potent mediators. From a policy point of view, more effort was recommended in reducing energy-depleting work conditions such as work pressure and emotional load because of its lowering effects on both WHI and fatigue. At the same time, a practice of job redesign promoting informal learning opportunities and workplace learning should be re-valued.