Happy at Work, Burning Out Anyway: The Hidden Strain Behind Good Job Scores

A study in Current Psychology challenges the idea that a single “good job” score reliably signals a healthy workforce. Researchers led by Cristina Jenaro at the University of Salamanca used a person-centred statistical approach on data from more than 400 professionals in Spanish third-sector organisations. They identified four distinct patterns of work-related strain, including cases where employees showed strain while evaluations of working life appeared favourable. The work disputes a common assumption in occupational psychology that job quality and strain sit at opposite ends of one continuum. Instead, the study draws on stress theory suggesting people can be both exhausted and engaged. The team surveyed 407 participants (ages 20-65; 76.4% women) using a Work-related Strain Scale plus burnout (MBI-GS), engagement (UWES-9), and measures of job and life satisfaction.