With its rapidly growing transitional economy, China has seen a plethora of economic and social changes within the past few decades (Gao, 2017; Garnaut et al., 2018). The transformation from a traditional totalitarian command economy to an open market economy has come with a series of administrative reforms and the expansion of the nonprofit sector (Lan and Galaskiewicz, 2012; Huang et al., 2014; Dong and Lu, 2020; Lu et al., 2020). There are three types of organizations in the Chinese nonprofit sector: foundations, social service organizations (i.e., nonprofit agencies), and social associations (i.e., membership associations; Huang et al., 2014; Liu, 2021). In the past two decades, foundations have increased by seven-fold times, representing the greatest growth among the three types of organizations (China Foundation Development, 2011; Cheng et al., 2020). In 2004, the Chinese government issued its Regulations on Foundation Management, which allowed for the establishment of private charitable foundations. Between 2005 and 2018, the number of foundations across the country grew from just under 1,000 to 7,200, and the number of individuals employed full-time by these foundations nearly tripled from 10,100 to 31,000. Foundation net assets similarly grew substantially, from 4.2 billion RMB (approximately 650.5 million USD) to 159.2 billion RMB (approximately 24.6 billion USD; China Foundation Development, 2011; Cheng et al., 2020). The considerable growth of foundations, however, comes alongside a sharp increase in work demands for foundation employees, who subsequently experience significant burnout and turnover (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018; Wen, 2019). In 2017, 27.6% of the employees in foundations and social service organizations left their jobs (Wen, 2019). Another study conducted by Tsinghua University estimated that 20.2% of employees in the nonprofit sector had intentions to resign in 2018. This proportion was highest for employees in social associations (29.0%), followed by those in social service organizations (25.4%) and foundations (15.9%). The main reasons for resignation intention were low wage, limited career perspectives, and high work demands (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018). The constant turnover has brought about continuous recruitment pressure and has jeopardized the sustainability of work – and its quality – performed by this sector (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018; Wen, 2019). There is a clear need to examine how nonprofit sector employees are affected by their work conditions, which may, in turn, influence their decision to leave their jobs. Thus, we apply the job demands and resources (JD-R) model to investigate JD-R’s relations to employee well-being (EWB) among Chinese foundation employees, a labor force that has grown substantially. The results of such a study can better inform workplace policies to support employees and reduce high burnout and turnover.

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of the variables. Our sample reported an average score of EWB of 5.0 (SD = 0.9), indicating relatively high EWB compared to that of private sector employees (mean, 4.8; SD = 0.8, n = 290, Zheng et al., 2015, two-sample t test, 2.69, p < 0.001). Among the three dimensions, respondents in this study reported having highest PWB, followed by WWB, and LWB. JD and JR scores averaged at 4.6 (SD = 0.8) and 5.2 (SD = 0.9), respectively. The relative numbers for JD and JR were 3.5 (SD = 1.3) and 5.0 (SD = 1.3) in a military personnel sample (n = 490; Lequeurre et al., 2013). Although the samples are not comparable, the results suggest that nonprofit employees in our sample have high JD and high JR. Among the various aspects of JD, workload was highest, followed by emotional workload and changes in tasks. Under JR, employees reported good relationships with their colleagues. This was followed by relationship with supervisor and information. The sample had an average age of 35, and about two-thirds were female. Over half had a college degree (60%) and were married (59%) at the time of completing the survey. 39% of the respondents were frontline workers, while mid- and senior-level managers comprised 31 and 30% of the sample, respectively.

Table 2 presents the results of Pearson’s correlation analysis. JR had a positive correlation with EWB (r = 0.59, p < 0.001) and with each of the three subscales of EWB. JD did not have any significant correlation with EWB, but two of the JD subscales were significantly correlated with EWB. Changes in tasks was negatively correlated with EWB (r = −0.32, p < 0.001). Surprisingly, workload was positively correlated with EWB (r = 0.20, p < 0.01). Workload was also positively correlated with JR (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). Regression analysis suggests that the positive correlation between workload and EWB was driven by JR. All subscale items were highly correlated with one another, with the exception of workload and changes in tasks.

In Table 3, we present the standardized estimates of EWB, produced by OLS regression. We tested two models. In the first, only demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the employees were included. In the second model, we added JD-R. The adjusted r-square of Model 1 was 0.14, while the inclusion of JD-R in Model 2 yielded an adjusted r-square value of 0.41, suggesting the importance of JD-R for EWB. In Model 1, educational attainment and employee type had significant effects on EWB. Compared to employees who had below a college education, employees who had obtained a college degree had 0.46 SDs lower EWB. Similarly, compared to senior managers, frontline workers and mid-level managers had 0.46 SDs lower EWB.

In Model 2, JR had a strong and positive effect on EWB, while JD had no significant effect on EWB. An increase of one SD in JR was associated with a 0.53-SD increase in EWB. The findings do not support hypothesis 1 but confirm hypothesis 2. In this model, the estimates of educational attainment and employee type decreased considerably, suggesting that the effects found in Model 1 were driven by JR.

The effects of JD-R were further examined by regressing the three subscales of EWB onto JD-R. The results of this analysis are presented in Table 4. These analyses mirror those that were done to produce the results of Table 3, however, rather than using EWB as the dependent variable, we used each of the EWB subscales (WWB, PWB, and LWB) as dependent variables. JR had significant and positive effects WWB (Beta = 0.56), PWB (Beta = 0.48), and LWB (Beta = 0.38). JD had no significant effect on PWB nor on LWB, but it did have a significant and negative effect on WWB (Beta = −0.12, p < 0.05). These findings support hypothesis 3.

Lastly, we examined the effects of individual JD and JR items on overall EWB and each of the subscales. In the regression analyses used to produce the results displayed in Table 5, the independent variables were the individual JD and JR items. Each row of Table 5 represents an individual iteration of regression analysis. The results indicate that the individual JR items had significant and consistent effects on EWB and each of the three subscales. Relationship with supervisor tended to have a slightly higher effect on WWB (Beta = 0.53) than did relationship with colleagues (Beta = 0.45), but the latter had a larger effect on PWB (0.43) than did the former (0.40). Emotional workload had a significant and negative effect on EWB (Beta = −0.11), WWB (Beta = −0.12), and LWB (Beta = −0.15), while changes in tasks had a negative effect on WWB (Beta = −0.18). These findings confirm hypothesis 4.

The descriptive statistics show that foundation employees in our sample had high JD, especially workload and emotional workload. This is consistent with previous findings from other studies (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018; Wen, 2019). Despite the substantial expansion of the nonprofit sector in China over the past decade, a majority of the organizations are relatively small, with an average of only three full-time staff (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018). Foundation employees are responsible for a full range of activities, as a majority of foundations in China are both operating and grant-making foundations (Huang et al., 2014; Cheng et al., 2020). This means that staff must independently plan projects, implement them, and evaluate them, while also writing grant proposals, managing human resources, and performing administrative tasks. They also need to engage with fund management and plan and execute fundraising activities (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018). With limited staff and a range of tasks to perform, it is unsurprising that the employees in our sample reported high workload and emotional workload. On the other hand, the employees also reported high JR, especially in relationships with their colleagues and supervisor, which have both shown strong effects on EWB and work engagement (Bastida et al., 2018; Park et al., 2018; Stater and Stater, 2019).

The results of the OLS regression were in line with the hypothesized dual processes of health impairment and motivation of JD-R among nonprofit workers in China. The magnitude of the estimates produced by our analyses suggests that JR have a greater effect on the EWB of Chinese nonprofit employees than do JD, which is consistent with literature that nonprofit employees were more sensitive to JR than employees in public and private sectors (Stater and Stater, 2019). JR had a positive association with EWB, which indicates that, through the motivation process, nonprofit employees may be able to reduce the physiological and psychological costs of JD, subsequently maintaining or improving their own well-being (Bastida et al., 2018; Stater and Stater, 2019). By contrast, although our overall measure of JD had no effect on EWB, further analyses indicated that JD had negative effects on WWB, particularly JD aspects, such as emotional workload and changes in tasks. Emotional workload similarly had a negative effect on LWB.

Overall, these findings are consistent with and expand upon previous findings with the JD-R model in other occupational groups, showing that JD-R are important predictors of EWB (Hakanen et al., 2008; Zheng et al., 2015; Bakker and Demerouti, 2018; Koon and Ho, 2021). This study provides support for relations between JD and WWB and LWB as well as between JR and EWB in a sample of nonprofit employees in China. This is particularly significant, given the quickly rising rates of nonprofit sector development, burnout, and turnover in China. Thus, this context provides guidance for both future practice and research.

The findings of this study have practice implications. Given that this sample reported, on average, high JD, and given the negative relations between JD and WWB, foundation leadership in China needs to be cognizant of the JD projected onto their employees, particularly in terms of emotional workload and changes in tasks. Employers need to consider the implementation of interventions that have been shown to improve mental health and well-being while reducing emotional workload. For example, a considerable body of literature supports the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) on EWB (Mellor et al., 2016; Lomas et al., 2018; Slutsky et al., 2018; Guidetti et al., 2019). Although the sample did not report high scores for changes in tasks, changes in tasks do have a negative effect on WWB. As such, employers need take this account by clearly delineating employees’ role responsibilities in advance and without sudden changes. In the current study, the sample reported high JR, which had positive effects on EWB. Foundation leadership should continue to maintain supportive work environments for their employees, emphasizing relationships with supervisor and co-workers, as both were positively associated with EWB. Since information is also important for increasing EWB, employers are encouraged to provide direct and frequent feedback regarding employee work performance.

Due to resource limitations, this study focused on foundation employees, a labor force which has grown significantly in the past two decades. Still, research has shown that employees in other types of nonprofit organizations (i.e., social associations and social service organizations) have greater intention to resign from their positions (Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute, 2018). Thus, it is important for future studies to examine the JD-R and EWB among employees in these organizations. This may allow for better understanding of their work conditions, which can then inform the development of policies and interventions for these employees.

While we have discussed the practice implications of our findings, this study must also be considered within the context of its design limitations. For example, since we used cross-sectional data for our analyses, we may only approximate associative relations among JD, JR, and EWB, rather than causal relations. To better approximate causal relations among these variables, future studies should implement longitudinal experimental design. Next, there are likely a number of unobserved variables that may have contributed to our estimates. While we controlled for demographics and socioeconomic characteristics of our sample, there are still other variables that may affect EWB. Indeed, one study by Craig and Kuykendall (2019) found that supportive non-work friendships can affect individuals’ well-being at work. Future studies might consider whether the relations between JD-R and EWB continue to persist even after controlling for external friendships. Another limitation of this study is that data were collected from subjects, who self-reported JD-R and EWB. Self-reporting can lead to reporting errors – unintended and intended. For example, although the survey completed by respondents was anonymous, participants may have underreported JD while overreporting JR and EWB to better save their employers’ face (Chiu and Kosinski Jr., 1995). Thus, future studies may implement data triangulation by collecting information from colleagues, employers, and family members. Finally, it must be noted that the foundation employees who comprised the study sample were also employees who were in the midst of participating in an online training via Tsinghua University in 2020. Thus, the extent to which these findings are generalizable to all nonprofit employees in China is unknown and requires further investigation.

This study analyzed data collected from 233 nonprofit employees in China to investigate the extent to which JD-R affect EWB. The findings support the existing body of cross-cultural research on JD-R and EWB, indicating that in our sample of Chinese nonprofit employees, emotional workload was negatively associated with EWB, while JR were positively associated with EWB. The results underscore the importance of reducing emotional workload and increasing JR for nonprofit employees in China to improve EWB and to mitigate turnover and burnout.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Research Review Committee, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University. Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

GD and CH: conceptualization, resources, and investigation and data curation. GD, CH, SC, and SZ: methodology and software, validation, formal analysis, and writing – original draft preparation. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.