The conservation of resources (COR) theory implies that people most often seek to maintain their resources and possible threats to important resources can stimulate psychological stress (Hobfoll, 1989). These resources could be, for example autonomy, feedback on work performance, and support from supervisor and colleagues, which can foster work and employees' engagement and well-being (Demerouti et al., 2001; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). The COR theory highlights that the stress process includes individual and social factors (Hobfoll, 2001). Psychological stress is reaction to an evident threat of losing one's potential or actual resources (Hobfoll, 1989). Employees with fewer resources are at risk of experiencing resource loss compared to those who have more resources and more likely to gain additional resources (Hobfoll, 2001, 2002).
