Work motivation associated with depression: The role of job burnout and mental resilience

Previous studies have established that work motivation and depression are related; however, the underlying mechanisms between the two have not received much empirical attention. Based on the JD-R model, the present research aimed to expand extant research by proposing a moderated mediation model to examine whether burnout may play a mediator between work motivation and depression and investigate the moderating role of mental resilience in this mediation process. Overall, 5,025 Chinese manufacturing employees participated in the study. Participants completed questionnaires regarding work motivation, job burnout, mental resilience, and depression. Using Hayes's PROCESS macro (Model 58) to test the moderated mediation model, this study found that work motivation was significantly and negatively associated with depression. The moderated mediation analyses further indicated that burnout acted as a full mediator in the relation between work motivation and depression and this mediated path was weaker for employees with higher levels of mental resilience. These findings demonstrated that burnout is the critical link between work motivation and depression, and high mental resilience helps prevent job burnout and depression.