The current study investigates employee well-being in stable versus changing psychosocial
working conditions, using the Job Demand-Control theoretical framework. It thereby addresses a gap
in the literature dealing with how the dynamics of the work environment may affect different aspects
of well-being, such as job satisfaction, work stress, mental health complaints, and overall quality
of life. The study was carried out on a large heterogeneous sample of employees in Switzerland
(N = 959) and was based on two measurement points. Latent profile and latent transition analyses
were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed three commonly encountered and temporally
quite stable patterns of job characteristics (i.e., latent profiles), defined by low, average, or high job
control and average job demands. The average demand-low control combination was the most
precarious, whereas a combination of average demands and high control was the most beneficial
and it clearly outperformed the balanced average demands-average control pattern. Furthermore,
our results partially supported the claim that employee well-being is contingent on the dynamics
(i.e., transition scenarios) of the psychosocial work environment. They particularly highlight the
central role of job resources in preventing the deleterious effects on well-being, which may occur
even in relatively mild situations where job demands are not excessive.
Keywords: job characteristics; employee well-being; work stress; latent profiles