Diving into complexity: exploring networks of resources for employee well-being in times of crisis

Purpose Conservation of resources (COR) theory proposes that individuals accumulate sets of resources, so-called resource caravans, to handle demands at work and thereby maintain their well-being. Particularly at times of crisis, when demands are high, having several resources at hand is crucial. While existing COR research focused mostly on the number of resources individuals possess (the more, the better), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of resource caravans during a crisis and how these resource repertoires differ across groups of managers with high and low levels of well-being. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from 184 HR managers, we conducted a network analysis to show the interrelations between different types of resources for individuals with high and low well-being at work. Findings Individuals tend to combine work (e.g. task-related resources, organisational resources) and non-work resources (e.g. social and emotional resources) as well as dynamic (crisis-related) and stable resources rather than similar types of resources in their resource caravans. Our findings suggest the need for diversity in resource caravans and resource complementariness. We discuss the implications for practice and provide avenues for future research in our work. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the very first papers that explores resource caravans and applies a network analysis approach to the topic of resource caravans to visualise its underlying complexities.