Job demands and driving anger: The roles of emotional exhaustion and work engagement

•Both hindrance and challenge demands were positively correlated with driving anger.•Emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between hindrance and challenge demands and driving anger.•Work engagement was positively correlated with driving anger.

This study aimed to examine the effects of both hindrance and challenge demands on driving anger within the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. We collected self-reported data from 411 office workers driving to and from work each day in five cities in China. The results from a structural equation modeling analysis indicated that both hindrance and challenge demands were positively related to emotional exhaustion, which was in turn positively correlated with driving anger. Moreover, work engagement was positively correlated with driving anger. Implications of the present findings regarding both the JD-R model and driving safety research are discussed.