As health care professionals we provide care to critically ill patients and their families, often under times of immense stress and fatigue. Daily we are faced with challenges in the workplace which include, but are not limited to, managing end-of-life issues, making ethical decisions, managing family dynamics and a rapidly changeable clinical environment. In this issue of Australian Critical Care, van Mol and colleagues have explored the complex relationship between work engagement, job demands and advantageous personal resources.1 Although recognition of how work-related stress impacts the well-being of health professionals is increasing, the magnitude of this in the context of intensive care practice is not well understood.