Stress and strain among union lay officials and rank-and-file members

This study explored the effects of fulfilling, on a voluntary basis, the role of lay officials in a local union of teachers on stress, strain, and the relationship between stress and strain. Levels of typical teachers' stress, and their effects on strain, were systematically compared for lay officials and rank-and-file members. Data were gathered from 1045 teachers who constituted 60 per cent of the staff in a representative sample of 30 high schools in Israel. Respondents completed a questionnaire that included measures of several types of occupation-specific stresses and two psychological strains: Somatic complaints and burnout. Relative to the rank-and-file members, union officials reported higher levels of overload and parent–teacher conflict, but the same levels of strain. The results of the regression analyses indicated, as expected, that union officials' strain was predicted by stresses associated with their representational duties. For the two groups of teachers, the measures of stress exerted the same detrimental effect on each of the strains. Thus, it was concluded that lay union officials were not at greater risk of psychological strain relative to their fellow teachers.     

Stress experienced by active members of trade unions

The literature presents role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload as psychological stressors which arise when a person plays conflicting roles, receives conflicting signals of what the environment expects of him, or both. Complexity increases when a role or a plurality of roles involves more activities and when a person functions in more than a single system (environment) and hence is faced with a variety of role senders. Research into this kind of stress has not covered active labor union members, even though their position would seem to make them likely stress candidates. In this article we demonstrate that active union members do indeed face role problems. We also report findings that are generally supportive of the expected positive association between active union members' experience of the central component of burnout (viz. emotional exhaustion) and each of the examined role problems individually and in combination (i.e. an index of overall role stress). Further, the results of a multiple regression analysis showed that emotional exhaustion was most strongly associated with intra-sender conflict and qualitative role overload.     

Stress and the union steward's role

This paper develops and tests hypotheses concerning some psychological correlates of role ambiguity and role conflict in a population that has not been extensively studied in relation to stress, union stewards. Survey data on role ambiguity and role conflict, the indicators of stress, were collected from 285 stewards at the local union steward meeting, with the stewards perceiving a moderate amount of role ambiguity and perceiving a lesser amount of role conflict. The stewards were also asked about their role expectations, their motivations for remaining a steward, their grievance handling strategies, and their affective commitment toward the union and employer. Each of those four sets of variables was hypothesized to be related to role ambiguity and role conflict and each was influential in explaining variance. As predicted, those stewards who were more motivated to remain stewards for personal reasons had both higher role ambiguity and higher role conflict. Further, the conditions of being more motivated to remain a steward to help the union and employees and having higher union commitment were associated with lower role conflict, but, opposite to the hypotheses, higher role ambiguity.     

The justice perspective of job stress

The study presents a new variable, role justice, pertaining to the perceived fairness of role senders reaction when the focal individual is under conflict, ambiguity, overload, or restricted latitude. The effect of this variable on symptoms of strain was explored, with the expectation of finding either additive or interactive effects vis-à-vis the above four role stressors. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the data supported the additive model which suggested that role injustice constitutes an additional source of stress. The study was conducted with a sample of hospital nurses, known to have significant levels of job stress. The results suggest that the role stress model ought to be expanded to include social appraisal constructs because of the social origin of the stressor variables it deals with.     

Employed mothers: Interrole conflict,spouse support and marital functioning

Increased participation by mothers in the labour force may exert a negative effect on working mothers themselves (e.g. interrole conflict) and influence the marital relationship negatively. Recent research suggests that not all individuals experiencing psychological distress suffer psychological strain (e.g. marital discord). Rather, variables such as social support moderate negative effects of psychological stressors. To test this, sixty-four employed mothers (M age = 36 years) completed interrole conflict and spouse support scales. Marital satisfaction, verbal and nonverbal communication were the criteria operationalized to assess marital functioning. Using moderated multiple regression analyses, interrole conflict and spouse support predicted marital satisfaction and verbal communication significantly. In addition, spouse support may moderate negative effects of interrole conflict on marital satisfaction and verbal communication. With regard to nonverbal communication, spouse support was both a significant main effect and possibly a moderator of interrole conflict. The role of spouse support, conceptual and treatment implications, and future research priorities are identified.     

Stress,coping and safety compliance in a multinational gold mining company

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of work stress, consisting of role stressors and job insecurity, with safety compliance at work. A secondary objective was to test for the possible moderating effect of individual employees’ coping behaviour between experienced work stress and job insecurity, and their safety compliance. A cross-sectional survey design was used (n?=?771). An electronic survey, with a biographical questionnaire and scales on role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, job insecurity, coping and safety compliance at work, was administered. The results indicated that specific aspects of work stress, notably role conflict, role ambiguity and quantitative job insecurity, and of coping, namely an avoidance style and changing the situation, were important in understanding safety compliance. A moderating effect of avoidance coping was also found.     

Interrole conflict and marital functioning amongst employed fathers

While the influence of maternal interrole conflict on marital functioning has been investigated, the issue of fathers' interrole conflict has been neglected. Consequently, 67 fathers' (M age = 38.51 years) interrole conflict and marital adjustment are investigated. In addition, the moderating role of personality hardiness is assessed. Using multiple moderator regression and sub-group analyses, hardiness was shown to moderate negative effects of interrole conflict on marital adjustment. Conceptual and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Interrole conflict,family support and marital adjustment of employed mothers: A short term,longitudinal study

Previous research has found that employed mothers experience conflict between the roles of mother and employee, and that interrole conflict is negatively correlated with marital adjustment. Furthermore, research has shown that social support and personality hardiness moderate the interrole conflict/marital adjustment relationship. However, a longitudinal assessment of the effect of interrole conflict on marital adjustment has not been conducted, nor has the moderating role of social support and hardiness been considered within the same analysis. To address these two issues, the interrole conflict, family support, personality hardiness and marital adjustment of 51 employed mothers were assessed twice, three months apart. Using hierarchical regression analyses, interrole conflict and family support exerted main effects on marital adjustment at time 1, More importantly, a significant interrole conflict/family support interaction predicted change in marital adjustment over three months. High family support exerted a negative impact on marital adjustment when interrole conflict was high. The alternative hypothesis that initial levels of marital adjustment predict change in interrole conflict was tested but not supported.     

Antecedents of work–family conflict: A meta‐analytic review

This study provides and meta‐analytically examines an organizing framework and theoretical model of work–family conflict. Results, based on 1080 correlations from 178 samples, indicate that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands), work role involvement (job involvement, work interest/centrality), work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support), work characteristics (task variety, job autonomy, family friendly organization), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC); while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, time demands, parental demands, number of children/dependents), family social support (family support, spousal support), family characteristics (family climate), and personality (internal locus of control, negative affect/neuroticism) are antecedents of family‐to‐work conflict (FWC). In addition to hypothesized results, a revised model based on study findings indicates that work role stressors (job stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload) and work social support (organizational support, supervisor support, coworker support) are predictors of FWC; while family role stressors (family stressors, role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload), family involvement (family interest/centrality), family social support (family support, spousal support), and family characteristics (family climate) are predictors of WFC. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The main effect model versus buffering model of shop steward social support: A study of rank-and-file auto workers in the U.S.A

Social support has long been considered an important factor in influencing the experience of stress and strain at work (e.g. Cohen and Wills, 1985). Yet the effect of union support on stress and strain has been largely neglected. In the present study we explored the role of social support provided by shop stewards as both a predictor of various indicators of strain experienced by their constituents as well as a buffer of stress–strain relations. These hypothesized relations were evaluated using data provided by rank-and-file members (N = 112) of a large local union associated with the automotive industry located in the midwestern region of the U.S.A. The results were not generally supportive of the main-effect model of steward support, but were consistent with the buffering model.     

Intolerance of ambiguity as a moderator of the occupational role stress—strain relationship: A meta-analysis

Occupational role stress has received increased attention in recent years. However, there have been few systematic efforts to review potential moderators of the role stress–strain relationship. The few narrative reviews that do exist conclude that the evidence for individual difference moderators is mixed and inconclusive. The purpose of this review was to utilize meta-analysis to determine whether intolerance of ambiguity represents a significant vulnerability factor in the role stress–strain relationship. Results indicated that intolerance of ambiguity does moderate the impact of role ambiguity. The implications of this finding for future job stress research and stress management programs are discussed.     

Supervisor behaviors,role stressors and uncertainty as predictors of personal outcomes for subordinates

Among employees of comparable organizations in the United States and New Zealand, role stressors (ambiguity and conflict), along with effort-to-performance uncertainty, performance-to-outcome uncertainty and doubt about acceptance by one's supervisor, generally predicted job satisfaction, psychological strain and turnover intentions. Path analyses of three alternative theoretical models highlighted the importance of job satisfaction as a mediator of the effects of role stressors and uncertainty on strain and turnover intentions. Role stressors contributed separately and via uncertainty to all three outcome measures, but subordinate perceptions of supervisor behaviors added little independent predictive power, once the role stressors and uncertainty were accounted for. These findings support the hypothesis that supervisors can influence the degree of role stress and uncertainty which their subordinates experience, which in turn may affect levels of satisfaction, strain and turnover intentions.     

Maternal employment experiences,attention problems and behavioral performance: A mediational model

The present study posits and empirically tests a process model examining the effects of interrole conflict, satisfaction with, and commitment to the role of employed mother on a self-report measure of cognitive difficulties and a behavioral measure relevant to work performance (proof reading). Fifty-three full-time employed mothers with at least one child living at home participated. The proposed model, tested using Lisrel VI, provided an excellent fit to the data. Specifically, interrole conflict exerted an indirect effect on proof reading performance, mediated by self-reported attention and concentration difficulties. Satisfaction with and commitment to the role of employed mother were not related to either proof reading performance or self-reported cognitive difficulties.     

Occupational stress among health care workers: A test of the job demands-control model

Models of occupational stress have often failed to make explicit the variable of control over the environment, as well as the role of job socialization in shaping personality characteristics and coping behaviours. This neglect has helped maintain the focus of stress reduction interventions on the individual. A new model of occupational stress developed by Robert Karasek incorporates control and socialization effects and has successfully predicted the development of heart disease and psychological strain. A survey instrument derived from the model was distributed to 771 hospital and nursing home employees in New Jersey, and 289 (37.5 per cent) were returned. Respondents did not significantly differ from non-respondents by age, sex, job tenure, union membership status, job satisfaction, job perceptions and attitude towards employer and union. The results support the hypothesis that reported job strain (job dissatisfaction, depression, psychosomatic symptoms) and burnout is significantly higher in jobs that combine high workload demands with low decision latitude. This association remained significant after controlling for age, sex, education, marital status, children, hours worked per week and shift worked. Other job characteristics (job insecurity, physical exertion, social support, hazard exposure) were also associated with strain and burnout. The survey instrument also identified high strain jobtitles in the surveyed workplaces. The results are discussed in relation to directions for future research, research on stress in nursing, and approaches to stress reduction.     

Predicting burnout with a hassle-based measure of role demands

The paper presents a hassle-based measure of job demands, whose scales of hassles-conflict, hassles-ambiguity and hassles-overload consist of items pertaining to such role episodes. Hierarchical multiple regression is used to test the incremental validity of the new variables. This was done with a statistical model where the role stressor variables (i.e. role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload) were entered first, followed by the three equivalent hassle variables. The data indicate that the new Role Hassles Index (RHI) shows a substantial R² increment with regard to the MBI's exhaustion and depersonalization scales, but not in regard to self-accomplishment. These data are interpreted as supporting a balance model of burnout, specifying that exhaustion is an outcome of daily demand level on the one hand, and recovery availability on the other. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some psychological consequences of striking: A six month,longitudinal study

The literature available on organizational psychology has largely neglected the issue of industrial conflict, and little is known about individual psychological effects of industrial conflict such as labour disputes and strikes. Psychological consequences of involvement in a strike were assessed in this research. Data were collected from 117 full-time, white collar union members immediately following a 22 day strike, and again two and six months later. Negatively perceived industrial relations events (e.g. 'strike or lockout', 'being involved in negotiations') were associated with marital adjustment, psychosomatic symptoms and a lack of psychological well-being on completion of the strike, and predicted unfavourable changes in psychological well-being over the next two and six months. A framework for understanding the negative effects of labour disputes and strikes is proposed, and the role of the organizational psychologist when such conflicts occur is considered.     

Work—family conflict: A comparison of dual-career and traditional-career men

This research examines differences in the antecedents and consequences of work—family conflict — a form of interrole conflict that occurs when the demands of work and family are mutually incompatible in some respect — for two groups of career-oriented men: those with a homemaker wife (called traditional-career men) and those with a spouse in a career-oriented job (labelled dual-career men). Using a model built on the work of Kopelman, Greenhaus and Connolly (1983), the responses from 136 dual-career men and 137 traditional-career men were compared. The primary conclusion of this research is that maternal career employment has a significant effect on the antecedents of work — family conflict. Dual-career men appear to experience a significant negative spillover from their work domain. We suggest that this spillover is due to a lack of structural flexibility in the workplace, outdated organizational policies that operate on the myth of separate worlds' and a lack of social support for the male dual-career role which contradicts societal norms.     

The differential effect of organizational induction process on early work role adjustment

Early work role adjustment is hypothesized to be a function of previous work experiences, early organizational experiences, and personality differences. Formal collective induction into an organization was compared with informal individual induction. Induction mode was the dominant variable which predicted adjustment four months after employment. Formal collective induction contributed to higher job satisfaction and lower work/family conflict. The mode of induction did not affect team cohesion, role conflict, role ambiguity, or perceived worker influence in the workplace. Self-monitoring, a personality variable, contributed to the prediction of work/family conflict. Inducation mode did not interact with other independent variables in predicting job satisfaction or work/family conflict.     

Coping,individual differences,and strain: A longitudinal study of short-term role overload

This study attempted to determine which personality dimensions and coping strategies would reduce or prevent strain in a context of naturally-occurring short-term role overload. Subjects were 106 adult undergraduate evening students enrolled in an intensive three-week summer school session. The median age was 26 years, and 72 per cent of the students worked full-time. Using a repeated-measures panel design, the study tested the effectiveness of three types of coping derived from Hall's (1972) typology. Longitudinal analysts using cross-lagged correlations and structural regressions showed little support for the predicted effects of Hall's three types of coping on subsequent strain. However, a fourth type of coping, Planned Task Management emerged during the analysis and showed a reciprocal relationship with strain. Both variables appeared to influence each other over time, although the effect of prior coping on subsequent strain was slightly but not significantly stronger. Also, alienation (defined as lack of commitment) had a significant moderator effect on the relationship between perceived overload and strain.     

Work-home conflict among nurses and engineers: Mediating the impact of role stress on burnout and satisfaction at work

Using structural equation modeling, this paper compares a more traditional, unmediated model of work-based role stress and its consequences on job satisfaction and burnout to two models in which the role stress-affective work outcome relationship is mediated (partially and completely) by work-home conflict across two samples of public sector professionals: engineers and nurses. The findings indicate that a model in which role conflict and overload have both direct and indirect effects—via work-home conflict—on job burnout and satisfaction (‘Partial Mediation’ model) achieves a better overall ‘fit’ than two alternative models. Furthermore, the findings suggest that while the two groups perceive many aspects of the work-home relationship differently, for both groups, work-based role conflict is an important antecedent of work-home conflict, and increased burnout an important direct consequence of work-home conflict. Finally, on the basis of the findings, the authors conclude that perspectives which view the work and non-work realms as independent must be reconsidered, and that the nature of the work-home relationship may, to a great extent, be contingent upon the way different occupational groups perceive their work situations.