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.     

Intra‐individual variability in job complexity over time: Examining the effect of job complexity trajectory on employee job strain

Drawing on gestalt characteristics theory, we advance the literature on the effect of job complexity on employee well‐being by considering intra‐individual variability of job complexity over time. Specifically, we examine how the trend, or trajectory, of job complexity over time can explain unique variance of employee job strain. Across two longitudinal data sets, we consistently find that, with the average level of job complexity during a given period held constant, a positive job complexity trajectory (i.e., an increasing trend in complexity) is associated with higher employee job strain. Based on job‐demand‐control theory and the exposure‐reactivity model, we further establish that job autonomy and employee emotional stability jointly moderate the relationship between job complexity trajectory and employee job strain. Specifically, for employees with high emotional stability, job autonomy mitigates the job strain brought by positive job complexity trajectory, whereas for employees with low emotional stability, job autonomy does not help to reduce the adverse effect of the increasing trend. These findings not only contribute to extend the understanding of the job complexity – strain relationship, but also suggest a promising, dynamic avenue to study the effects of work characteristics on employee well‐being as well as other outcomes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stress and mental strain in hospital work: Exploring the relationship beyond personality

This study focuses on the relationship between job stressors and mental strain in hospital work, adjusting for differences in personality traits. Questionnaires were obtained from 760 full-time employees. Fourteen scales of job stressors were clustered into four factors: professional latitude, clinical demands, workload problems and role difficulties. A mental strain index was derived from the addition of three sub-scales: depression, anxiety and irritation. Two personality traits were measured: Locus of Control (Rotter) and Striver-Achiever (Sales). The four job demand factors were dichotomized into high-low grouping variables. A 2⁴ factorial analysis of covariance was conducted, using the two personality traits as covariates, in order to test and adjust for trait-related strain. Results show that Locus of Control adjusted differences in mental strain appear significantly related to work stressors. A direct relationship was found with role difficulties, professional latitude and workload problems. Moreover, high levels of role difficulties and low levels of professional latitude interact significantly with adjusted levels of mental strain. The Striver-Achiever trait, however, appears most strongly correlated with workload problems but not with mental strain. We believe that this exploratory analysis suggests that the stressor-strain relationship might be best conceived as a combination of direct and complex pathways, relating facets of both job demands and of personality with outcomes, under a cognitive and conditional paradigm.     

The effects of job demands and control on employee attendance and satisfaction

We examined the impact of stressful job demands on employee attitudes and attendance. Using Karasek's (1979) theory of job decision latitude as the conceptual foundation, we hypothesized that mental and physical work demands would interact with employee beliefs of personal control. Survey data from 90 male manufacturing employees regarding their control beliefs were combined with objective job analysis data concerning mental and physical demands and one year's worth of archival data regarding unexcused absences, sick days, and days tardy. There were significant interactions between control and objective psychological demands that indicated that these demands were associated with higher levels of tardiness and sick days only under conditions of low perceived control. In contrast, subjective workload ratings showed no relationship with tardiness and sick days, but, in interaction with control, predicted work satisfaction and voluntary absence. We discussed these results in terms of a stress process that affects health-related attendance independent of employee attitudes.     

Recovery from job stress: The stressor‐detachment model as an integrative framework

This paper reviews empirical evidence on psychological detachment from work during nonwork time. Psychological detachment as a core recovery experience refers to refraining from job‐related activities and thoughts during nonwork time; it implies to mentally disengage from one's job while being away from work. Using the stressor‐detachment model as an organizing framework, we describe findings from between‐person and within‐person studies, relying on cross‐sectional, longitudinal, and daily‐diary designs. Overall, research shows that job stressors, particularly workload, predict low levels of psychological detachment. A lack of detachment in turn predicts high strain levels and poor individual well‐being (e.g., burnout and lower life satisfaction). Psychological detachment seems to be both a mediator and a moderator in the relationship between job stressors on the one hand and strain and poor well‐being on the other hand. We propose possible extensions of the stressor‐detachment model by suggesting moderator variables grounded in the transactional stress model. We further discuss avenues for future research and offer practical implications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross‐national job stress: a quantitative and qualitative study

Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study contrasted employees' job stress perceptions and their relationships to strains in China and the United States. Significant job stressor–strain correlations were found in both countries. However, hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant interactions of country by job stressors in predicting job strains, indicating the unique patterns of stressor–strain relationships in China and the United States. In the qualitative analyses, American employees reported significantly more incidents of lack of job control, direct interpersonal conflict, lack of team coordination, anger, frustration, feeling overwhelmed, and stomach problems than the Chinese. Chinese employees reported significantly more incidents of job evaluations, work mistakes, indirect conflict, employment conditions, lack of training, anxiety, helplessness, sleep problems, and feeling hot than the Americans. The qualitative approach contributed above and beyond the quantitative results in that it revealed culture‐specific job stressors of job evaluations, work mistakes, and indirect conflict that had been overlooked in western‐based stress research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of hindrance stressors in the job demand–control–support model of occupational stress: A proposed theory revision

Previous research on the job demand–control–support (JDCS) model of occupational stress has generally been inconsistent at best regarding a key issue: the interaction of demands, control, and support in predicting employee health and well‐being. However, the model continues to be tested in a variety of studies and academic journals owing to its intuitive appeal. By incorporating conservation of resources theory with knowledge from the challenge–hindrance stressor framework, we proposed that hindrance stressors, not the challenge stressors commonly assessed when testing JDCS theory, will provide validation for the model. A two‐wave panel study of 228 employees in a variety of occupations provided support for three‐way interactions between hindrance demands, control, and support predicting job‐related anxiety and physical symptoms. Three‐way interactions using a challenge demand (forms of workload) were not significant, consistent with our propositions. In summary, this study supports the buffering effect of control and support on the relationship between job demands and strain only when job demands reflect hindrance stressors, thereby proposing to alter the JDCS model by specifying that it applies primarily to hindrance stressors in a job hindrance–control–support model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Daily performance at work: feeling recovered in the morning as a predictor of day‐level job performance

This study examined the state of being recovered in the morning (i.e., feeling physically and mentally refreshed) as a predictor of daily job performance and daily compensatory effort at work. Ninety‐nine employees from public service organizations completed a general survey and two daily surveys on pocket computers over the course of one workweek. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that being recovered in the morning was positively related to daily task performance, personal initiative, and organizational citizenship behavior and negatively related to daily compensatory effort at work. Relationships between the state of being recovered and day‐specific job performance were moderated by job control. For persons with a high level of job control, the relationship between being recovered and daily performance was stronger. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The moderating role of task characteristics in determining responses to a stressful work simulation

Two experimental studies were conducted to examine whether the stress‐buffering effects of behavioral control on work task responses varied as a function of procedural information. Study 1 manipulated low and high levels of task demands, behavioral control, and procedural information for 128 introductory psychology students completing an in‐basket activity. ANOVA procedures revealed a significant three‐way interaction among these variables in the prediction of subjective task performance and task satisfaction. It was found that procedural information buffered the negative effects of task demands on ratings of performance and satisfaction only under conditions of low behavioral control. This pattern of results suggests that procedural information may have a compensatory effect when the work environment is characterized by a combination of high task demands and low behavioral control. Study 2 (N=256) utilized simple and complex versions of the in‐basket activity to examine the extent to which the interactive relationship among task demands, behavioral control, and procedural information varied as a function of task complexity. There was further support for the stress‐buffering role of procedural information on work task responses under conditions of low behavioral control. This effect was, however, only present when the in‐basket activity was characterized by high task complexity, suggesting that the interactive relationship among these variables may depend on the type of tasks performed at work. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Facilitating and inhibiting effects of job control and social support on stress outcomes and role behavior: a contingency model

High levels of job control and social support are often related to effective job performance and coping with work stressors. However, support may have more positive effects on role behavior when job control is low. In addition, despite theoretical expectations, simple demands–control and demands–support interactions are infrequently found to predict health and psychological strain outcomes. The ‘demands–control–support’ model (Johnson and Hall, 1988) of stress coping integrates these ‘stress buffering’ and ‘decision latitude’ models and observes more consistent findings. This model posits that social support buffers the adverse effects of high demand, low control jobs. However, explicit tests of the interaction of these variables suggest that control can have positive or negative effects on strain, depending on the level of social support. In this study, supervisor consideration was positively related to subordinate job performance, extra-role behavior, and in-role prosocial behavior (conscientiousness) among subordinates perceiving low job control. The relationship between consideration and performance and extra-role behavior was negative among high control subordinates. The demands×control×support interaction predicted health symptoms, organizational commitment, supervisor satisfaction, and absence due to illness, but the interaction plots do not support the prevailing perspective that support buffers the effects of ‘high strain’ (i.e. low control, high demand) jobs. Patterns were similar for different demands and different social support loci (i.e. supervisor, co-workers). An alternative theoretical process of the demands–control–support interaction is proffered, and implications for organizational intervention are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Change in job conditions,change in psychological distress,and gender: a longitudinal study of dual-earner couples

Building on the Job-Strain Theory, we estimated three relationships in a random sample of 201 full-time employed men and women in dual-earner couples interviewed three times over a 2-year period. We first estimated the main effects relationships between change over time in employees' experiences of job demands and job control and change over time in psychological distress. Then we estimated the interaction effects relationship of change in job demands on the relationship between change in job control and change in distress. Finally, we estimated the interaction effects of gender on these relationships. Job control was disaggregated into two conceptually distinct job conditions: skill discretion and decision authority. Controlling for other potentially stressful job conditions such as pay adequacy, job security, and relations with supervisor, as well as trait anxiety (an indicator of negative affectivity), change over time in job demands and skill discretion, but not decision authority, was related to change over time in psychological distress. Equally, for full-time employed women and men in dual-earner couples, if concerns about having to do dull, monotonous work increase over time, distress increases; if concerns about having to work under pressure of time and conflicting demands increase over time, distress increases. Finally, neither average skill discretion nor change over time in skill discretion moderated the relationship between job demands and psychological distress. Thus, at every level of skill discretion, high job demands were related to high distress. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The mediating role of job characteristics in job redesign interventions: A serendipitous quasi‐experiment

The aim of this paper is to examine the mediating role played by five key job characteristics in the relationship between employee participation in a job redesign intervention and employee well‐being. In studies of job redesign interventions, it has been assumed that any effects of employee participation in job redesign on well‐being are a result of changes in job characteristics rather than participation in change per se. It is therefore important to statistically test for mediation in job redesign intervention studies to help establish that the change in job characteristics is the mechanism through which job redesign interventions work. However, this has rarely been tested directly, either because data to allow tests of mediation have not been collected (e.g. assessments of job characteristics) or because data have been collected but mediation has not been tested using accepted procedures. This makes it unclear whether changes in job characteristics explain the effects. Results from multilevel analyses of a longitudinal 9‐month long serendipitous quasi‐experimental participative job redesign intervention showed that changes in job control, participation, skill utilization and feedback, but not task obstacles, were sufficient to account for the relationship between the intervention and employee well‐being. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Societal individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance as cultural moderators of relationships between job resources and strain

The job demands–resources model is a dominant theoretical framework that describes the influence of job demands and job resources on employee strain. Recent research has highlighted that the effects of job demands on strain vary across cultures, but similar work has not explored whether this is true for job resources. Given that societal characteristics can influence individuals' cognitive structures and, to a lesser extent, values in a culture, we address this gap in the literature and argue that individuals' strain in reaction to job resources may differ across cultures. Specifically, we theorize that the societal cultural dimensions of individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance shape individual‐level job resource–strain relationships, as they dictate which types of resources (i.e., individual vs. group preference‐oriented and uncertainty‐reducing vs. not) are more likely to be valued, used, or effective in combating strain within a culture. Results revealed that societal individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance independently moderated the relationships between certain job resources (i.e., job control, participation in decision making, and clear goals and performance feedback) and strain (i.e., job satisfaction and turnover intentions). This study expands our understanding of the cross‐cultural specificity versus generalizability of the job demands–resources model.     

Studying job stress: Are we making mountains out of molehills?

Job stress researchers are urged to examine job conditions which threaten workers' experienced quality of life. The relationship between measures of job-related strains and well-being is discussed. Past theorizing and research suggests that it is not safe to assume that job conditions which have an adverse impact on affective reactions to the job (a frequently used indicator of job strain) will also have a negative impact on overall subjective well-being. One set of job conditions which may be particularly relevant for well-being is identified and discussed, namely those conditions related to the economic instrumentality of work. Finally, some methodological suggestions for future research in the job stress area are offered.     

Psychological ownership within the job design context: revision of the job characteristics model

In this paper, we offer a theoretical modification to the Hackman and Oldham (1975) Job Characteristics Model by integrating research on the psychological aspects of job design with emerging theory on psychological ownership. We develop the connection between job design and (a) the motives facilitating psychological ownership, (b) the routes through which psychological ownership emerges, and (c) the individual‐level outcomes (e.g., emotional, attitudinal, motivational, and behavioral) that result from an employee's psychological ownership of his or her job. Our work covers several previously ignored positive and negative effects. We conclude by positioning psychological ownership as a plausible substitute for other proposed mediating psychological states in the job design–employee response relationship. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Justice and job engagement: The role of senior management trust

We examined whether job engagement mediated the effects of organizational justice dimensions on work behaviors and attitudes. Considering distributive and procedural justice from a motivational perspective, we proposed that job engagement would mediate these two dimensions' relations with the work outcomes of task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction. We also expected this mediation effect would be magnified when senior management trust (SMT) was high. Our results showed that the simple mediation model was supported only for distributive justice. Alternatively, the indirect effect of procedural justice on work outcomes through job engagement was significant only when SMT was high. Implications of our findings and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Social support and managerial affective responses to job stress

This research examines the moderating or buffering effects of two social support variables—support from the work group and from the supervisor—on the relationships of role conflict and ambiguity to intrinsic job satisfaction, job involvement and job anxiety. Data were collected from a sample of 89 middle-lower managerial personnel in a large, heavy equipment manufacturing firm in the Midwest. The moderated regression technique was used in data analysis. Significant interactions were obtained between the role variables and both social support variables. The results were in the predicted direction for positive work outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and involvement) and contrary to prediction for negative work outcome (i.e. job anxiety). Implications of the findings for future research, the management of stress and leadership behaviour are discussed.     

Routinization of job context and job content as related to employees' quality of working life: A study of Canadian nurses

The literature on routinization of work is both ambiguous and equivocal when its impact on quality of working life is considered. The classical management literature suggests that routinization of work has a positive influence on individual performance and by implication on the quality of working life resulting from the overall prosperity generated. However, more recent literature on job characteristics and job design argues that routinization of work has a negative impact on individual performance as it suppresses creative expression on the job. This paper suggests that these mixed findings are due to an inadequate theoretical grasp of the concept of routinization and presents empirical evidence which attempts to clarify the ambiguity. Data were collected from 1148 nurses working in anglophone hospitals in the greater Montreal area in the form of a field survey questionnaire. The results indicated that nurses who worked routine shifts perceived higher levels of quality of working life compared to those on non-routine shifts. The results also indicated that nurses who experienced high routinization in job content perceived lower levels of quality of working life compared to those nurses who experienced low routinization in job content. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

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.