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.     

Antecedents and consequences of role stress: A covariance structure analysis

An earlier model of the consequences of role conflict and role ambiguity is expanded to incorporate antecedent job conditions and the outcome of organizational commitment. This newer model clarifies the impact of role stressors on commitment and other established outcomes (i.e. tension, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intention). The antecedent job conditions are added in consideration of research indicating that role conflict and ambiguity do not directly influence affective and behavioral reactions when other perceptions of the work environment are included in the analysis. A LISREL analysis of this model with cross-validation on an independent sample indicated that the direct effects of participation and co-worker social support on job satisfaction may account for the direct effects of role conflict and role ambiguity on satisfaction and turnover intention observed in previous studies. In addition, organizational commitment appeared to mediate the effects of other variables on turnover intention. Implications for theories of role-related variables and directions for future research are discussed.     

Social support,autonomy, and hierarchical level as moderators of the role characteristics-outcome relationship

Although previous theory suggests that social support, job autonomy, and hierarchical level moderate role characteristics-employee outcome relationships, the strength of these moderating effects among 2046 bank employees was practically zero. These theoretical moderators and three role characteristics (conflict, ambiguity, and overload) did have direct relationships with the outcomes (job satisfaction and job search intent), as summarized by canonical correlation. Recommendations for future research are offered.     

The role and expectancy participation model: An empirical assessement and extension

Four hypotheses were investigated. The results substantially support and extend the usefulness of Schuler's role and expectancy participation model (1980). Schuler's model posits that participation intervenes to attenuate the relationships between job objectives and role conflicts and ambiguity. Also, participation, role conflict and role ambiguity are assumed to intervene to attenuate the relationships between job objectives and job satisfaction. The four hypotheses were tested using a sample of 187 retail store managers. Results revealed that job objectives were related to the role variables and satisfaction. Participation significantly attenuated the job objectives, role conflict and job satisfaction relationships. Implications for the use of the attributes of job objectives approach to integrate other objective setting paradigms are discussed.     

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.     

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.     

The effects of unions on blue collar role stresses and somatic strain

This study explored the effects of union membership versus nonmembership on role based stress (i.e. ambiguity, overload, and interrole conflict), somatic complaints, and on the relationship between role stress and somatic complaints. The data analyzed came from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey (Quinn and Staines, 1979). Only those respondents (N = 251) who held full-time nonsupervisory jobs in manufacturing were included in our sample. On the average, relative to nonmembers, union members reported higher levels of ambiguity and interrole conflict, but similar levels of overload and of somatic complaints. Union membership moderated the relationship between overload and somatic complaints. For union members, higher perceived performance of the union was associated with lower perceived stress and strain. We discuss the implications of those findings for further research on the impact of unions on stress, strain, and their interrelationship.     

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.     

A longitudinal examination of role overload and work–family conflict: The mediating role of interdomain transitions

Through the lens of boundary theory, we examine whether the relationship between role overload and work–family conflict is explained by the use of interdomain transitions. With a sample of 250 working adults, we examined whether individuals respond to role overload by engaging in interdomain transitions and how the frequency of these transitions influences work–family conflict both concurrently and over time. Results support our expectation that at a given time, interdomain transitions function as an episodic coping mechanism with short‐term costs (greater work–family conflict) and benefits (less role overload). Also, engaging in interdomain transitions was an explanatory variable linking role overload and work–family conflict. We expected that, over time, engaging in interdomain transitions would function as a preventive coping mechanism, serving to reduce role overload. Interestingly though, several of the longitudinal hypotheses were counter to prediction. Our findings provide further evidence for the use of boundary theory in examinations of the work–family interface. Insights on areas within the literature that require further theoretical development are discussed, along with a consideration of the application of emerging methodologies within our empirical designs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Decoupling task and relationship conflict: the role of intragroup emotional processing

The present paper focuses on the role of emotion in intragroup conflict processes. We propose that how group members handle emotion affects intragroup interactions and has implications for task and relationship conflict. Three types of variables—collective emotional intelligence, intragroup relational ties, and conflict‐relevant interactional norms—constrain negative emotionality and may determine whether task conflict results in damaging relationship conflict. The moderating influence of these variables is discussed, as are compositional issues associated with measuring them. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

The role of dispositions,entry stressors,and behavioral plasticity theory in predicting newcomers' adjustment to work

This longitudinal field study examined the combined effects of dispositions, entry stressors, and behavioral plasticity theory in predicting newcomers' adjustment to work after four and 10 months of organizational entry. Recent graduates completed a questionnaire prior to entry that measured two dispositions (negative affectivity and general self‐efficacy), and a questionnaire four months after entry that measured four entry stressors (role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, and unmet expectations). Measures of work adjustment were taken after four and 10 months. Based on behavioral plasticity theory, it was expected that the effects of the entry stressors would be most negative for the adjustment of newcomers with low general self‐efficacy. Limited support was found for behavioral plasticity theory. Those interactions that were significant indicated that increasing levels of role conflict were associated with lower organizational commitment and identification for newcomers with low general self‐efficacy. The results also provided weak support for a dispositional theory of work adjustment. The dispositions only predicted three of seven adjustment variables at four and 10 months. However, the entry stressors significantly predicted all seven adjustment measures. The results are discussed in terms of the predominant role played by the organizational setting in predicting newcomers' adjustment to work. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linking work experiences to facets of marital functioning

Few studies on the interaction between work experiences and family functioning have focused on specific aspects of work and the family, nor have many studies identified links in the process whereby work affects the family. A four-stage model of how role ambiguity, role conflict, job insecurity and job satisfaction affect three aspects of marital functioning (sexual satisfaction, psychological aggression and general marital satisfaction) was tested. The two mediator variables linking work experiences and marital functioning were concentration difficulties and depression. In a sample of 190 employed married people the model fit the data. The three work stressors (ambiguity, conflict and job insecurity) affected all three aspects of marital functioning via concentration and depression, and the relationship between job satisfaction and marital functioning was mediated by depression.     

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.     

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.     

A role and expectancy model of participative decision-making: A replication and theoretical extension

Schuler's process model of employee participation in decision-making and job satisfaction (Schuler, 1980; Lee and Schuler, 1982) was tested using a path analytic approach. Reanalysis of Schuler's data and replication on a new sample indicated that (a) participation in decision-making has both direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction; and (b) performance–outcome expectancy, role conflict, and role ambiguity all appear to mediate the relationship between participation and satisfaction. In an extension of the model, organizational level and job involvement were hypothesized to moderate the participation–satisfaction relationship (i.e. function interactively). Although neither variable functions as a moderator, job involvement operates in a fashion similar to participation in the model. In general, consistent results across four independent samples strongly support Schuler's basic process model.     

Energy's role in the extraversion (dis)advantage: How energy ties and task conflict help clarify the relationship between extraversion and proactive performance

While academic and practitioner literatures have proposed that extraverts are at an advantage in team‐based work, it remains unclear exactly what that advantage might be, how extraverts attain such an advantage, and under which conditions. Theory highlighting the importance of energy in the coordination of team efforts helps to answer these questions. We propose that extraverted individuals are able to develop more energizing relationships with their teammates and as a result are seen as proactively contributing to their team. However, problems in coordination (i.e., team task conflict) can reverse this extraversion advantage. We studied 27 project‐based teams at their formation, peak performance, and after disbandment. Results suggest that when team task conflict is low, extraverts energize their teammates and are viewed by others as proactively contributing to the team. However, when team task conflict is high, extraverts develop energizing relationships with fewer of their teammates and are not viewed as proactively contributing to the team. Our findings regarding energizing relationships and team task conflict clarify why extraversion is related to proactive performance and in what way, how, and when extraverts may be at a (dis)advantage in team‐based work. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Source attribution matters: Mediation and moderation effects in the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction

On the basis of the source attribution perspective of work–family conflict, this study aims to first test whether threat to the family role mediates the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. We then examine boundary conditions of the source attribution perspective by drawing on boundary management and gender role orientation theories to examine whether role segmentation enactment and gender role orientation moderate the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. Using a scenario‐based experiment in Study 1, we find that threat to the family role mediates the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction. This finding provides evidence supporting the appraisal process proposed by the perspective of source attribution. Using survey data collected from 216 Chinese managers and their spouses in Study 2, we find that work‐to‐family conflict has a negative relationship with job satisfaction only among people with high levels of role segmentation between work and home. In addition, for male managers, the negative moderating effect of role segmentation enactment on the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and job satisfaction is stronger for those with a nontraditional gender role orientation, compared with those with a traditional gender role orientation. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

The moderating role of calling in the work–family interface: Buffering and substitution effects on employee satisfaction

This research seeks for improved understanding regarding the interaction of meaningful work and the work–family interface. Existing literature suggests that experiencing a sense of calling toward work makes the work domain particularly salient to employees compared to other life domains. In this article, we draw on this idea, rooted in identity theory, to hypothesize that a sense of calling toward work diminishes the effects of work–family conflict and work–family enrichment on employee's job and life satisfaction. We test these ideas in two studies. First, we surveyed an alumni sample of 598 employees from various jobs, industries, and job levels. Then, in a constructive replication, we surveyed 327 employees using a time-lagged design. Calling was found to significantly buffer the effect of work–family conflict on job satisfaction in Study 2, but not Study 1. Calling did not buffer the effect of conflict on life satisfaction in either study. However, both studies demonstrated that calling attenuated (substituted for) the effect of work–family enrichment on job satisfaction. Study 1 supported the idea that calling attenuates the effect of enrichment on life satisfaction; however, this interactive effect was reversed in Study 2, contrary to expectations. We discuss implications for theory and practice related to callings and career choices, as well as for the role of calling and work identity in the work–family interface.