Multiple dimensions of work-related risk factors and their relationship to work ability among industrial workers in Iran

Objectives. The present study was designed to investigate the simultaneous effects of physical, psychosocial and other work-related risk factors on the work ability index (WAI) score among industrial workers. Methods. This study used a cross-sectional design with a questionnaire survey. A total of 280 workers were included in the study. Data were collected using three questionnaires including the Persian version of the WAI, the Persian version of the job content questionnaire and an author-developed measure (to assess work-related factors, health-related factors and socio-demographic characteristics). Results. The majority of the participants were young, but they had poor WAI scores (mean 37.3?±?6.4) and 44.3% of them had poor or moderate work ability. Occupational accidents and injuries were found to be the strongest predictors of WAI scores. Additionally, there was a strong association between WAI scores and supervisor support, skill discretion, occupational training, sleep quality, work nature and educational level. Conclusions. Intervention programs should focus on improving supervisor support, sleep quality, job skills and knowledge and on decreasing physical and mental work demands. Additionally, implementing a comprehensive occupational health and ergonomics program for controlling and reducing hazardous working environments and occupational injury rates should be considered.     

Job stress,incivility, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): the moderating role of negative affectivity

The current study was designed to replicate findings from previous research regarding the relationships between job stressors, negative affectivity, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) using peer‐reported data and to assess the effects of workplace incivility on employee satisfaction and CWB. Results indicate that incivility, organizational constraints, and interpersonal conflict were negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to CWB. Support was also found for the role of negative affectivity as a moderator of the relationship between job stressors and CWB, although only one significant moderator was found using peer‐reported CWB. In general, the relationships between job stressors and CWB were stronger for individuals high in negative affectivity than for individuals low in negative affectivity. Copyright © 2005 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.     

A double‐edged sword: The moderating role of conscientiousness in the relationships between work stressors,psychological strain,and job performance

Although conscientiousness was commonly viewed as a type of personal resource to help individuals reduce strain or mitigate the impacts of stressors, empirical research demonstrated mixed results. Based on the personal resource allocation perspective, we posited that rather than functioning as personal resource per se, conscientiousness may act as a key factor influencing how individuals allocate their personal resources. The current study examined the moderating roles of conscientiousness in the relationships that work stressors (i.e., challenge stressors and hindrance stressors) have with employee psychological strain and job performance by using multi‐source, time‐lagged data collected from 250 employees working at two companies. The results showed that both challenge stressors and hindrance stressors were positively related to psychological strain. Conscientiousness moderated the relationships between both stressors and psychological strain, such that the positive relationships were stronger for individuals with high conscientiousness. Conscientiousness also moderated the relationship between challenge stressors and performance, such that the relationship was positive for individuals with high conscientiousness but negative for those with low conscientiousness. Altogether, the findings suggest that conscientiousness acts as a double‐edged sword that both promotes performance and exacerbates the stress reaction of employees when they are confronted with stressful situations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of cross-cultural differences in work attitudes among three groups of Israeli prison employees

The study investigated differences in work attitudes among three cultural groups of Israeli prison officers: Druze (N = 83), Jews of North African origin (N = 127) and Jews of Georgian origin (N = 96). Several hypotheses were derived from previous knowledge of the three cultures and differences were explored in the relationships between perceptions and attitudes concerning specific aspects of the job on the one hand, and two measures of overall affective responses—general job satisfaction and tedium—on the other hand. Consistent cross-cultural differences that can be related to characteristics of the studied cultures were revealed only with regard to satisfaction with promotion and to role ambiguity. No other coherent and meaningful cross-cultural differences could be identified. The theoretical and practical significance of these results is discussed and a general direction for future studies in this area is recommended.     

The process of burnout in white‐collar and blue‐collar jobs: eight‐year prospective study of exhaustion

This study tested three contrasting theories about the sequential process of the three dimensions of burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey (MBI‐GS). The causal order of the burnout components was investigated by including job stressors as antecedents of burnout in structural equation models (LISREL). The predictive effect of exhaustion on burnout dimensions eight years later was also investigated. The longitudinal models were then tested in two occupational subgroups. The participants were 713 Finnish employees (415 white‐collar and 298 blue‐collar workers) from an international industry enterprise. The best fitting model of the associations between the three burnout dimensions was obtained by a path model where exhaustion predicted cynicism, and cynicism in turn predicted lack of professional efficacy. The symptoms of exhaustion were persistent over time. There were no differences between the two occupational groups in the process of burnout. Also the work‐related antecedents of burnout (job stressors) were very similar in both groups. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The job satisfaction of older workers

Older workers re-entering the workforce and those changing jobs are coming to play an increasingly important role in the labor force, especially as part-time workers. Yet the work orientation and job satisfaction of these workers has not been studied. Do ‘situational’ factors such as skill and pay matter for this subgroup of workers, and if so, which ones? If significant factors exist, can their effect be explained by the mediating influence of ‘dispositional’ factors like work values? This paper explores these questions in a study of 198 older workers who had begun new, mostly part-time jobs. Regression analysis shows that the intrinsic indicators for skill and autonomy have a positive effect on job satisfaction. No extrinsic factor was significantly related to satisfaction, indicating that these workers are more than ‘instrumentally’ oriented. This support for a ‘situational’ interpretation of the impact of work, especially intrinsic features, was sustained in analyses which incorporated work values. To the extent that the growing number of part-time jobs are relatively low-skilled, and to the extent that older workers in new jobs are influenced most by intrinsically rewarding work, there appears to be a growing mismatch between an occupational niche and those who are being sought to fill it.     

Efficacy beliefs and work stress: An exploratory study

This study investigated the possible role of self-efficacy in the stress process by examining relations between stressors (role ambiguity, situational constraints, and hours), strains (job dissatisfaction, anxiety, frustration, and turnover intent), and efficacy beliefs (both individual and collective). Individual efficacy was related to only two of the four strains and had no mediating or moderating effects. Collective efficacy, however, was strongly related to both stressors and strains. Collective efficacy also moderated the effect of work hours and mediated the relation between situational constraints and two of the strain measures. It was concluded that the theory of individual self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977) may not adequately explain collective efficacy. Future research on the self-efficacy construct as well as its role in the stress process was suggested.     

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.     

Unfairness at work as a predictor of absenteeism

This study among 514 security guards examines the relationship between perceptions of unfairness at work and absenteeism during a one‐year follow‐up. On the basis of previous theoretical work and fragmented empirical evidence, it was hypothesized that distributive unfairness causes absence behavior in a direct or indirect way (through health complaints). Procedural unfairness was hypothesized to cause absence behavior through affective commitment or through health complaints. Results of a series of structural equation modelling analyses offer support for the mediating role of health complaints in the relationship between (distributive and procedural) unfairness at work and absenteeism. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that perceived unfairness contributes to explaining T2‐absenteeism over and above the impact of T1‐absenteeism and traditional work‐related stressors (i.e., work load and low job control). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long work hours: a social identity perspective on meta‐analysis data

The current study utilizes social identity theory to investigate employees' work hours. Specifically, we use meta‐analysis to examine the relationships between hours worked and indicators of organizational identity (e.g., organizational support and tenure), occupational identity (e.g., human capital investments and work centrality), and family identity (e.g., family responsibilities and family satisfaction). The meta‐analysis also allowed us to explore other important correlates of hours worked (e.g., situational demands, job performance, mental health, and physical health), moderating variables (e.g., age, gender, and job complexity), and curvilinear relationships of work hours to social identity indicators. Overall, we found that occupational factors and situational demands had the strongest relationships with hours worked, hours worked were negatively associated with measures of employee well‐being, gender had several significant moderating effects, and there were curvilinear relationships between hours worked and well‐being and work–family conflict variables. The article concludes with directions for future theoretical and empirical research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of job stressors on marital satisfaction in Finnish dual‐earner couples

The focus on the present study was to test a mediational model appropriate for explaining the effects of psychosocial job stressors, i.e., job insecurity, job autonomy, time pressures at work, leadership relations and work–family conflict, on marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health. The study was carried out among 215 married or cohabiting dual‐earner couples. The proposed model was tested through structural equation analysis (LISREL). The results indicated that the job stressors, except for job autonomy, spilled over into marital satisfaction via job exhaustion and psychosomatic health for both men and women. However, no empirical support was found for the crossover of job stressors between partners, signifying that job stressors experienced by one partner did not influence the marital well‐being of the other. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactions to physically dangerous work: A conceptual and empirical analysis

This study addressed some conceptual issues central to understanding human reactions to dangerous settings and empirically explored the meaning of physically dangerous work in three different occupational groups (street patrol officers, n=96; investigators, n=21; and clerical and support service workers, n=60) practicing in the same organizational setting (city police department). Objective hazards, estimated with occupational risk statistics, explained 56 per cent of the variation in experienced physical danger which, in turn, significantly heightened emotional exhaustion, dissatisfaction with pay, and disaffection from the employing organization, in the street patrol officer group only, perceived physical danger significantly correlated with task variety, task significance and feedback. The data are interpreted to mean that for street patrol officers, experienced physical danger adds a modicum of enrichment and significance to the work itself. One theme of the analysis is that potentially stigmatic features of the work can be transformed into socially meaningful illusions that enhance the personal dignity of the performer (cf. Hughes, 1958). However, the dominant theme is that physically dangerous work produces fear and related affective distress. Further research on this topic is recommended because of the affective and behavioral consequences of perceived physical danger and also because definitions and meanings of dangerous work are socially, politically and morally important.     

The effects of work site,supervisory status,and job function on nuclear workers' responses to the TMI accident

This study examines the impact of the Three Mile Island accident on nuclear workers (N = 622) at the accident site and a ‘control’ plant in the same general area. Effects of the accident are examined by respondents' plant location, supervisory status, and basic job function. Major accident effects include perceived radiation exposure during the incident, evacuation behaviour, uncertainty and conflict regarding the accident, job related attitudes and tension, symptoms experienced during the accident period, and demoralization. Several of these general outcomes vary according to supervisory status and functional work area.     

Integrating major accidents hazard into occupational risk assessment: An index approach

Major Accident Hazard (MAH) and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) are two separated topics in both industrial practice and legislation; recently, interest is increasing toward an integrated risk assessment mainly forced by the tendency to a more efficient safety management system. The present study proposes a semi-quantitative approach to integrate MAH in OSH risk assessment. The two risk types are characterized by opposite features: the OSH analysis is usually task-based and focused on job profiles, while the MAH analysis is space-based and focused on plant characteristics. The basic idea of the proposed approach is to merge spatial information and job profile features in order to improve OSH assessment; thus, a risk index derived by the recent standard ISO 12100 (2010) has been adapted. In detail, the proposed index combines exposure times of each worker at each plant unit – derived from the OSH analysis – with damage areas derived from MAH analysis allowing a quantitative assessment of the MAH risk level for each individual job profile. The model has been tested in a large petrochemical plant; several hypotheses have been developed in order to validate the model. Results have showed the potentiality of the proposed approach in providing a common and coherent representation of both MAH and OSH risks, according to job profiles and plant units.     

Teenagers' part-time employment and their work-related attitudes and aspirations

We assessed the relationship between the quality (i.e., job characteristics, role stressors, and interpersonal relationships) and quantity of part-time employment, and work-related attitudes and aspirations among 349 students. Neither the linear nor the quadratic components of employment quantity predicted any of the outcome variables. Motivation to do good work was predicted both by role stressors and by family achievement orientation. Career maturity was predicted by role stressors at work, and cynicism by role stressors and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. In contrast, job involvement was significantly related to family achievement orientation but not to any perceived job factors. These findings question the assumption that only intensive work during high school exerts negative effects for teenagers, and support the importance of employment quality for teenagers as well as adults. © 1998 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.     

Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders,Job Stressors and Gender Responses in Foundry Industry

The main aim of this paper was to identify job stressors, gender responses and association of psychosocial work stressors with prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among foundry workers. The data were obtained with ergonomics checklist using Likert scale. The results of this study showed a high prevalence of MSDs among workers. The male workers were more prone to pain in neck while the female workers were more prone to MSDs in upper back and shoulders. Correlation analysis showed significant relationship of dimensions of work aspects with pain and discomfort. It proved that the work-related MSDs are the results of interaction of multiple stressors associated with work and work environment, and other personal factors. ANOVA indicated that the perception of work aspects as stressors differed significantly between male and female workers.     

So far,so good: Up to now,the challenge–hindrance framework describes a practical and accurate distinction

There are many ways to categorize work‐related stressors, and in recent years, a common distinction in occupational health psychology is between stressors viewed as challenges versus hindrances. Is this a useful conceptualization that provides practical and theoretical implications for IO psychologists? As Kurt Lewin famously prescribed, “there is nothing so practical as a good theory,” and we discuss the challenge–hindrance framework as a developing theory that can be useful for researchers and practitioners. We note that some of the early thinking and development of the challenge–hindrance distinction relied on both resource and appraisal theories of stress. Overall, we find that the challenge–hindrance distinction can be viewed as a framework that is useful by producing interesting, valuable, and innovative research. Simply striving to find meaningful and useful categorizations of stressors can lead us to discover new insights into the occupational stress domain, and the challenge–hindrance categories have already spurred a great deal of research.     

Work centrality and work alienation: distinct aspects of a general commitment to work

The authors tested the proposition that identification with the work role and engagement in the work role constitute different aspects of a general commitment to work. Whereas work centrality (a strictly normative attitude) represents the extent to which a person identifies with the work role, work alienation (an affect‐inclusive attitude) represents the extent to which a person is engaged in the work role. Predicated on these conceptual distinctions, the authors tested whether work centrality and work alienation exhibited theoretically‐meaningful, differential correlations with six variables reflecting various work‐related commitments. Using data from 349 employed individuals, the results of Hotelling–Williams t tests revealed that, compared to work alienation, work centrality had stronger correlations with Protestant work ethic and leisure ethic. In contrast, compared to work centrality, work alienation was more strongly correlated with work locus of control, work self‐discipline, and affective organizational commitment. Work centrality and work alienation did not differ in their correlations with job involvement–role. Taken together, the results suggest that people who are highly committed to work not only identify with the work role, they are also engaged in the work role. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.