Objective job conditions,social support and perceived stress among blue collar workers

The hypothesis that perceived supportive relations mediate the association between extra-individual (objective) job conditions and perceptions of occupational stress is tested in a population of blue collar workers. Responses to a mailed questionnaire (N = 1830) include measures of social support from four sources (supervisor, coworkers, spouse, friends/relatives) and measures of perceived stress (five job pressures and four need deprivations). In addition, company records and expert ratings by company, union and study personnel provide measures of objective job conditions which are commensurate with the subjective reports. Associations between objective job conditions and perceived stress are significant but modest in size. Controls for age, education, exposure to noxious agents and physical effort on the job do not alter associations between objective conditions and perceived stress. For five of the nine indicators of perceived stress, social support and objective conditions interact in determining perceptions. This is interpreted as a buffering effect in which social support provides a context that significantly alters perceptions of job conditions. The effect of supervisor support is especially important in regard to buffering. It is suggested that research on the quality of work should be especially aware of the conditional nature of the relationship between objective job conditions and perceptions.     

The impact of job demands and behavioral control on experienced job stress

The present study examines the impact of behavioral control on the experience of work strain under conditions of work overload. Extending experimental laboratory findings that suggest that control can lessen the impact of aversive stimuli on psychological and physiological strain responses, we hypothesized an interaction between control and workload such that the effects of high demands on strain would be less if the worker had behavioral control over the task. This hypothesis is also consistent with Karasek's job demands-job decision latitude model of work strain and health. The hypothesis was tested in a laboratory experiment in which 125 subjects worked on a mail sorting task with either a high or moderate level of workload and either a high or low level of behavioral control. Strain responses were assessed with measures of job satisfaction, anxiety, and physiological arousal. The hypothesis was only partially supported in that high control lessened the impact that work overload had on anxiety. While not fully supportive of the model, the results are seen as conservative given the constraints on the manipulation of work overload inherent in the laboratory environment.     

Industrial relations stress and job satisfaction: Concurrent effects and mediation

We examine the effects of negative and positive industrial relations stress on both mood (negative and positive) and job satisfaction. Twenty industrial relations practitioners completed daily reports of industrial relations stress, mood, and job satisfaction over a 20-day period. After controlling for serial correlation, negative industrial relations stress affected negative mood and, in turn, job satisfaction. Positive industrial relations stress had direct effects on both positive mood and job satisfaction with positive mood also affecting job satisfaction. All effects were concurrent with no next-day effects of stress on mood or job satisfaction. Further research on industrial relations stress is both warranted and encouraged.     

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.     

Work stress and problem alcohol behavior: a test of the spillover model

Although previous research has found weak support for the model of stressful work ‘spilling over’ to negative coping responses during nonwork hours, we argue that a variety of conceptual and methodological problems may partially explain the weak and inconsistent findings. Two important shortcomings are inadequately specified models and a failure to consider nonescapist responses to job-related stress. We therefore propose that there may be escapist (i.e. increased drinking, working through job dissatisfaction for those who believe that alcohol consumption is an effective means to reduce stress) and nonescapist (i.e. decreased drinking for those who are dissatisfied with their jobs but do not believe alcohol is an effective coping strategy) responses to work stress. These hypotheses were tested on a sample of 972 production workers in the Pacific northwest. Results show moderate support for the existence of both escapist and nonescapist responses to job-related stresses. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational politics and organizational support as predictors of work attitudes,job performance,and organizational citizenship behavior

This study investigated the relationship of organizational politics and organizational support to various work attitudes and behaviors among a field sample of 128 participants. Consistent with our hypothesis, politics and support were related to job satisfaction, commitment, turnover intentions, and supervisor ratings of organizational citizenship behaviors. However, only support was related to job performance. We also examined whether or not organizational politics and organizational support comprise two distinct constructs or one global factor. The evidence here was ambiguous. Fit indices obtained from confirmatory factor analysis suggested that it is more parsimonious to treat politics and support as opposite ends of the same construct, though the two‐factor model did show a slightly better fit. On the other hand, subsequent multiple regression analyses showed that support tended to account for additional criterion variance beyond the effect of politics, implying that there may be some practical utility to retaining politics and support as distinct constructs. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of change in supervisor support and job control on change in vigor: Differential relationships for immigrant and native employees in Israel

Building on the premises of the conservation of resources theory, the aim of this study was to investigate long‐term effects of job resources on vigor among native and immigrant employees in Israel. More specifically, we investigated the effects of baseline and change in job control and supervisor support on change in vigor levels, as well as the degree to which these effects differ among educated native and immigrant employees in Israel. We surveyed 235 white‐collar Eastern European and Russian immigrants and 235 white‐collar native Israelis matched on occupational and demographic characteristics at two points of measurement with a 30‐month time lag. Latent change score modeling revealed that among both immigrants and natives, change in job control was related to change in vigor. Multiple group analyses further revealed that among immigrant employees only, baseline levels of supervisor support were associated with change in vigor. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the utilization of resources as a means of acquiring new resources may be influenced by immigrant background. Managerial implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic effects of personal initiative on engagement and exhaustion: The role of mood,autonomy, and support

Researchers have neglected dynamic effects of proactive behavior on occupational well‐being. We investigated effects of change in personal initiative over 6 months on changes in emotional engagement and exhaustion over the following 6 months. On the basis of the control‐process theory on affect, we hypothesized that changes in positive and negative moods mediate these effects conditional upon employees' level of perceived organizational support. On the basis of action regulation theory, we assumed that change in job autonomy also acts as a mediator. Data came from 297 employees who responded to 3 surveys separated by 6‐month intervals. Results of latent change score modeling showed that change in personal initiative negatively predicted change in positive mood and, when perceived organizational support was low, positively predicted change in negative mood. In addition, change in personal initiative positively predicted change in job autonomy. Change in personal initiative had negative indirect effects on change in emotional engagement, and positive indirect effects on change in emotional exhaustion through changes in positive and negative moods (but not through change in job autonomy). A reverse causal model did not yield significant indirect effects. Overall, these findings suggest that an increase in proactive behavior can have detrimental effects on occupational well‐being.     

The effects of social support on nuclear worker responses to the Three Mile Island accident

This study examines the effects of social support on the reactions of nuclear workers at the Three Mile Island plant and a comparison site to stress during the 1979 crisis. Results show broad main effects of social support on stress, strain, and health outcome variables. Moderating effects of support are highly selective and become less extensive as the hypothesized stress process moves from stress to strain to health outcomes. Findings are compared between the two nuclear plants and with other studies conducted under non-crisis conditions.     

组织安全支持与个体安全行为的关系:一项元分析

用元分析对国内外组织安全支持与个体安全行为的关系进行探究,通过文献数据库筛选出符合元分析研究标准的文献共31篇,样本文献调查对象总量为16 237。出版偏误检验结果反映元分析受到出版偏误影响的可能性极小;异质性检验结果表明元分析采用随机效应模型更加合适;主效应检验结果显示组织安全支持与个体安全行为之间的关系显著。组织安全支持促进了个体安全行为的产生。最后基于员工、企业、政府和社会提出改善煤矿行业安全行为的对策建议和管理实践。     

工作不安全感、工作生活质量与安全行为

基于工作不安全感的视角,分析员工不安全行为的影响因素。围绕这一中心问题,设计了包含工作不安全感、工作生活质量和安全行为的调查问卷,并向大型施工企业(集团)发放。利用回收问卷的数据,采用中介效应法对工作不安全感、工作生活质量和不安全行为之间的相关关系进行了实证分析。问卷结果显示:员工的工作不安全感越高,对工作生活质量的感知越低,对个体安全行为的影响作用也就越大。该结论丰富了员工安全行为的研究视角,为施工企业安全生产管理实践提供了参考。     

Exit and voice: A test of hypotheses based on fight/flight responses to job stress

Hypotheses were developed based on a coping model that views political behaviour (voice) as a fight response and turnover (exit) as a flight response to job stress. Data were collected from a group of professional, public employees and turnover dates were obtained for the group 13 months after completion of questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test hypotheses. Stressors of interest were person-environment fit (P-E fit), role conflict (RC), and role ambiguity (RA). Psychological strains (job dissatisfaction and lowered commitment) were hypothesized to mediate the stressor-coping behaviour relationship. Turnover (TO) behaviour was the ultimate organizationally relevant outcome of coping behaviours. Job satisfaction and commitment were significantly related to intentions to leave. Political action was directly related to P-E fit and this relationship was not mediated by satisfaction or commitment. The relationship between RA and politics was moderated by commitment. Less committed employees tended to exhibit political behaviour in response to RA. Both coping responses (intentions to leave and political action) predicted significant portions of retention/turnover variance.     

Making work safer: Testing a model of social exchange and safety management

Introduction

This study tests a conceptual model that focuses on social exchange in the context of safety management. The model hypothesizes that supportive safety policies and programs should impact both safety climate and organizational commitment. Further, perceived organizational support is predicted to partially mediate both of these relationships.

Methods

Study outcomes included traditional outcomes for both organizational commitment (e.g., withdrawal behaviors) as well as safety climate (e.g., self-reported work accidents). Questionnaire responses were obtained from 1,723 employees of a large national retailer.

Results

Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, all of the model's hypothesized relationships were statistically significant and in the expected directions. The results are discussed in terms of social exchange in organizations and research on safety climate.

Impact on Industry

Maximizing safety is a social-technical enterprise. Expectations related to social exchange and reciprocity figure prominently in creating a positive climate for safety within the organization.     

The impact of technology characteristics and job control on worker mental health

Recent research suggests that the occurrence of operational problems in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) places stressful demands on operators. Applying Karasek's demand–control model, we predict that two properties of operational problems, namely technological uncertainty and abstractness, interact with timing and method control to predict operator strain. The results failed to confirm ordinal effects for timing or method control, but showed a dis-ordinal (crossover) interaction for timing control. While these findings provide little support for the demand–control model, they suggest that two new processes, namely ‘traction–distraction’ and ‘passivity–challenge’, are critical to understanding the nature of the relationship between operational problems and operator strain in AMT systems. We describe these processes and examine the implications for future research. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

B／S模式下基于角色的权限管理系统设计与实现

结合基于角色的访问控制的原理,实现了一个基于Struts框架B/S模式的权限管理系统.该系统围绕用户、角色、功能、单位等基本定义以及它们之间的关系进行模块编码,实现了灵活、实用的基于角色的权限管理功能,达到了页面级别的权限控制.利用Struts配置文件,隐藏了系统的文件结构,提高了系统安全性.同时利用过滤器技术,通过重载Filter接口,可有效拦截直接在IE的地址栏中输入内部页面地址的访问.实际应用表明,该系统具有很好的可扩展性和通用性.     

Social support and occupational stress: Effects of talking to others

Employees' social support was examined using both the traditional global measures of emotional/instrumental support and more focused measures based on the contents (positive, negative, and non-job) of verbally transmitted support. Contents were more closely related to global emotional support than to global instrumental support, with non-job and positive communications especially strongly associated with emotional support, and they accounted for more variance in strains than did the global measures.     

Organizational exit pressures and role stress: Impact on mental health

Hypotheses regarding role stress, chronic burden and two forms of vulnerability to mental health symptoms are tested in a longitudinal sample of 590 caregivers working in group homes for the mentally ill. In addition, an organizational exit pressure hypothesis is offered. Measures of exit pressure are identified and incorporated into predictive models of stress and mental health. Exit pressures affect somatization directly and interact with role ambiguity to affect subsequent levels of anxiety and somatization. The results suggest that selection pressures in and out of social settings should be conceptualized as part of models of stress and mental health.     

An exploratory study of self-regulating activities and their effects on job performance

The present study attempted to assess the extent to which job incumbents engage in performance relevant self-regulatory activities. Specifically, the degrees to which 62 insurance salespersons; (1) set performance goals, (2) monitored performance levels, and (3) exercised contingent self-reward or punishment with respect to goal achievement or goal failure were measured; and, the consequences that such activities had on performance were examined. The results of this study indicate that, in general, subjects set goals, but typically of a distal/result-orientated, as opposed to a proximal/behaviourally orientated-nature. Goal setting per se had no effects on sales performance, although an objective measure of goal difficulty was related to this criterion. With respect to self-monitoring, it was discovered that the greatest amount of performance feedback came from oneself and one's supervisor, as opposed to one's co-workers. In terms of performance, there was an interaction of feedback source and feedback preference such that the ability to generate internal feedback was related to performance only for individuals who had a preference for such internal feedback. There appeared to be no substantial amount of contingent self-reward occurring within this organization, although contingent self-punishment (in the form of self-criticism) was in evidence; and, such self-admonishment seemed to have detrimental effects on performance. While the three classes of variables independently explained 26 per cent of the variance in performance, the interactive effects suggested by theories of self-regulation (Bandura, 1977; Kanfer, 1971) were not in evidence.