Role stressors,social support,and well-being among two-career couples

The study examined relationships among work and family role stressors, work—family conflict, social support, and well-being using data gathered from 119 men and 119 women who were partners in a two-career relationship. Results showed that within-domain relationships of stressors with well-being are stronger than between-domain relationships. Thus, work and family role stressors were primarily related to job satisfaction and family satisfaction respectively, whereas work and family role stressors as well as work—family conflict were associated with overall life stress. Similar results were found for the relationships of social support with well-being. Work support was associated with increased job satisfaction, while spouse support was associated with greater family satisfaction. Some gender differences were found in the relationships of stressors and social support with well-being. Implications of the findings for future research on work—family dynamics were discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Work environment and the well-being of clerical and VDT workers

This paper explores the relationships between extent of video display terminal usage, perceptions of the physical work environment, task characteristics, and workers' health and well-being among a group of 1032 female office clerical workers. Data are drawn from responses to a 30-minute questionnaire administered at four employment sites during 1981 and 1982. All-day terminal users reported significantly higher levels of job and physical environment stressors than part-day VDT users, typists and non machine-interactive clerical workers. Reports of musculo-skeletal strain and dissatisfaction were also highest among all day terminal users. Part-day VDT users, typists and clerks all reported relatively similar levels of job and physical working conditions, health symptoms and job satisfaction. No significant differences between any of the groups were observed for gastrointestinal, respiratory, psychological and other non-specific health complaints. Typists and clerical workers who also held supervisory positions reported fewer stressors and greater job satisfaction than workers with no supervisory tasks; however there were no such differences between supervisors and non-supervisors engaged in all-day VDT work. Implications of these findings for further research and for job redesign strategies to alleviate the potentially stressful aspects of office automation are discussed.     

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 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.     

Work and non-work correlates of illness and behaviour in male and female Swedish white collar workers

Four broad classes of dependent variables (psychological strain, physical illness symptoms, health-related behaviour and social participation) were associated with eleven categories of stressors and stress moderators from work and family life, using multiple logistic regression analysis for a random sample of 8700 full-time male and female members of T.C.O., a major Swedish white-collar labour federation (covering 25 per cent of the Swedish labour force). Our goal was to find broad patterns of associations by comparing relative magnitudes of effects for (a) stressors and stress moderators; (b) work and family activities, and (c) males and females. Fifty per cent of the associations between environmental factors and dependent variables were significant in the predicted direction at the 5 per cent level. However, only 5 per cent of the associations are as strong, for example, as average smoking/heart disease associations. Our primary conclusion is that job factors are the next strongest set of predictors of health and behaviour after age. Job factors are stronger than family factors for both men and women; proportionally increasing the explained variance by over 60 per cent versus roughly 20 per cent for family factors (over the 25 per cent of explanation due to demographic factors). The overall pattern of stressor/outcome associations is quite similar for men and women, although both job/outcome and family burden/outcome associations are stronger for women than for men. We failed to find a clear linkage between particular stressors and particular physical illnesses. Among the job factors, control and work load have the strongest associations; with the former predicting behaviour patterns and job satisfaction (along with social support), and the latter predicting mental strain symptoms. Family problems are associated with increased health risks (stronger for men) and family responsibilities and constraints affect health behaviour (stronger for women). Job satisfaction is the most successfully predicted outcome in the study, and is similarly affected for men and women.     

Strengthening the employment relationship: The effects of work‐hours fit on key employee attitudes

Today's hourly workers are facing revised work schedules and shifting hours, which may have critical implications for employment relationships. This study considers the impact of work‐hours fit on key attitudes of hourly employees—perceived organizational support, job stress, work–family conflict, intent to turnover, and life satisfaction. We define work‐hours fit as the difference between an employee's desired number of hours and the actual hours worked, and we examine both the congruence of work‐hours fit and the degree of misfit. We also examine the moderating impact of the type of misfit, defined as working too many versus too few hours. Results indicate that, in our sample, hourly employees are typically not working the hours they prefer. As predicted, work‐hours fit impacts the attitudes we examined, and, when considering the type of misfit, congruence matters more for life satisfaction and intent to turnover. Results also indicate working too few hours impacts job stress and life satisfaction, whereas working too many effects work–family conflict. This paper demonstrates the importance of preferences, as a reflection of time/money resource trade‐offs, and offers ways for employers to improve work–family facilitation and strengthen their employment relationships. Copyright © 2014 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.     

Getting away from them all: Managing exhaustion from social interaction with telework

Drawing on the conservation of resources and recovery literatures, we examine how social job characteristics—interpersonal interaction, job interdependence, and external interaction—relate to work exhaustion. We then explore the efficacy of a part‐time telework (PTT) practice in alleviating work exhaustion associated with social interaction. Study 1 is a within‐subject assessment of work exhaustion before and after a PTT practice; participants are 51 information technology professionals in a financial services firm. Study 2 is a between‐subject assessment of work exhaustion among part‐time teleworkers and non‐teleworkers; participants are 258 U.S. workers spanning a variety of industries. Study 2 replicated the model tested in Study 1, and we extended the conceptualization of interpersonal interaction to examine both quantity and quality of interaction. In both studies, PTT provided a recovery opportunity, attenuating the relationship between interpersonal interaction and work exhaustion; however, after PTT but not before, work exhaustion increased as external interaction increased. In Study 2, work exhaustion decreased as interaction quality increased; in contrast, work exhaustion increased as interaction quantity increased and PTT attenuated this relationship. Our recommendations aim to help balance telework practices in light of social job characteristics and their opposing effects on work exhaustion. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work stressors and coworker support as predictors of individual strain and job performance

This study examined job stressors and coworker social support in relation to both psychological strains and performance. One hundred and ninety‐eight door‐to‐door bookdealers, employed on a seasonal basis, completed self‐report measures of job stressors, psychological strains, coworker social support, and job performance. Performance data were also obtained from company records. Results indicated that stressors predicted both psychological strains and one of the two measures of performance. The strongest predictor was a job‐specific measure of chronic stressors. Social support predicted psychological strains, although it was only weakly related to performance. There was no evidence that social support moderated the effects of any of the stressors. Implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling negative affectivity and job stress: a contingency‐based approach

Understanding the role of negative affectivity (NA) in relations between job stressors and resultant strains has been a major source of research interest in the organizational literature for almost two decades. In this study, we propose a contingency approach, whereby the role of NA depends on the nature of the strain construct under investigation. Specifically, we predicted that perceived job stressors would fully mediate the relationship between NA and turnover intentions, while job stressors would only partially mediate the relationship between NA and job and life satisfaction, and job stressors would be unrelated to depression once NA was taken into account. The relative fit of these four models is tested utilizing data from two divergent samples (sales representatives and managers) employing both self‐ and informant reports of strain measures where feasible. Hypotheses regarding the specified nature of the NA → stressor → strain relationship generally were supported and replicated across samples. In addition, an alternate model specifying that NA moderates the relationship between stressors and strains was not supported for any strain variable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work—nonwork conflict and the perceived quality of life

From additive models of overall quality of life, two hypotheses were derived about the relationships among work—family conflict, work—leisure conflict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction, leisure satisfaction and global life satisfaction. In supporting these two hypotheses, path analyses of survey data from a national probability sample of United States workers (n = 823) showed: (1) the direct paths between work—nonwork conflict and global life satisfaction were nonsignificant; and (2) the indirect paths between work—nonwork conflict and global life satisfaction, which are mediated by job satisfaction and nonwork satisfaction, were all significant. Further analyses indicated that, in general, the magnitude of these path coefficients was not significantly moderated by sociodemographic variables. Discussion considered the role of additive models as conceptual frameworks for studies concerned with the effects of work experiences on the overall quality of life.     

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.     

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.     

The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter satisfaction

Relationships are fundamental to organizational functioning, yet as telecommuting and other forms of virtual work become increasingly popular, research has not yet focused on how the virtual context might alter relationships so as to impact important work outcomes. This study therefore examines the role relationships play in mediating the link between the extent of telecommuting and job satisfaction. In doing so three fundamental types of relationships maintained by employees are investigated—those with managers, coworkers, and family. Regression analysis of field data from 294 telecommuting employees in a large telecommunications company revealed the anticipated inverted U‐shaped relationship, mediated by leader‐member exchange quality, team‐member exchange quality, and work‐family conflict. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Type of employment,work–family conflict and well‐being: a comparative study

The study examined the impact of work and family role characteristics on work–family conflict, and indicators of psychological well being among self‐employed and organizationally employed women and men. Results show that employment type and gender have independent main effects on several of the study variables. Self‐employed persons enjoy greater autonomy and schedule flexibility at work, and report higher levels of job involvement and job satisfaction than those employed in organizations. However, they also experience higher levels of work–family conflict, and lower family satisfaction than organizational employees. The findings suggest that there are trade‐offs between the costs and benefits of self‐employment, and that business ownership is not a panacea for balancing work and family role responsibilties. Directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work experiences and marital interactions: Elaborating the complexity of work

Previous research suggests that work experiences affect family interactions and family processes but does not adequately specify the job characteristics that influence such family-level outcomes. This study examines relationships between the quality of marital interactions and a range of job characteristics including the level of enrichment provided by the job, job time demands, job pressure, schedule flexibility, and job insecurity. The sample consisted of 523 married full time employees at a major U.S. company. Multiple regression analysis indicated that these job characteristics significantly predict the quality of marital interactions. Some directly influenced the quality of marital interaction while the influence of others was moderated by the presence or absence of stressful household roles. Results suggest that characteristics workers' jobs, and not merely workers' reactions to them, are associated with family interactions and family processes.     

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.     

Attachment behavior and health: relationships at work and home

This article examines the relationships between interpersonal attachment orientations, health, and social support. Four hypotheses specified relationships between three interpersonal attachment orientations (interdependent, counterdependent, and overdependent), physical and psychological symptoms, and social support. Data were collected from 297 students, the majority of whom were also full-time employees. An interdependent orientation was negatively related to social dysfunction. Counterdependent and overdependent orientations were negatively related to health. A counterdependent orientation was negatively related to social support, while an overdependent orientation was positively related to social support from co-workers and family. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.