Role stress among Canadian white-collar workers

The incidence of various stressors at work and outside work was examined in a group of public service workers with a large Canadian federal government department. Workers were either in clerical, technical and supervisory ('officers'), or management positions. Measures of work stress included role stressors (load, insufficiency, conflict ambiguity and responsibility), as well as stress due to the physical environment. Both life events and daily hassles were included as measures of non-work stress. The consequences of stress were considered in terms of vocational, psychological, interpersonal, and physical strain, as well as in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Potential moderators of stress included social support and self-esteem. Among work stressors conflict, ambiguity and insufficiency were the more closely associated with vocational outcomes. MANCOVA followed by discriminant function analysis showed that clerical workers were distinguished by higher levels of insufficiency, officers by higher levels of conflict and the lowest levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and managers by higher levels of perceived responsibility for others. The results are discussed in terms of social role theory.     

An Examination of Perceived Organizational Support as a Multidimensional Construct in the Context of an Expatriate Assignment

We examined a multidimensional measure of perceived organizational support (adjustment POS, career POS, and financial POS) within an integtrative stress model of expatriate success. Expatriate success was defined in terms of multiple criteria and the predictors included role stressors, situational stressors, supervisor support, and POS. Hypotheses were tested with 230 expatriate-supervisor dyads and S.E.M. analyses. Support was found for a partially mediated model. The results showed that the POS dimensions differentially predicted expatriate success criteria.     

Improving Expatriation Success: The Roles of Regulatory Focus and Burnout

The study empirically and theoretically contributes to the human resource management discipline by developing and testing a cohesive model drawing on the pertinent literature from expatriate management, burnout and regulatory focus theory. Drawing on data from 233 expatriate managers, the study aims to examine the relationships between expatriate adjustment and the outcomes of job satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions via expatriate burnout. Specifically, the findings reveal that (a) higher levels of both work adjustment and interaction adjustment lead to reduced expatriate burnout, with the former having a greater effect on burnout than the latter; (b) burnout serves as a full mediator between work adjustment and withdrawal cognitions, and a partial mediator between work adjustment and job satisfaction; and (c) regulatory focus serves to moderate expatriate adjustment–outcome consequences, i.e. promotion‐focused (as opposed to prevention‐focused) expatriates demonstrate a stronger burnout–job satisfaction relationship. Several implications are extracted from the study for regulatory theory, burnout and expatriation management practices as well as suggested avenues for future research.     

Effect of outgroup social categorization by host-country nationals on expatriate premature return intention and buffering effect of mentoring

Outgroup social categorization by host-country nationals (HCNs) is a common challenge for expatriates and it has received inadequate scholarly attention in expatriate research. This study explores how outgroup social categorization affects expatriate intention to terminate international assignments prematurely and how this adversity can be lessened through organizational mentoring interventions. We theorize that outgroup social categorization by HCNs results in social isolation for expatriates, which triggers expatriates' early return intentions, and mentoring mitigates this indirect effect. The hypotheses were supported by the analyses of multisource data collected from expatriates and their local co-workers in multinational enterprises operating in China. Theoretical and practical implications of the research findings are discussed.     

Forgotten travelers: Adjustment and career implications of international business travel for expatriates

In this study, we demonstrate the importance of assessing international business travel in the context of expatriation. Based on the Job Demands-Resources theory, we suggest that engaging in international business travel is beneficial for expatriates when certain conditions are in place and detrimental when they are not. We propose that expatriates who have adequate job resources will reap the benefits of international business travel and achieve better adjustment to living and working in the host country and have greater career satisfaction. Survey results based on a sample of 161 expatriates provide support that engaging in international business travel is positively and indirectly related to expatriates' career satisfaction through expatriate adjustment when job resources are abundant, and it has a negative indirect association when resources are low. We further find that job resources play a role in the relationship between international business travel and career satisfaction primarily when the host-country culture is similar to that of the home country.     

The Role of Social Support in Coping during the Anticipatory Stage of Organizational Change: A Test of an Integrative Model

Few researchers have explored how employees use social support to cope during organizational change. The current research proposed and tested a model that integrates moderation and mediation effects in order to understand how perceived available support influences employees' use of support mobilization to deal with change‐related stress. Survey data were collected from 476 health professionals working in a large public hospital undergoing large‐scale change and downsizing. Moderated path analyses revealed evidence to suggest that perceived available support plays a moderated mediation role during coping with change. Support mobilization mediated the indirect relationship between change‐related stress and job satisfaction, at both low and high levels of perceived available colleague support. Perceived available non‐work support moderated the relationship between support mobilization and job satisfaction, and perceived available supervisor support moderated the relationship between change‐related stress and support mobilization. The direction of simple effects was not always as expected and alternative explanations for these unexpected findings are offered, along with practical implications for supervisors managing organizational change.     

How high-commitment HRM relates to PC violation and outcomes: The mediating role of supervisor support and PC fulfilment at individual and organizational levels

Psychological contract (PC) constitutes a theoretical framework for; explaining labor relationships, and it has been considered as a; mediation step between structural variables and processes and work and; organizational outcomes. Whereas PC (un)fulfillment; showed consistent relationships with variables such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, or absenteeism, the effects of PC; violation (emotional answers that develop after perceptions of PC; breach) have been less investigated. In addition, structural antecedents; of PC constructs had included Human Resources (HR) practices. This paper aims to extend; research on PC and its role as a mediator between HR practices and work; outcomes, both at individual and organizational levels. Specifically, we; examined the impact of human resource practices on employee performance; and sickness absences through a sequence of supervisor support, PC; fulfillment and PC violation. In a sample of 4648 employees from 214; companies of seven different countries, our results indicate that high-commitment; human resource practices were significantly and negatively; related to PC violation through supervisor support and positively to PC; fulfillment; in turn, PC violation was negatively related to employee; performance and positively to sick leave. These relationships at the; individual level were partially replicated at the organizational level, developing partial homologous models and showing that shared perceptions; about HR practices lead to shared perceptions on PC affecting collective; outcomes. Therefore, the findings shed new light on PC theory, regarding; the mediating role of PC constructs and negative emotions in the; relationships between HR practices and support from supervisors and performance at individual and organizational levels.     

The moderating role of social support in Karasek's job strain model

This paper examines whether social support is a boundary-determining criterion in the job strain model of Karasek (1979). The particular focus is the extent to which different sources of social support, work overload and task control influence job satisfaction, depersonalization and supervisor assessments of work performance. Hypotheses are tested using prospective survey data from 80 clerical staff in a university setting. Results revealed 3-way interactions among levels of support (supervisor, co-worker, non-work), perceived task control and work overload on levels of work performance and employee adjustment (self-report). After controlling for levels of negative affect in all analyses, there was evidence that high levels of supervisor support mitigated against the negative effects of high strain jobs on levels of job satisfaction and reduced reported levels of depersonalization. Moreover, high levels of non-work support and co-worker support also mitigated against the negative effects of high strain jobs on levels of work performance. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of social support networks both at, and beyond, the work context.     

Adjustment and work outcomes of self-initiated expatriates in the United Arab Emirates: Development and testing of a model

Drawing upon anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory and organization support theory (OST), we developed and tested a model on how globally mobile talent – in this instance, self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) - stay and perform well in the organization. We collected data from 276 superior-subordinate dyads, which were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Our results suggest that role clarity mediates the influence of perceived organizational support and work adjustment. Furthermore, we found that work adjustment mediates the influence of role clarity on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. We draw out the implications for advancing theory and practice in expatriate management.     

Expatriate adjustment and effectiveness: The mediating role of managerial practices

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of relations-oriented managerial behaviors on the relationship between two modes of expatriate adjustment—role innovation and personal change—and contextual performance. Using data from 194 expatriates and 505 of their subordinates, we found evidence of full mediation for the role innovation–performance relationship. For ratings of expatriate effectiveness, recognizing and team building behaviors appear to fully mediate the role innovation–performance relationship. For ratings of supervisor satisfaction, inspiring, supporting, and team building appear to fully mediate the role innovation–performance relationship. No significant results were found for the personal change–performance relationship. The results provide insights for extending current models of the expatriate adjustment process, and understanding the means by which expatriates fulfill their responsibilities.     

Beyond demand and control: The contribution of organizational risk factors in assessing the psychological well-being of health care employees

Abstract

The job demand–control(–support) model is frequently used as a theoretical framework in studies on determinants of psychological well-being. Consequently, these studies are confined to the impact of job characteristics on worker outcomes. In the present study the relation between work conditions and outcomes (job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, and somatic complaints) is examined from a broader organizational perspective. This paper reports on an analysis that examines both the unique and the additional contribution of organizational characteristics to well-being indicators, beyond those attributed to job characteristics. A total of 706 care staff from three public residential institutions for people with mental or physical disabilities in the Netherlands took part in this research. To assess organizational risk factors a measurement instrument was developed, the organizational Risk Factors Questionnaire (ORFQ), based on the safety-critical factors of the Tripod accident causation model. Factor analyses and reliability testing resulted in a 52-item scale consisting of six reliable sub-scales: staffing resources, communication, social hindrance, training opportunities, job skills, and material resources. These organizational risk factors explained important parts of the variance in each of the outcome measures, beyond that accounted for by demographic variables and job demand–control–support (JDCS) measures. Communication and training opportunities were of central importance to carers’ job satisfaction. Social hindrance, job skills, and material resources explained a substantial amount of unique variance on the negative outcomes investigated.     

Psychophysiological reactions during the first year of a foreign assignment: Results of a controlled longitudinal study

Previous studies reveal that employees are exposed to several potential stressors during foreign assignments. This prospective multidisciplinary study followed managers (expatriate group) before and during their first year of an international work assignment. Concurrently, a matched reference group that did not relocate was observed. The secretion of the stress-sensitive hormone prolactin increased in the expatriate group during the first year abroad, compared to the reference group. Selfesteem, family relations, language skills, decreased internal locus of control and job promotion explained 32% of the variance in serum prolactin levels. Lower self-esteem and sense of coherence was related to increased serum prolactin. Increased working hours were associated with decreased work satisfaction. Job promotion was not related to work satisfaction. Mental well-being decreased in the expatriate group, compared to the reference group. Individual factors such as a strong sense of coherence and social provision attenuated decreases in mental well-being. A significant increase in cigarette and alcohol consumption was found in the expatriate group during the first year abroad. This study indicates that there are important psychosocial determinants influencing psychophysiological response patterns in expatriates. The present results put into question the generalizability of the 'culture shock' syndrome. The results have practical implications for guiding expatriates on time-limited assignments.     

Job insecurity and work outcomes: The role of psychological contract breach and positive psychological capital

Job insecurity has received growing attention from researchers because it poses serious challenges for organisations and for society as a whole. However, there are insufficient studies about the processes through which job insecurity affects outcomes as well as potential ways to reduce its negative impact. This study focuses on the relationship between job insecurity and individual-level outcomes (in-role performance and organisational deviance) and examines if (a) job insecurity is positively and/or negatively related to work outcomes, (b) psychological contract breach acts as a mediator of the relationship between job insecurity and work outcomes, and (c) positive psychological capital (PsyCap) buffers the job insecurity–work outcomes relationship via psychological contract breach. With a sample of 362 employee–supervisor dyads, in which the outcome measures were collected from the supervisors, we found support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found a moderated mediation effect, whereby PsyCap moderates the negative indirect relationship of job insecurity on outcomes through psychological contract breach.     

Job crafting and well-being among school principals: The role of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration

This study investigates the associations between school principals’ job crafting and well-being. Drawing on the job demands-resources approach of the job crafting model and self-determination theory, we hypothesized that need satisfaction and need frustration act as likely mechanisms between the positive and negative effects of job crafting behaviors and work-related well-being (work engagement and burnout). Using cross-sectional data collected from a sample of Finnish school principals (n = 518), our structural equation model revealed that crafting structural job resources was positively associated with need satisfaction and negatively with need frustration. Increasing challenge job demands was positively associated with need satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with higher work-related well-being. In addition, crafting structural job resources was directly positively linked to burnout as well as work engagement. Moreover, we found that decreasing hindrance demands was positively associated with burnout and negatively associated with work engagement via need frustration. No associations were found between crafting social resources, indicators of basic psychological needs, or work-related well-being. These findings provide insights into how principals determine their own basic psychological needs via job crafting, and how this is reflected in their work-related well-being. The study advances job crafting theory and self-determination theory, with important implications for practice and future research.     

边界人员角色模糊及其结果:管理控制及其与角色导向匹配的作用

不同于以往研究的企业内部视角,本文聚焦于渠道关系中边界人员的角色模糊问题,实证检验了不同管理控制方式及其与边界人员角色导向的匹配对边界人员角色模糊感知的影响,同时检验了边界人员角色模糊对工作绩效和关系满意的影响。研究发现,结果控制与行为控制都会减少边界人员角色模糊。管理者的结果控制与朋友角色导向的边界人员相匹配,有利于减少角色模糊。角色模糊不利于提升边界人员的工作绩效和关系满意。在此基础上,对研究结果及理论意义进行了讨论,并给出相应的管理建议和未来研究方向。     

Abusive interaction and role state stressors: Relative impact on student residence assistant stress and work attitudes

Despite the recognition that poor working relationships can contribute to strain (Chen and Spector 1991, Cooper and Marshall 1978, Kahn and Byosiere lY92, Spector 1987, Spector et al. 1988) and increasing concern over violence and aggression in the workplace (Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. 1993), little research attention has been paid to hostile interpersonal interaction as a work-related stressor. While recent work has focused on interpersonal conflict and sexual harassment as stressors, emotionally abusive interactions have remained largely unaddressed by the organizational stress literature. These interactions are characterized by hostile verbal and non-verbal, non-physical behaviours directed by one or more persons towards another that negatively affect the target's sense of him/herself as a competent person and worker (Keashly et al. 1994, Leymann 1990). The current study examined whether emotional abuse contributed uniquely to understanding work-related stress in student residence assistants (RAs). Seventy-six RAs employed by a Canadian university responded to a questionnaire on the quality of their work experience. The stressors examined were role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity, and number, frequency, and impact of abusive events with dormitory residents. Outcome variables included job-related tension, job satisfaction, job commitment, and intention to leave. Emotional abuse contributed similar amounts of unique variance as the role state stressors to the variables of tension, job satisfaction and intention to leave suggesting emotional abuse is an important and uniquc workplace stressor. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Psychophysiological reactions during the first year of a foreign assignment: Results of a controlled longitudinal study

Abstract

Previous studies reveal that employees are exposed to several potential stressors during foreign assignments. This prospective multidisciplinary study followed managers (expatriate group) before and during their first year of an international work assignment. Concurrently, a matched reference group that did not relocate was observed. The secretion of the stress-sensitive hormone prolactin increased in the expatriate group during the first year abroad, compared to the reference group. Selfesteem, family relations, language skills, decreased internal locus of control and job promotion explained 32% of the variance in serum prolactin levels. Lower self-esteem and sense of coherence was related to increased serum prolactin. Increased working hours were associated with decreased work satisfaction. Job promotion was not related to work satisfaction. Mental well-being decreased in the expatriate group, compared to the reference group. Individual factors such as a strong sense of coherence and social provision attenuated decreases in mental well-being. A significant increase in cigarette and alcohol consumption was found in the expatriate group during the first year abroad. This study indicates that there are important psychosocial determinants influencing psychophysiological response patterns in expatriates. The present results put into question the generalizability of the ‘culture shock’ syndrome. The results have practical implications for guiding expatriates on time-limited assignments.     

Expatriate family adjustment: How organisational support on international assignments matters

This research examines how organisational support mechanisms extended to expatriate families influence the adjustment of the expatriate, the spouse, and accompanying children. We present data from 173 accompanying expatriate spouses in China and 135 expatriates employed in foreign and local multinationals in China. We report on expatriates' perceptions about the impact of organisational support on the adjustment of their spouse and children. We also report on their perception of how organisational support influences their own adjustment. Our study reveals that organisational support positively influences the adjustment of expatriates, their spouses and children, although the dynamics among family members differ. Noteworthy results include that children's adjustment impacts the expatriate spouse directly and the expatriate's adjustment indirectly, emphasizing the importance of direct organisational support for the family unit beyond the expatriate. The paper offers implications for international human resource management researchers and practitioners.     

Expanding the HRD Role: Improving employee well-being and organizational performance

Abstract

An important opportunity for the HRD profession lies in assessing and reshaping the psychosocial work environment to create a healthy, mentally focused workforce that provides their organization with a competitive advantage. We explain why HRD professionals should be concerned with employee well-being, offer suggestions for assessing the work environment through a stress audit and discuss four key work factors that affect well-being: job control, role overload, social support and supervisor behaviour. By expanding their role to these concerns, HRD professionals can improve quality of life and contribute to organizational effectiveness. If they do, the result should be healthier employees, healthier organizations and a greater recognition of HRD's potential for transforming organizations.     

Longitudinal influences of managerial support on employee well-being

A three-wave longitudinal survey of managers working for a food retailer (n = 148) assessed both job characteristics and individual well-being during a period of organizational restructuring. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant changes in both job characteristics and well-being across the three surveys. In addition, longitudinal structural equation models were developed to model the relationships between job characteristics and two indices of strain (job satisfaction and mental health) over time, including the assessment of the relative fit of competing causal process models. After controlling for the temporal stability of all variables, both types of strain were predicted by a combination of prior strain, prior job characteristics and current job characteristics. More specifically, managerial support was found to influence job satisfaction both directly and through perceptions of role ambiguity and control. Mental health was consistently predicted by low current and prior work demands, and in addition was associated with high managerial support. These results suggest that interventions to enhance employee well-being might usefully focus on increasing managerial support. Recommendations for research intending to examine the direction of causal associations between job characteristics and strain are made.