Job demands and work-related psychological responses among Malaysian technical workers: The moderating effects of self-efficacy

Abstract

Job design has long been found to affect the work-related psychological responses of employees, such as psychological strain, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions, but scholars have begun to question whether established theoretical relations regarding job design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. It is also increasingly recognized that individual differences affect work behaviours in substantial ways, but few studies on work design have investigated these differences. We addressed these concerns with a two-wave longitudinal study among 245 technical workers at a telecommunications company in Malaysia, a country that has a collectivist culture and a high power distance between managers and subordinates. We examined the moderating effects of job control and self-efficacy on the relationships between job demands and employee responses. The results failed to support the job demands-control model, as job control variables did not moderate the impact of demands on employee work-related psychological responses. However, self-efficacy moderated their impact on psychological strain (although not on job satisfaction or turnover intentions). Our findings provide insight into the moderating effect of self-efficacy, and suggest that practitioners interested in reducing psychological strain should consider making efforts to increase self-efficacy among employees.     

The importance of self-efficacy in the moderating effects of social support on stressor–strain relationships

Abstract

Occupational stress research offers inconsistent findings on the moderating effects of social support on the stressor–strain relationship. This study contributes to the research literature by examining how social support's moderating effect is dependent on one's self-efficacy. Ninety-six US military police soldiers completed two surveys 3 months apart. The results showed that three out of four regression equations had significant three-way interactions. Organizational constraints×supervisor support×self-efficacy had statistically significant interactions in the prediction of job satisfaction and psychological well-being. Organizational constraints×co-worker support×self-efficacy had a significant interaction in the predicted of psychological well-being. These interactions explained between 5% and 10% of the variance in the dependent variables. Social support buffered the stressor–strain relationship when self-efficacy was high and reverse buffered the relationship when self-efficacy was low. These results indicate that interventions aimed at reducing strains by increasing social support should consider an individual's self-efficacy. Future research should consider incorporating content of communication to determine if high and low self-efficacy individuals receive or react differently to different types of communication content.     

直梁纯弯曲实验装置的改进

直梁纯弯曲实验简易加载装置在小规模院校中得到广泛地推广，但该装置使用若干年后会出现比较大的误差，影响教学效果。分析了装置的优缺点，阐明装置改进的理论依据，介绍改进过程。改进后的简易加载装置完全能满足材料力学的实验教学要求。     

Reliability and validity of the French version of the 18-item Karasek job content questionnaire

Previous studies have shown that job strain, a combination of high psychological demands and low decision latitude, may be involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases and other health outcomes. In 1985, Karasek recommended a standard questionnaire to measure psychological demands (nine items) and job decision latitude (nine items). The internal consistency, factorial validity, discriminant validity, and 1-year stability of the French version of this instrument were evaluated in a population of 8263 white collar workers. Participants filled out the questionnaire during working hours in the context of a larger cardiovascular study. A subgroup of the study population completed the questionnaire again 1 year later (n = 953). Internal consistency was adequate: .74 for men and .73 for women for psychological demands and .83 for men and .81 for women for decision latitude. The results of the factor analysis were consistent with the two dimensions expected from the theory, although some items had high loading on two factors. Variations in the means of psychological demand and decision latitude scores and variations in the prevalence of high job strain by gender, job category, and age support the discriminant validity. These results were generally comparable to those observed with the English version. The percentages of workers remaining, after 1 year, in the same category of psychological demands, decision latitude, and job strain were 86.6, 86.1 and 75.2% respectively. These data provide evidence of the reliability and validity of the French version of these psychological demand and decision latitude scales     

The association between blood pressure and work stress: The importance of measuring isolated systolic hypertension

The objective was to study whether the relationships between elevated blood pressure and (a) work stress as related to the stressor overtime, and (b) unwinding after work, depend on what kind of criteria are used for the diagnosis of hypertension. A total of 126 healthy men (aged 20-66 years) employed in white-collar jobs were tested over 24 hours by means of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring on a regular working day. Four groups were defined according to their blood pressure status: normotensives (NT), hypertensives (HT), isolated systolic hypertensives (ISH), and isolated diastolic hypertensives (IDH). No differences of age, body mass index, overtime work, and disturbed unwinding were found between the normotensives and the hypertensives. ISH was found to be related to working overtime and to disturbed unwinding but not to biological risk factors; IDH, however, was related exclusively to the biological risk factor high body mass index. Thus, significant differences associated with overtime were found between ISH and both NT and IDH, with the isolated systolic hypertensives carrying out more than twice as much overtime as the normotensives or isolated diastolic hypertensives. More men with a disturbed ability to relax and vital exhaustion were found in the ISH group than in the NT group. It seems that, in addition to the usual diagnosis of hypertension, the classification of ISH and IDH adds new information about the relationship between blood pressure elevation and both work stress and disturbed unwinding.     

拉延工艺过程的应变分析

本文应用塑性加工力学理论分析了拉延变形过程，根据拉延变形的实际情况，建立了位移和凸缘半径之间的关系，然后利用轴对称变形几何方程，求出了拉延变形的应变与凸缘半径之间的关系。并通过该关系求得了等效应变，为进一步研究拉延工序变形过程中的真实应力应变关系、求解拉延力和最大拉延力奠定了基础。     

Testing Karasek's learning and strain hypotheses on young workers in their first job

This study tests the core hypotheses of Karasek's job demand-control model: high job demands (workload) in combination with low job control (autonomy) increase strains (job dissatisfaction; strain hypothesis), whereas high job demands in combination with high job control increase learning and development in the job (here: learning new skills in the first job; learning hypothesis). These hypotheses are tested in two ways: (a) the mere combination of both job characteristics is associated with the expected outcomes, and (b) a statistical interaction between both job characteristics in predicting the outcomes is expected. A large dataset (n=2,212) of young workers in their first job was used to test all hypotheses. As young workers are presumably still in the process of adjusting themselves to their work environment, we expected that the effects of work characteristics on work outcomes would be stronger for this group than for more experienced workers. The results confirm both the strain and the learning hypothesis. We found a combined effect of both job characteristics, as well as a statistical interaction between both variables. The lowest level of job satisfaction was found in the “high strain” job, whereas the highest increase in skills was found in the “active” job. The consequences of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

The Psycho‐Social Processes Linking Income and Volunteering: Chronic Financial Strain and Well‐Being

The positive effect of income on volunteering found in many studies is conventionally explained in utilitarian terms: volunteer work is “costly” or demands “resources.” This explanation overlooks important sociopsychological processes. By situating the income‐volunteering relationship within the stress process framework, we develop a theory that traces the influence of income on chronic financial strain which in turn affects subjective well‐being, which functions as a psychological resource for volunteers. Data taken from two waves of the National Survey of Midlife in the United States confirm this theory: household income has no direct effect on volunteering once chronic financial strain and two measures of subjective well‐being—social and eudaimonic—are taken into account.     

各向异性指数和厚向异性指数对金属板料拉延成形的影响

通过金属板料的拉伸试验 ,分析了厚向异性指数和各向异性指数对金属板料拉延变形的影响     

The Family Economic Strain Scale: Development and Evaluation of the Instrument with Single- and Two-Parent Families

The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure economic strain in single-parent and two-parent families. The Family Economic Strain Scale (FESS) originally contains 25 items. Thirteen items is adapted from previous research and 12 are developed for the study. The FESS is pilot tested using data from a sample of 59 single-mother, 12 single-father, and 164 two-parent families. Factor analysis reveals that the instrument contained one 13-itein dimension that is highly reliable (.92). The construct validity of the measure is evaluated using three hypotheses and data from a second study involving 30 single-mother, 30 single-father, and 30 two-parent families. ANOVA and standard multiple regression are used for the analyses. All three hypotheses are supported and variance accounted for is substantial. The FESS is a highly reliable and valid instrument that will be of value to researchers examining perceived economic strain in single-parent and two-parent families.