Relationship between job control, work pressure and strain: studies in the USA and in The Netherlands

The purpose of this study was to test a model of job control, work pressure and strain in two samples in the USA and in The Netherlands. According to the proposed model, work pressure has a mediating role between job control and worker strain. The present model specifies three types of job control: task or instrumental control, conceptual or resource control, and decision organization control. Task and resource control are assumed to reduce the stressor of work pressure which, in turn, is related to high strain. Organization control is assumed to be positively related to work pressure. The model was tested in two samples : one US sample of 273office employees and one Dutch sample of 958 employees in a variety of jobs. The same measure of job control was used in both samples. Resultspartially confirm the proposed model. As predicted by the proposed model, high task control was related to low work pressure, whereas high organization control was related to high work pressure. The effects of task control and organization control on strain were mediated by work pressure for the measure of anxiety in the US sample and for the measure of stress in the Dutch sample. However, the mediating effect of work pressure was not found for job satisfaction in both samples, for the measure of mood disturbances in the US sample and for the measure of sick days in the Dutch sample. The proposed model is only partially confirmed by the results. These results confirm the importance of differentiating between different dimensions of job control.     

Employee reactions to behavioural control under conditions of stress: the moderating role of self-efficacy

Extensive research conducted in the occupational stress literature has failed to provide convincing support for the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment. Drawing on research conducted in the laboratory context, it was proposed that the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment would be more marked at high, rather than low, levels of self-efficacy. In a sample of 100 customer service representatives, a significant three-way interaction among role conflict, work control and self-efficacy (measured at Time 1) was observed on (low) depersonalization (measured at Time 2). Consistent with expectations, work control reduced the negative effects of work stress on this outcome measure only for employees who perceived high levels of self-efficacy at work. In addition, there was evidence to suggest that self-efficacy moderated the main effects of work control on job satisfaction and somatic health. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical contribution to the job strain model, and also in relation to workplace interventions designed to improve levels of employee adjustment.     

Employee reactions to behavioural control under conditions of stress: The moderating role of self-efficacy

Extensive research conducted in the occupational stress literature has failed to provide convincing support for the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment. Drawing on research conducted in the laboratory context, it was proposed that the stress-buffering effects of work control on employee adjustment would be more marked at high, rather than low, levels of self-efficacy. In a sample of 100 customer service representatives, a significant three-way interaction among role conflict, work control and self-efficacy (measured at Time 1) was observed on (low) depersonalization (measured at Time 2). Consistent with expectations, work control reduced the negative effects of work stress on this outcome measure only for employees who perceived high levels of self-efficacy at work. In addition, there was evidence to suggest that self-efficacy moderated the main effects of work control on job satisfaction and somatic health. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical contribution to the job strain model, and also in relation to workplace interventions designed to improve levels of employee adjustment.     

Proactive coping with job insecurity: Is it always beneficial to well-being?

With reference to conservation of resources theory, the authors explored the role of proactive coping in relation to both positive and negative aspects of employee well-being (happiness and depression) when confronted with job insecurity. The authors investigated if coping efficiency improves when employees are highly committed to work, that is, when they have a high level of work involvement. Results of tests with samples of 162 Austrian and 444 Taiwanese employees revealed that, overall, proactive coping was positively related to employee well-being if the perception of job insecurity was low. However, in the case of high job insecurity, the beneficial effect of proactive coping was present only among employees with high work involvement. The interaction was significant for feelings of depression in the Austrian sample and for feelings of happiness in the Taiwanese sample. The findings suggest that if a person experiences job insecurity, the efficiency of proactive coping might depend on the person's work-related attitudes and beliefs, such as work involvement, that serve as coping resources.     

Job resources and emotional exhaustion: The mediating role of learning opportunities

The Job Demands-Resources model predicts that job demands increase and job resources decrease emotional exhaustion in employees. In this study, we investigated one possible mechanism for this, in order to provide a deeper insight into the role of job resources in this energy-depletion process. We assumed that job resources (autonomy and task variety) reduce emotional exhaustion through the promotion of opportunities for personal growth and development, especially workplace learning. Moreover, we expected that job demands (workload, cognitive and emotional demands) would be positively related to work-related learning opportunities. Our research model was tested in a large and heterogeneous sample out of the Dutch working population (N = 4589), following a cross-validation procedure. Multi-group structural equation modelling revealed that autonomy and task variety promoted learning opportunities, which in turn partially mediated between these job resources and emotional exhaustion. With respect to job demands, our study showed mixed results: cognitive demands promoted learning opportunities, workload frustrated such opportunities, and emotional demands were not significantly related to learning opportunities. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between job demands, job resources and learning opportunities in the energy-depletion process, and support the need for the promotion of learning opportunities in the workplace.     

Back to basics: Re-examination of Demand-Control Theory of occupational stress

The Demand-Control model of occupational stress posits an interaction between job demands and job control predicting psychological strain, but previous research has found such an interaction only rarely or inconsistently. Such research, however, has often failed to measure either demands or strain faithfully to the model's constructs, or has simply failed to test for a statistical interaction. The present study corrected these shortcomings by going back to basics. Using a sample of 115 employees in a manufacturing company, it operationalized the variables more consistently with their original conceptualizations. However, when the hypothesized Demand-Control interaction was then tested, it still failed. Outcomes other than psychological strain (e.g. job dissatisfaction) were related negatively rather than positively to demands. This highlights the difference between psychological strain and dissatisfaction and casts doubt on models positing dissatisfaction as an intervening variable between stressors and strains.     

Moderating effects of social support in shiftworking and non-shiftworking nurses

In this study the causal relationships between work characteristics, in terms of job demands and job resources, and both targets’ and perpetrators' reports of workplace bullying, are investigated. In line with the Job Demands-Resources model and the bullying literature, we assumed that both high job demands (i.e. workload, role conflict and job insecurity) and low job resources (i.e. task autonomy, social support and skill utilization) increase bullying over time (i.e. normal causation). Our sample included 177 employees of various establishments of a large Belgian organization. The results of structural equation modelling analyses partially supported our hypothesis. As expected, we found that T1 job demands related positively to targets’ reports of bullying at T2 one year later, and that T1 job resources related negatively to T2 targets’ reports of bullying. Unexpectedly, there was no significant cross-lagged effect of T1 job demands and resources on T2 perpetrator's reports of bullying. No evidence was found for reverse causation or reciprocal effects. Overall, at least for targets, these findings support the validity of the theoretical models postulating a causal link from work characteristics to workplace bullying.     

The impact of sense of coherence and high-demand/low-control job environment on self-reported health, burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators

Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a new concept belonging to a salutogenic paradigm, proposing to explain health as contrasted to disease, a pathogenic paradigm. The Job Demand-Control (JDC) model of job stress suggests that the combination of high job demands and low job control, defined as job strain, is strongly associated with adverse health consequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between SOC and the JDC model in assessment of negative job effects within three pathogenically defined contexts: self-reported health, burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators, assessing the explanatory value of SOC for such variables. The study was conducted with 103 employees of social-welfare and social-insurance agencies in Sweden. A questionnaire related to job conditions, health and burnout was administered, and blood samples were collected and analysed for serum concentrations of cortisol, prolactin and immunoglobulin G. Multiple-regression models were calculated including variables from all three contexts. In the analyses, a distinction was made between emotional job strain and quantitative job strain. The SOC interacted with emotional job strain, but the interaction also increased the independent effect of emotional job strain. The independent effect of SOC disappeared in most models when interaction was included. It is concluded that studies of job strain-effects according to the JDC model should include the SOC as an interaction factor.     

Back to basics: Re-examination of Demand-Control Theory of occupational stress

The Demand-Control model of occupational stress posits an interaction between job demands and job control predicting psychological strain, but previous research has found such an interaction only rarely or inconsistently. Such research, however, has often failed to measure either demands or strain faithfully to the model's constructs, or has simply failed to test for a statistical interaction. The present study corrected these shortcomings by going back to basics. Using a sample of 115 employees in a manufacturing company, it operationalized the variables more consistently with their original conceptualizations. However, when the hypothesized Demand-Control interaction was then tested, it still failed. Outcomes other than psychological strain (e.g. job dissatisfaction) were related negatively rather than positively to demands. This highlights the difference between psychological strain and dissatisfaction and casts doubt on models positing dissatisfaction as an intervening variable between stressors and strains.     

Job tenure as a moderator of stressor–strain relations: A comparison of experienced and new-start teachers

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the extent to which the effects of work stressors on strain change over the duration of employees’ job incumbencies. Drawing on Karasek's (1979) job demands-control-support model, the current study examined the moderating influence of job tenure (experienced versus novice worker status) on stressor-strain relations. Using a sample of 422 experienced and 248 beginning schoolteachers in Australia, job factors and job strain were assessed on two occasions, 8 months apart. Analyses revealed that the three job factors were each correlated with strain as predicted, although the (elusive) demands×control interaction effect was evidenced amongst “new-start” teachers only. The findings provide mixed support for Karasek's model, and draw attention to the need to consider the role of job tenure and career stage in studies of work stress, as work stressor-strain effects may be routinely underestimated in research that ignores these factors.     

The impact of sense of coherence and high-demand/low-control job environment on self-reported health,burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators

Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a new concept belonging to a salutogenic paradigm, proposing to explain health as contrasted to disease, a pathogenic paradigm. The Job Demand-Control (JDC) model of job stress suggests that the combination of high job demands and low job control, defined as job strain, is strongly associated with adverse health consequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between SOC and the JDC model in assessment of negative job effects within three pathogenically defined contexts: self-reported health, burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators, assessing the explanatory value of SOC for such variables. The study was conducted with 103 employees of social-welfare and social-insurance agencies in Sweden. A questionnaire related to job conditions, health and burnout was administered, and blood samples were collected and analysed for serum concentrations of cortisol, prolactin and immunoglobulin G. Multiple-regression models were calculated including variables from all three contexts. In the analyses, a distinction was made between emotional job strain and quantitative job strain. The SOC interacted with emotional job strain, but the interaction also increased the independent effect of emotional job strain. The independent effect of SOC disappeared in most models when interaction was included. It is concluded that studies of job strain-effects according to the JDC model should include the SOC as an interaction factor.     

Human resource development,organization development,organizational learning,and organizational effectiveness: all needed more than ever

In this study the Job Demand-Control model was used to study the quality of working life of Dutch secondary teachers. The Job Demand-Control model of Karasek is a theoretical model in which stress and learning are both considered as dependent variables which are influenced by three different task characteristics: job demands, job control, and social support. This model was tested for Dutch secondary teachers (n = 542). Results shed light on the relationship between stress and learning, on the one hand, and the effects of task characteristics on work stress and on work-based learning, on the other hand. It is concluded that the relationship between stress and learning is mediated by the amount of job control as the model predicts. However, the results also reveal that the Karasek model is better suited for explaining stress than for explaining learning. To explain work-based learning variables other than task characteristics have to be taken into account.     

Job demands,job control,and mental health in an 11-year follow-up study: Normal and reversed relationships

Abstract

Despite numerous studies of the demand-control model, there is a need for more longitudinal studies to test not only the normal, but also the reversed and reciprocal relationships between work characteristics and mental health. There is also a need for more studies of the multiplicative interaction between demands and control with respect to mental health, which is different from the simple additive effect of the two variables. This is a longitudinal study with an exceptionally long period of follow-up (11 years), with the focus on normal as well as reciprocal and reversed causality between work characteristics and mental health, as measured by reliable instruments close to the original definitions of Karasek. The study was based on a sample of 439 Norwegian employees of different occupations who had stayed in the same profession during the follow-up period. The results were in agreement with the hypothesis that low job control, and in particular low control in combination with high demands (“high strain jobs”), has a negative effect on mental health. There was a significant multiplicative interaction between demands and control, indicating a “buffering” effect of job control. Job demands alone were not significantly associated with mental health. The reversed relationship hypothesis was supported for job demands, but not for job control.     

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.     

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.     

Exposure to Psychological Aggression at Work and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Job Attitudes and Personal Health

Despite the growing literature on workplace aggression and the importance of employee performance at work, few studies have examined the relation between workplace aggression and job performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between psychological aggression at work and two forms of job performance (task performance and contextual performance) and potential mediators of these relations. Based on Conservation of Resources theory and prior research, a model was developed and tested in which overall job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) and overall personal health (i.e., physical and psychological health) fully mediate the relations between exposure to psychological aggression at work and both task performance and contextual performance. Data were obtained from a national probability sample of US workers (N = 2376) and the model was tested using structural equation modelling. The results supported the hypothesized model, demonstrating that exposure to psychological aggression at work negatively predicted both task performance and contextual performance, and that these relations were explained by decrements in job attitudes and health associated with exposure to psychological aggression at work.     

The interactive effect of leader–member exchange and electronic communication on employee psychological empowerment and work outcomes

We advance understanding of the role that leaders play in promoting psychological empowerment and positive work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance) for employees who engage in a high degree of electronic communication in their job. By integrating leader–member exchange (LMX) theory and theories of electronic communication, we build and test a mediated moderation model in which employees’ degree of electronic communication in their job amplifies the positive relationship that LMX has to psychological empowerment and subsequent employee work outcomes. Based on a sample of 353 early-career professionals employed in a range of different types of organizations, we found general support for the hypothesized model. We discuss the study’s theoretical and practical implications for leading employees in electronically-enabled work environments.     

The relationships between work characteristics and mental health: examining normal,reversed and reciprocal relationships in a 4-wave study

This longitudinal study examined the causal relationships between job demands, job control and supervisor support on the one hand and mental health on the other. Whereas we assumed that work characteristics affect mental health, we also examined reversed causal relationships (mental health influences work characteristics). Further, the topic of the appropriate time lag for testing causal relationships was addressed. Our hypotheses were tested in a 4-wave study among a heterogeneous sample of 668 Dutch employees using structural equation modelling. The results provide evidence for reciprocal causal relationships between the work characteristics and mental health, although the effects of work characteristics on well-being were causally predominant. The best model fit was found for a 1-year time lag. Compared to earlier—predominantly cross-sectional—results, the present study presents a stronger case for the effects of work characteristics on the development of strain. The results also emphasize the need for a dynamic view of the relationship between work and health; the one-directional viewpoint in many work stress models does not seem to fully capture the relations between work characteristics and well-being.     

The Job Demand-Control (-Support) Model and psychological well-being: A review of 20 years of empirical research

The Job Demand-Control (JDC) model (Karasek, 1979) and the Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model (Johnson, and Hall, 1988) have dominated research on occupational stress in the last 20 years. This detailed narrative review focuses on the JDC(S) model in relation to psychological well-being. It covers research from 63 samples, published in the period 1979-1997. In the review a distinction is drawn between two different hypotheses prevailing in research on the models. According to the strain hypothesis of the JDC model, employees working in a high-strain job (high demands-low control) experience the lowest well-being. The buffer hypothesis states that control can moderate the negative effects of high demands on well-being. Translating these hypotheses to the expanded JDCS model, the iso-strain hypothesis predicts the most negative outcomes among workers in an iso-strain job (high demands-low control-low social support/isolation), whereas the buffer hypothesis states that social support can moderate the negative impact of high strain on well-being. Although the literature gives considerable support for the strain and iso-strain hypotheses, support for the moderating influence of job control and social support is less consistent. The conceptualization of demands and control is a key factor in discriminating supportive from nonsupportive studies. Only aspects of job control that correspond to the specific demands of a given job moderate the impact of high demands on well-being. Furthermore, certain subpopulations appear to be more vulnerable to high (iso)strain, whereas others benefit more from high control. On the basis of the results of this review, suggestions for future research and theoretical development are formulated.     

The Job Demand-Control (-Support) Model and psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research

The Job Demand-Control (JDC) model (Karasek, 1979) and the Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model (Johnson, and Hall, 1988) have dominated research on occupational stress in the last 20 years. This detailed narrative review focuses on the JDC(S) model in relation to psychological well-being. It covers research from 63 samples, published in the period 1979-1997. In the review a distinction is drawn between two different hypotheses prevailing in research on the models. According to the strain hypothesis of the JDC model, employees working in a high-strain job (high demands-low control) experience the lowest well-being. The buffer hypothesis states that control can moderate the negative effects of high demands on well-being. Translating these hypotheses to the expanded JDCS model, the iso-strain hypothesis predicts the most negative outcomes among workers in an iso-strain job (high demands-low control-low social support/isolation), whereas the buffer hypothesis states that social support can moderate the negative impact of high strain on well-being. Although the literature gives considerable support for the strain and iso-strain hypotheses, support for the moderating influence of job control and social support is less consistent. The conceptualization of demands and control is a key factor in discriminating supportive from nonsupportive studies. Only aspects of job control that correspond to the specific demands of a given job moderate the impact of high demands on well-being. Furthermore, certain subpopulations appear to be more vulnerable to high (iso)strain, whereas others benefit more from high control. On the basis of the results of this review, suggestions for future research and theoretical development are formulated.