Job insecurity, coping resources and personality dispositions in occupational strain

This paper presents research on the relationships between the work-related stressor of perceived job insecurity and various indicators of occupational strain, taking into account employees' personality dispositions (trait negative and positive affectivity) and coping resources. Respondents were 222 Australian public servants surveyed during organizational restructuring that involved downsizing and threat to job certainty. The research was formulated within an adaptation of Osipow, Doty, and Spokane's (1985) framework of stress-strain-coping that included the possible direct as well as moderating effects of personality dispositions in reporting occupational strain (Parkes, 1990). Findings from hierarchical regression analyses indicate consistent significant independent effects of personality dispositions, coping resources and perceived job insecurity on various indicators of strain. There was also support for the moderating roles of negative affectivity and self-care in the relation between perceived job insecurity and physical strain. Implications for the role of dispositional factors, especially negative affectivity, and the utility of various coping resources in accounting for occupational strain in times of threatened job security are discussed.     

Job insecurity,coping resources and personality dispositions in occupational strain

This paper presents research on the relationships between the work-related stressor of perceived job insecurity and various indicators of occupational strain, taking into account employees' personality dispositions (trait negative and positive affectivity) and coping resources. Respondents were 222 Australian public servants surveyed during organizational restructuring that involved downsizing and threat to job certainty. The research was formulated within an adaptation of Osipow, Doty, and Spokane's (1985) framework of stress-strain-coping that included the possible direct as well as moderating effects of personality dispositions in reporting occupational strain (Parkes, 1990). Findings from hierarchical regression analyses indicate consistent significant independent effects of personality dispositions, coping resources and perceived job insecurity on various indicators of strain. There was also support for the moderating roles of negative affectivity and self-care in the relation between perceived job insecurity and physical strain. Implications for the role of dispositional factors, especially negative affectivity, and the utility of various coping resources in accounting for occupational strain in times of threatened job security are discussed.     

Relationships between leadership and professionals' job attitudes and perceptions: Comparison of two leadership models

The aim of this study was to investigate the power of the Average Leadership Style (ALS) and Vertical Dyad Linkage (VDL) models of leadership in explaining relationships between leader's initiating structure behaviour and consideration behaviour, and subordinates' attitudes and perceptions. The considered dependent variables were five facets of job satisfaction, two role stress variables (role conflict and ambiguity), one role strain indicator (job tension), and four dimensions of workteam climate. The relationships were investigated in two occupational samples comprising 127 family physicians and 155 nurses working in 28 Primary Health Care Teams. Within and between analysis (WABA) and contextual analysis were applied in order to determine the appropriate level of analysis (group as expected from ALS or individual as expected from VDL) for studying the relationships between leader consideration and initiating structure behaviours and the dependent variables. The results obtained showed the prevalence of the VDL model in most of the cases, although two of the relationships studied fitted the ALS model.     

Helping people to sort it out: The role of social support in the Job Strain Model

This paper reports three studies of occupational stress investigating the role of social support as an intervening variable in the Job Strain Model (Karasek, 1979). A computer simulated mail-sorting work environment was used to assess the effect of demands, control and social support on measures of strain, satisfaction, and perceived and actual task performance. The first experiment ( N =60) tests the basic Job Strain Model by manipulating levels of task demand and control. The second experiment ( N =120) compares high and low levels of two types of social support (informational support and emotional support) to determine whether and how they interact with extreme conditions of the Job Strain Model (high strain and low strain). The final experiment ( N =90) investigates positive and negative forms of social support (praise and criticism) in relation to extreme job strain conditions. Results show that the job strain model is consistent with the stress and performance data, although stress showed no Demand ×Control interaction. Social supports increased arousal, satisfaction and perceived performance, but did not affect stress or task performance. Moreover, contrary to buffer theories, social supports did not interact with the job strain variables. Congruence between preferred and experienced emotional support levels also predicted performance.     

Helping people to sort it out: The role of social support in the Job Strain Model

This paper reports three studies of occupational stress investigating the role of social support as an intervening variable in the Job Strain Model (Karasek, 1979). A computer simulated mail-sorting work environment was used to assess the effect of demands, control and social support on measures of strain, satisfaction, and perceived and actual task performance. The first experiment ( N =60) tests the basic Job Strain Model by manipulating levels of task demand and control. The second experiment ( N =120) compares high and low levels of two types of social support (informational support and emotional support) to determine whether and how they interact with extreme conditions of the Job Strain Model (high strain and low strain). The final experiment ( N =90) investigates positive and negative forms of social support (praise and criticism) in relation to extreme job strain conditions. Results show that the job strain model is consistent with the stress and performance data, although stress showed no Demand 2 Control interaction. Social supports increased arousal, satisfaction and perceived performance, but did not affect stress or task performance. Moreover, contrary to buffer theories, social supports did not interact with the job strain variables. Congruence between preferred and experienced emotional support levels also predicted performance.     

Shared leadership performance relationship trajectories as a function of team interventions and members' collective personalities

We used longitudinal data from 205 members of 53 student teams who competed in a complex business simulation over 10 weeks to test: (1) whether shared leadership and performance were related reciprocally over time; (2) the relative magnitude of those relationships; and (3) whether a shared leadership intervention changes those relationships. We also considered the influence of team members' mean level personality to account for compositional effects. As anticipated, shared leadership and performance were related positively and reciprocally over time. Moreover, the shared leadership to performance relationship grew stronger and positive whereas the performance to shared leadership relationship remained fairly consistent over time. As expected, the intervention positively related to the trajectory of shared leadership. Finally, we did not find evidence for the hypothesized relationships of personality on shared leadership nor the strength of the intervention.     

Creative and innovative behaviours of corporate directors: an elusive role of task-related conflicts

The aim of the present work is to examine corporate directors’ boardroom interactions associated with conflicts as well as creativity and innovation phenomena. In line with the behavioral perspective in research on boards, we investigate relationships between task conflicts, an emerging creative and innovative boardroom climate as well as directors’ work behaviors. Drawing upon the survey data from 423 corporate directors, we tested hypothesized relationships by the means of the structural equation modelling technique. The results provide evidence suggesting that task-related conflicts among corporate directors appear to be equally detrimental for the psychological workgroup climate as they are advantageous for initiating creative and innovative work behaviours. In other words, the positive effect of task conflicts on directors’ creative and innovative work behaviours occurs so long as such conflicts do not simultaneously impair their perception of the creative/innovative boardroom environment. By integrating the literature on workplace group conflicts, creativity and innovation with the corporate governance writings, this study offers a new insight into corporate directors functioning. Presented findings have clear implications for future board research and managerial practice.     

Discrete Sequential Search with Group Activities*

Equipment failures can have significant implications in terms of cost and customer satisfaction. Reducing the time required to find the cause of a failure can provide large cost savings and help preserve customer goodwill. Single‐item discrete sequential search models can be used to sequence the tasks in diagnostic search to minimize the expected time required to find the cause of the failure. We increase the utility of the single‐item discrete sequential search model by developing a formulation that includes simple precedence relationships as well as sequence dependent relationships defined by group activities. This formulation can be applied to a number of other problems including determining the sequence for multiple quality control tests on an item, scheduling oil well workovers to maximize the expected increase in oil production, and sequencing tasks in a research project where there is a technological risk associated with each task.     

AN UPDATE ON THE APPLICABILITY OF AN OCCUPATIONAL GOAL-EXPECTANCY MODEL IN PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING ORGANIZATIONS

The validity of an occupation goal-expectancy model was evaluated using the actual position attainment behavior of professional public accounting firm employees. Actual position attainment behavior was monitored over a four-year period. The hypothesized model relationships between the model variables, goal choice behavior, and position attainment were tested using linear multiple discriminant analysis and simple classification matrices. A within-subject analysis was undertaken. The findings generally support the hypothesized relationships between expected utility, goal choice, and position attainment and the model's applicability within large public accounting firms.     

Emotion recognition and emergent leadership: Unraveling mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions

This study examines the complex connection between individuals' emotion recognition capability and their emergence as leaders. It is hypothesized that emotion recognition and extraversion interactively relate with an individual's task coordination behavior which, in turn, influences the likelihood of emerging as a leader. In other words, we cast task coordination as a mediating mechanism in the joint relationship between emotion recognition and extraversion, on the one hand, and leader emergence, on the other. Study hypotheses were tested using multisource data from two diverse, independent samples. Study 1 supports the hypothesized relationships in a sample of student project teams in the Netherlands, and Study 2 constructively replicates the proposed model using student participants in an assessment center in the United States. These findings were obtained using a performance-based test of emotion recognition and controlling for a battery of known covariates.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Mission impossible? Effects of crisis,leader and follower strain on health-oriented leadership

Previous studies underline positive effects of health-oriented leadership for follower well-being. However, it is not clear whether and to what extent situational and personal factors influence health-oriented leadership behavior towards employees (i.e., staff care). We examine the effect of crises and the moderating role of strain for the relationship between strain and staff care in two studies. The first study investigated main and interactive effects of crisis and leader strain on staff care in a cross-sectional survey (N = 201). To test for causality, we complemented our findings with an experimental vignette study (N = 169) and extended our findings with regard to the influence of follower strain. As expected, results of both studies showed negative effects of crisis and leader strain on staff care. Furthermore, crisis effects on staff care were contingent on both leader strain (Study 1 and 2) and follower strain (Study 2): While leader strain strengthened the negative relationships between crisis and staff care, follower strain served as a buffer. These findings support the assumption that staff care is at risk in crises particularly when leaders are strained. However, it is a positive finding that staff care is still feasible on a moderate and relevant level and that leaders respond to follower strain with additional efforts regarding staff care even in crises. The study contributes to the clarification and better understanding of situational contingencies of leadership behavior.     

The stressor–strain relationship in diary studies: A meta-analysis of the within and between levels

Daily diary studies use the same set of measures repeatedly for several days. Within the work stress domain, these studies are able to isolate the effects of daily exposure to stressors within people from the general level of stressors between people. This meta-analysis investigated both content-related and methodological aspects of workplace stressor–strain relationships in diary studies. Results from 55 unique samples (a combined sample size of 5409) indicated that the magnitude of the stressor–strain relationship was stronger at the between-person level than the within-person level. Further, when the stressor was measured prior to the strain (within the same day), the relationship was somewhat stronger than when stressor and strain were measured concurrently. This suggests that stressor–strain effects might take some time to fully manifest. Differences were also detected among types of strains: affective strains had stronger relationship with stressors than behavioural strains. There were also differences in the stressor–strain relationship depending on both the type of strain and the timing of their respective measurement (concurrent versus predictive), suggesting that certain strain responses require more time to manifest. Overall, this meta-analysis elucidates important considerations in the design and interpretation of diary studies on occupational stress.     

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.     

ACROSS-INDIVIDUAL,WITHIN-INDIVIDUAL AND RETURN ON EFFORT VERSIONS OF EXPECTANCY THEORY1

The author reviewed the conceptual, methodological, and empirical problems associated with across-individual tests of expectancy theory predictions of work behavior. Based on the literature it was hypothesized that within-individual expectancy theory predictions would be superior to across-individual predictions. Using a sample of 159 college students, results were generally supportive: mean across-individual and mean within-individual correlations were r=.24 and r=.35, respectively. Also, in light of the widespread use of incremental (marginal) decision algorithms in various disciplines, it was hypothesized that a return on effort (ROE) predictor would yield better correlations than the conventional maximum expected benefits predictor. As hypothesized, correlations using the ROE predictor consistently exceeded correlations using the maximum expected benefits predictor in both the across- and within-individual paradigms r=.27 versus r=.18, and r=.52 versus r=.35, respectively.     

Getting better or getting worse? Consumer responses to decreasing, constant, and ascending multi-dimensional price profiles

This research investigates consumer preferences for different multi-dimensional price profiles. Drawing on research on price affect, we investigate whether consumers prefer descending monthly installments (e.g., 40, 30, 20, 10) over constant (e.g., 25, 25, 25, 25), or ascending ones (e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40). Results of a field experiment with a sample of 1,628 German car buyers corroborate the hypothesized profile effect. In the experiment, participants were asked to evaluate different finance offers for a new car that all had the same present value but differed in terms of how the installments unfolded over time. Consistent with the hypotheses, decreasing monthly installments are evaluated more favorably than constant installments, which, in turn are evaluated more favorably than ascending installments. Furthermore, the results provide evidence for the underlying process by showing that the impact of different MDP profiles is mediated by positive affect. Finally, it was hypothesized that consumers’ individual differences (i.e., debt aversion, financial expectations, and product category knowledge) would exert a moderating influence on evaluations of different price profiles; these hypotheses, however, were only partially confirmed. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Role clarity, work overload and organizational support: multilevel evidence of the importance of support

The present study extended the demands-control-support model used in occupational stress research in two ways. First, it hypothesized that role clarity (i.e. role ambiguity), like control, would moderate the relationship between demands and psychological strain. Second, the study assessed support (from leaders) as a macro characteristic of the work-group environment. Data were drawn from a large study of US army soldiers, the study sample consisting of 1786 lower enlisted male soldiers. The inclusion of support as a work-group characteristic lead to a multilevel test of the model. A three-way multilevel interaction among work demands, role clarity and support was observed. As predicted, the relationship between demands and psychological strain was moderated by role clarity; however, this moderating relationship was found only when work-group support was high.     

Individual differences in working hours, work perceptions and accident rates in veterinary surgeries

This study addresses an under-researched outcome of occupational stress, namely the frequency of accidents at work and car accidents. A large, random sample of 778 vets and their auxiliary personnel was assessed in relation to socio-demographic variables, work perception and accident involvement. The study, involving veterinary practices in Germany, revealed that work-related injuries/accidents experienced during the previous 12-month period were significantly related to individual differences in job-related stress and job satisfaction. The average yearly number of car accidents was predicted by age, working climate and job satisfaction. Furthermore, driving accidents going to or from work during the previous year were calculated against distance travelled. Vets working in excess of 48 h/week displayed significantly more driving accidents when visiting clients. Results indicate heterogeneous correlations both between and within the two categories of car and work accidents, suggesting that these are different phenomena, each with its own associated personal and work factors. Results also suggest that work perceptions may act as intermediary influences on accident rates.