Christian Dormann

Longitudinal studies in organizational stress research: A review of the literature with reference to methodological issues

Demonstrating causal relationships has been of particular importance in organizational stress research. Longitudinal studies are typically suggested to overcome problems of reversed causation and third variables (e.g., social desirability and negative affectivity). This article reviews the empirical longitudinal literature and discusses designs and statistical methods used in these studies. Forty-three longitudinal field reports on organizational stress were identified. Most of the investigations used a 2-wave panel design and a hierarchical multiple regression approach. Six studies with 3 and more waves were found. About 50% of the studies analyzed potential strain-stressor (reversed causation) relationships. In about 33% of the studies there was some evidence of reverse causation. The power of longitudinal studies to rule out third variable explanations was not realized in many studies. Procedures of how to analyze longitudinal data are suggested.

Customer-related social stressors and burnout.

Although almost all literature on burnout implicitly assumes that burnout is primarily caused by stressful employee-customer interactions, only a few studies have addressed this empirically. A principal-components analysis of a newly developed instrument assessing various forms of customer-related social stressors (CSS) in 3 different service jobs (N = 591) revealed 4 themes of CSS: disproportionate customer expectations, customer verbal aggression, disliked customers, and ambiguous customer expectations. These 4 CSS predict burnout beyond a variety of control variables. Contrary to other predictors of burnout analyzed in previous studies, the amount of variance explained in exhaustion (14%) by the 4 CSS scales is not higher than for personal accomplishment (14%) and is considerably lower than for depersonalization (23%).

Testing reciprocal relationships between job characteristics and psychological well-being: A cross-lagged structural equation model

This article describes a two-wave panel study which was carried out to examine reciprocal relationships between job characteristics and work-related psychological well-being. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 261 health care professionals using structural equation modelling (LISREL 8). Controlling for gender, age, and negative affectivity, the results primarily supported the hypothesis that Time 1 job characteristics influence Time 2 psychological well-being. More specifically, Time 2 job satisfaction was determined by Time 1 job demands and workplace social support, respectively. Furthermore, there was also some preliminary but weak evidence for reversed cross-lagged effects since Time 1 emotional exhaustion seemed to be the causal dominant factor with respect to Time 2 (perceived) job demands. In conclusion, this study builds on earlier cross-sectional and longitudinal findings by eliminating confounding factors and diminishing methodological deficiencies. Empirical support for the influence of job characteristics on psychological well-being affirms what several theoretical models have postulated to be the causal ordering among job characteristics and work-related psychological well-being.

Stressors, Resources, and Strain at Work: A Longitudinal Test of the Triple-Match Principle

Two longitudinal studies investigated the issue of match between job stressors and job resources in the prediction of job-related strain. On the basis of the triple-match principle (TMP), it was hypothesized that resources are most likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if resources, stressors, and strains all match. Resources are less likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if (a) only resources and stressors match, (b) only resources and strains match, or (c) only stressors and strains match. Resources are least likely to moderate the relation between stressors and strains if there is no match among stressors, resources, and strains. The TMP was tested among 280 and 267 health care workers in 2 longitudinal surveys. The likelihood of finding moderating effects was linearly related to the degree of match, with 33.3% of all tested interactions becoming significant when there was a triple match, 16.7% when there was a double match, and 0.0% when there was no match. Findings were most consistent if there was an emotional match or a physical match.

Social support, social stressors at work, and depressive symptoms: Testing for main and moderating effects with structural equations in a three-wave longitudinal study.

This study investigated the moderating effects of social support by supervisors and colleagues relative to social stressors at work and depressive symptoms using a structural equations approach in a 3-wave longitudinal study over 1 year. The analyses were based on a randomly drawn sample (N = 543) of citizens in the area around Dresden in the former East Germany. LISREL analysis with latent moderating effects revealed a moderating effect for supervisor support. This applied only if the time lag was 8 months, but not for longer or shorter lags. Under low-support conditions depressive symptoms were increased by social stressors, whereas, contrary to expectations, social stressors reduced subsequent depressive symptoms under high-support conditions. No moderating effect for colleague support was found. Several mechanisms are discussed that may explain the results.

Social stressors at work, irritation, and depressive symptoms: Accounting for unmeasured third variables in a multi-wave study

This article investigates the relationship between social stressors, comprising conflicts with co-workers and supervisors and social animosities at work, irritation and depressive symptoms. It is argued that only a few mediation hypotheses have been investigated in organizational stress research. In the present study it was hypothesized that irritation mediates the effect of social stressors on depressive symptoms. This hypothesis was tested using four waves of a six-wave longitudinal study based on a representative sample (N =313) of the residents of Dresden, Germany. The advantages of longitudinal designs were comprehensively used including the testing of different time lags, the testing of reversed causation, and modelling of unmeasured third variables that may have spuriously created the pattern of observed relationships. Structural equation modelling provided evidence for the proposed mediation mechanism and suggests that time lags of at least 2 years are required to demonstrate the effects.

The Demand-Control Model: Specific Demands, Specific Control, and Well-Defined Groups

The purpose of this study was to test the Demand-Control Model (DCM), accompanied by three goals. Firstly, we used alternative, more focused, and multifaceted measures of both job demands and job control that are relevant and applicable to todays working contexts. Secondly, this study intended to focus on particular demands in human services work and to incorporate these demands in the DCM. Finally, this occupation-based study investigated relatively large well-defined subgroups compared to a total sample. Workers from five human service sectors (n = 2,485) were included in a cross-sectional survey (i.e., health care, transport, bank/insurance, retail trade, and warehouse). Results showed that job demands and job control are able to show several interaction effects on employee well-being and health, but only in specific occupational groups. In conclusion, the current findings provide renewed empirical support for the view that high-strain jobs (high demand, low control) are conducive to ill health (i.e., emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic health complaints). Further, it appears that active jobs (high demands, high control) give rise to positive outcomes (i.e., job challenge, job satisfaction).

Psychosocial safety climate as a lead indicator of workplace bullying and harassment, job resources, psychological health and employee engagement

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is defined as shared perceptions of organizational policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety, that stem largely from management practices. PSC theory extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and proposes that organizational level PSC determines work conditions and subsequently, psychological health problems and work engagement. Our sample was derived from the Australian Workplace Barometer project and comprised 30 organizations, and 220 employees. As expected, hierarchical linear modeling showed that organizational PSC was negatively associated with workplace bullying and harassment (demands) and in turn psychological health problems (health impairment path). PSC was also positively associated with work rewards (resources) and in turn work engagement (motivational path). Accordingly, we found that PSC triggered both the health impairment and motivational pathways, thus justifying extending the JD-R model in a multilevel way. Further we found that PSC, as an organization-based resource, moderated the positive relationship between bullying/harassment and psychological health problems, and the negative relationship between bullying/harassment and engagement. The findings provide evidence for a multilevel model of PSC as a lead indicator of workplace psychosocial hazards (high demands, low resources), psychological health and employee engagement, and as a potential moderator of psychosocial hazard effects. PSC is therefore an efficient target for primary and secondary intervention.

Quantitative Versus Emotional Demands Among Swedish Human Service Employees: Moderating Effects of Job Control and Social Support

Thepurposeofthecurrentstudywastoconductalongitudinaltestofthemoderating effect of both job control and social support on the relationbetween job demands and burnout in human service work. To adapt thestudy to human service work, quantitative as well as emotional demandswereexamined.Alongitudinalsurveywitha1-yeartimeintervalyieldedapanelgroupencompassing2,255employeesfromtheSocialInsuranceOr-ganizationinSweden.Hierarchicalregressionanalyseswereused,control-lingfordemographicvariablesandtherelateddependentvariableatTime1.Theanalyseswereconductedforquantitativeandemotionaldemandssepa-ratelyandrevealedmaineffects.Slightlymoremaineffectswerefoundforemotional demands. In addition, 1 interaction effect was found betweenemotionaldemandsandjobcontrolwithregardtoemotionalexhaustion.In

Unique aspects of stress in human service work

Two unique stressors associated with human service work are emotional dissonance, particularly the need to hide negative emotions (emotion work), and client/customer-related social stressors. The latter may involve disproportionate or ambiguous client/customer expectations and/or verbally aggressive customers. These stressors affect all human service workers, even though they may vary in the extent to which their work involves lasting relationships with clients/customers, and in the amount of training they have received to deal with client/customer-related social stressors. For example, health professionals typically develop long-lasting relationships with their clients whereas call centre workers may have only a single brief interaction. In accordance with contemporary theories of work stress (conservation of resources, effort-reward imbalance, demand-control-support), we argue that social support and training designed to develop “role separation” are crucial resources needed to help human service worker...