EMPLOYEE CONTROL IN THE ERA OF FLEXIBILITY: A STRESS BUFFER OR A STRESS AMPLIFIER?

ABSTRACT Traditionally, employee control has been considered a buffer against stress, but debate about the transformation of work raises new questions. Can individual control really counteract the high demands in downsized organisations? Or does it make flexible work even more difficult to define and delimit, physically and emotionally? This article, based on survey data from 800 Swedish employees, studies the effect of job control on work hours, work-family conflict and psychological wellbeing. The results show that high job demands are associated with longer work hours, more work-family conflict and lower wellbeing, while control has positive effects, even when demands are high.

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