Workload and social support: Effects on performance and stress

A work simulation was conducted to test the effects of workload on stress and performance. Social support was also investigated as a moderator variable. Two hypotheses were tested: (a) stress is an intervening variable between workload and performance and (b) social support moderates the workload‐stress relation such that workload leads to lower stress when social support is high. For the 1st hypothesis, a path analysis showed an indirect relation between workload and performance with stress as an intervening variable. For the 2nd hypothesis, there was a significant 3‐way interaction between workload, social support, and time. The interaction showed that, in the early stages of the experiment, high social support led to higher (rather than lower) stress. This “reverse buffering effect” did not occur during later stages of the experiment. Several alternative explanations are offered regarding the reverse buffering finding, including the possibility that stress leads to social‐support seeking behavior. One ...

[1]  A Ahlbom,et al.  Job decision latitude, job demands, and cardiovascular disease: a prospective study of Swedish men. , 1981, American journal of public health.

[2]  T. Beehr.  Perceived situational moderators of the relationship between subjective role ambiguity and role strain. , 1976, The Journal of applied psychology.

[3]  J. Stevens.  Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences , 1986 .

[4]  M. Frankenhaeuser,et al.  Underload and overload in working life: outline of a multidisciplinary approach. , 1976, Journal of human stress.

[5]  D. Nebeker,et al.  The Effects of Computer Monitoring, Standards, and Rewards on Work Performance, Job Satisfaction, and Stress1 , 1993 .

[6]  James B. Shaw,et al.  The Effects of Objective Work-load Variations of Psychological Strain and Post-Work-Load Performance , 1985 .

[7]  Robert L. Kahn,et al.  Stress in organizations. , 1992 .

[8]  J. Elashoff,et al.  Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research. , 1975 .

[9]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Task complexity as a moderator of goal effects: A meta-analysis. , 1987 .

[10]  R. Wood.  Task complexity: Definition of the construct , 1986 .

[11]  H. Miller,et al.  Motivation, behavior, and performance: A closer examination of goal setting and monetary incentives. , 1978 .

[12]  Mark A. Davis,et al.  Cognitive and emotional components of anxiety: literature review and a revised worry-emotionality scale. , 1981, Journal of educational psychology.

[13]  D. Ganster,et al.  Role of social support in the experience of stress at work. , 1986, The Journal of applied psychology.

[14]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign , 1979 .

[15]  Terry A. Beehr,et al.  Occupational Stressors, Individual Strains, and Social Supports among Police Officers , 1989 .

[16]  John R. Aiello,et al.  Electronic performance monitoring: A risk factor for workplace stress. , 1995 .

[17]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[18]  John R. Aiello,et al.  Computer‐Based Work Monitoring: Electronic Surveillance and Its Effects , 1993 .

[19]  S. West,et al.  Social support in the workplace: Tests of six theoretical models , 1988, American journal of community psychology.

[20]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[21]  D. Nebeker,et al.  Effects of System Control and Feedback Variability on Job Performance and Affective Reactions , 1995 .

[22]  Lawrence R. Murphy,et al.  Occupational stress management: A review and appraisal , 1984 .

[23]  R. Caplan,et al.  Effects of work load, role ambiguity, and type A personality on anxiety, depression, and heart rate. , 1975, The Journal of applied psychology.

[24]  R. Burke.  The Present and Future Status of Stress Research , 1987 .

[25]  J. House,et al.  Social support, occupational stress, and health. , 1980, Journal of health and social behavior.

[26]  D. Ganster,et al.  Work Stress and Employee Health , 1991 .

[27]  J. House.  Work stress and social support , 1981 .

[28]  R. Kahn,et al.  Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. , 1965 .

[29]  Vandra L. Huber,et al.  Effects of task difficulty, goal setting, and strategy on performance of a heuristic task. , 1985 .

[30]  S. M. Sales,et al.  Some effects of role overload and role underload , 1970 .

[31]  Trevor C. Bailey,et al.  Mechanisms governing organizational performance in complex decision-making environments , 1990 .

[32]  R. Landis,et al.  Quality and quantity goals in a complex decision task: Strategies and outcomes. , 1992 .

[33]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. , 1981 .

[34]  L. James,et al.  Mediators, Moderators, and Tests for Mediation. , 1984 .

[35]  J. Stevens,et al.  Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences , 1993 .

[36]  J. French,et al.  Job demands and worker health : main effects and occupational differences , 1980 .

[37]  Dov Eden,et al.  Acute and chronic job stress, strain, and vacation relief , 1990 .

[38]  George B. Graen,et al.  The Interaction of Job Stress and Social Support: A Strong Inference Investigation , 1983 .

[39]  T. Beehr,et al.  Interactions between job stressors and social support: some counterintuitive results , 1986 .