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An investigation of the moderating effects of work and nonwork control on the stressor-strain relationship
Abstract
In previous years the dominant focus for stress research has been the investigation of stressors in the workplace and their influence on employee perceptions, attitudes and behaviors. An independent stream of research has focused on nonwork sources of stress and stressful life events, particularly concerning working women, and how these events affect psychological and physiological well-being. The present study focused on stress effects in both life spheres by studying the direct and moderating effects of work and nonwork control on the relationships between stressors in each domain and resulting strains. Both questionnaire and objective health measures were obtained for 136 full-time, registered nurses employed at a medium-sized, private hospital, and objectively-measured work demands were provided by the head nurses of each of fifteen departments. The questionnaire asked the subjects to report their nonwork responsibilities, and it measured perceived work demands, perceived work and nonwork control, job and life satisfaction, depression, and somatic complaints. The objective health data represented multiple measures of arterial blood pressure and salivary cortisol over several days. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the interactive effects hypothesized in the study. The findings revealed support for the Job Demands-Job Decision Latitude Model in predicting job satisfaction, systolic blood pressure and cortisol. Modest results were also obtained for the compensatory model, such that nonwork control interacted with work demands to predict general job and life satisfaction, as well as systolic blood pressure. Spillover from work to nonwork occurred as work variability increased for high nonwork-demand subjects, while increased systolic blood pressure resulted from the spillover of nonwork demands to the work domain. The following conclusions are drawn: a lack of control opportunities in the workplace affects the health and well-being of employees and, for these nurses in particular, the ability to have control over nonwork demands can be instrumental in reducing the strains posed in the workplace.
Subject Area
Management
Recommended Citation
Fox, Marilyn Louise, "An investigation of the moderating effects of work and nonwork control on the stressor-strain relationship" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9118451.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9118451