Posts Tagged ‘Psychological Well-Being’
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB CONTROL AND STRAINS
Posted by admin in Health Psychology on June 23rd, 2009
Research remains divided over the issue of whether job control acts as a buffer or not.Terry& Jimmieson (1999) extensively reviewed this literature and concluded that the majority of both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies found little support for the interaction in predicting employee adjustment (as measured by job satisfaction, for example). They conclude, perhaps surprisingly, that the strongest support for the interaction is based on studies using objective indicators of job features and/or strains (e.g. Dwyer & Ganster, 1991; Fox et al., 1993). Some support has also been found in studies using experimental methods (Perrewe & Ganster, 1989), suggesting that control may buffer the effects of the demands of specific work tasks. Research looking at cardiovascular outcomes has seldom directly tested the interaction effect, but where it does, Terry & Jimmieson conclude that the findings have generally not been significant. Read the rest of this entry »
EFFECTS OF JOB CONTROL ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Posted by admin in Health Psychology on June 23rd, 2009
In recent years, the concept of job control or decision latitude has increasingly been incorporated into many studies in the medical literature looking at a wide range of aspects of physical health. This is largely due to the success of Karasek’s model in offering a simple framework enabling key work variables central to his theory of job strain to be measured using brief scales. Thus, it has been suggested that high demands and low control (i.e. job strain) are related to musculoskeletal disorders (e.g. neck pain) in sales people (Skov et al., 1996) and adverse outcome of pregnancy in clerical and commercial workers (Brandt & Nielsen, 1992). Job strain has also been shown to be associated with non-medical drug use (Storr et al., 1999). There is less evidence for associations in the fewstudies that have looked at cancer risk (Achat et al., 2000; Courtney et al., 1996; Van Loon et al., 2000). However, the bulk of the literature focuses on cardiovascular disease and the associated risk factors. Read the rest of this entry »
Physical Health and Psychological Well-Being
Posted by admin in Health Psychology on June 23rd, 2009
Job Control
The amount of control or autonomy an employee has over his or her ownwork is perhaps one of the most crucial aspect of working life and one which has been extensively researched. It is a key feature of major theoretical approaches to stress (e.g. Karasek, 1979; Payne, 1979; Warr, 1987), and, together with the related concepts of discretion and autonomy, is a central feature of job design theories (Hackman & Oldham, 1980;Wall et al., 1990a). Furthermore, the importance of job control and related concepts is recognised in the management literature, where it is generally seen as important for releasing employee potential and increasing performance. For example, Peters & Waterman’s (1982) analysis of innovative companies intimately links autonomy with entrepreneurship. The related concept of “empowerment” is a central motivation for many organisational changes and total quality approaches. While control has been linked to a wide range of outcomes, including improving performance and motivation, this post focuses on the implications of the construct for health and well-being. Read the rest of this entry »