Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign

This meta-analysis reviews 208 laboratory studies of acute psychological stressors and tests a theoretical model delineating conditions capable of eliciting cortisol responses. Psychological stressors increased cortisol levels; however, effects varied widely across tasks. Consistent with the theoretical model, motivated performance tasks elicited cortisol responses if they were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others), when methodological factors and other stressor characteristics were controlled for. Tasks containing both uncontrollable and social-evaluative elements were associated with the largest cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone changes and the longest times to recovery. These findings are consistent with the animal literature on the physiological effects of uncontrollable social threat and contradict the belief that cortisol is responsive to all types of stressors.

http://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/media/Course_files/anth-260-edward-h-hagen/acute-stressors-and-cortisol-responses-a-theoretical-integration-and-synthesis-of-laboratory-research-1.pdf

Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research.

Psychological Assessment Resources

This article consists of three parts. Part 1 discusses the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), designed to measure scales assessing psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, physical demands, and job insecurity. Part 2 reports the cross-national validity, for men and women, of the JCQ scales in six broadly representative populations from four advanced industrial societies: the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan. JCQ scale means, standard deviations, reliabilities and correlations are compared. Part 3 reviews comparison of the intercountry and interoccupation differences in the scales, discusses specific scales issues and discusses the implications of the study for interpretation of psychosocial job asessment questionnaires.

The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics.

The standard life events methodology for the prediction of psychological symptoms was compared with one focusing on relatively minor events, namely, the hassles and uplifts of everyday life Hassles and Uplifts Scales were constructed and administered once a month for 10 consecutive months to a community sample of middle-aged adults It was found that the Hassles Scale was a better predictor of concurrent and subsequent psychological symptoms than were the life events scores, and that the scale shared most of the variance in symptoms accounted for by life events When the effects of life events scores were removed, hassles and symptoms remained significantly correlated Uplifts were positively related to symptoms for women but not for men Hassles and uplifts were also shown to be related, although only modestly so, to positive and negative affect, thus providing discriminate validation for hassles and uplifts in comparison to measures of emotion It was concluded that the assessment of daily hassles and uplifts may be a better approach to the prediction of adaptational outcomes than the usual life events approach

/pdf/comparison-of-two-modes-of-stress-measurement-daily-hassles-3vdstiyzjs.pdf

Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events

Psychological and physiological stress responses related to work and family were investigated in 21 female and 21 male managers and professional specialists in high-ranking positions. The main result was that both women and men experienced their jobs as challenging and stimulating, although almost all data indicated a more favorable situation for men than for women. In addition, women were more stressed by their greater unpaid workload and by a greater responsibility for duties related to home and family. Women had higher norepinephrine levels than men did, both during and after work, which reflected their greater workload. Women with children at home had significantly higher norepinephrine levels after work than did the other participants. The possible long-term health consequences of women's higher stress levels are discussed.

Stress and workload of men and women in high-ranking positions

Sixty healthy non-smoking white collar employees, aged 30–50, from a large corporation in Sweden participated in the study. There were four groups: 15 male and 15 female middle managers, 15 male and 15 female clerical workers. Each participant was examined individually with regard to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions and self-reports for 12 consecutive hours under each of two conditions: (1) a normal day at work (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) and after work (6–9 p.m.), and (2) for the same time period during work-free conditions at home. In addition, everyone was given a videotaped type A-interview and a general health check-up including blood-lipid determination. Attitudes towards work, total workload (including responsibilities outside the paid work) and sex role identity were examined by questionnaires. As expected, all groups showed a moderate increase in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine activity during the day at work. After work, however, interesting group differences emerged, suggesting slower unwinding in female managers. Differences related to occupational level and/ or sex were found for autonomy and social support at work, competitiveness, sex role and reported conflict between demands from paid work and other responsibilities. The stress profile of the female managers was considered in terms of possible long-term health risks.

Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white‐collar workers

Pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic-adrenal correlates of distress and effort

A research project is outlined in which concepts and methods from social psychology and psychophysiology are integrated in the study of human adaptation to underload and overload related to technically advanced work processes. Attempts are made to identify aversive factors in the work process by studying acute stress reactions, e.g., catecholamine excretion, in the course of work and relating these to long term, negative effects on well-being, job satisfaction and health. Data from a pilot study of sawmill workers support the view that machine-paced work characterized by a short work cycle and lack of control over the work process constitutes a threat to health and well being.

Underload and Overload in Working Life: Outline of a Multidisciplinary Approach

A questionnaire assessing various aspects of paid as well as unpaid forms of productive activity was mailed to stratified samples of male and female white collar workers, approximately matched for educational and occupational level. Data from 501 men and 679 women employed full time revealed traditional gender differences in terms of main responsibility for household duties, child care etc. In keeping with this, women reported higher levels of work overload, stress and conflict than men, which increased significantly with the number of children at home. The various stress indices reached a peak between the ages of 35 and 39. Men reported more autonomy in their paid work whereas women reported more control at home. Men and women at the upper managerial levels reported more control over their total work situation and less conflict between demands.

Marianne Frankenhaeuser

Papers

Stress and workload of men and women in high-ranking positions

Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white‐collar workers

Pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic-adrenal correlates of distress and effort

Underload and Overload in Working Life: Outline of a Multidisciplinary Approach

The total workload of male and female white collar workers as related to age, occupational level, and number of children