Dual-Response Approach to Work Stress: An Investigation of Stressors and Wellbeing Outcomes
This study sought to uncover the complex role of
stress in the workplace by investigating both positive (eustress) and
negative (distress) stress responses. In particular, the study tested a
mediation model in which organisational stressors (person-job fit and
role overload) influence employee affective wellbeing, both directly
and indirectly through stress responses. Participants were recruited
from retail and finance organisations in Australia and New Zealand,
and asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire. A total of
140 individuals returned completed questionnaires. The results show
that person-job fit influenced eustress, which in turn had a positive
effect on employee affective wellbeing; and role overload impacted
distress, which in turn held a negative influence on affective
wellbeing. These findings indicate that different organisational
stressors have unique relationships with eustress and distress
responses. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.
[1] B. Cryer, R. McCraty, and D. Childre, "Pull the plug on stress", Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 81 No. 7, pp. 102-118, 2003.
[2] K.E. Kelloway, A. and Day, "Building healthy workplaces: Where we
need to be", Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Vol. 37 No. 4,
pp. 309-298, 2005.
[3] W. Macdonald, "The impact of job demands and workload on stress and
fatigue", Australian Psychologist, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 102-117., 2003.
[4] The American Institute of Stress (2000). Job stress.
http://www.stress.org/job.htm?AIS=ff1a2b81a554f34296d9ad426416c5
e3
[5] Medibank Private Limited (2008). The cost of workplace stress in
Australia. Medibank Private Limited Report.
http://www.medibank.com.au/Client/Documents/Pdfs/The-Cost-of-
Workplace-Stress.pdf
[6] D. Gardner and O-Driscoll (2007). "Professional wellbeing", in Evans, I.
M. Rucklidge, J. J., and O- Driscoll, M. (Eds), Professional Practice of
Psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 245-258).Wellington, New
Zealand: The New Zealand Psychological Society Inc.
[7] D.L. Nelson and B.L. Simmons (2003). "Health psychology and work
stress: A more positive approach", in Quick, J.C. & Tetrick, L.E.
Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
[8] H. Selye, "Confusion and controversy in the stress field", Journal of
Human Stress, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 37-44, 1975.
[9] C. Gibbons, M. Dempster, and M. Moutray, "Stress and eustress in
nursing students", Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 61 No. 3, pp. 282-
290, 2008.
[10] M. LeFevre, G.S. Kolt, and J. Matheny, "Eustress, distress and their
interpretation in primary and secondary occupational stress management
interventions: which way first?" Journal of Managerial Psychology,
Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 547-565, 2006.
[11] M.E.P. Seligman and M. Csikszentmihalyi, "Positive Psychology",
American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 5-14., 2000.
[12] F. Luthans, "The need for and meaning of positive organizational
behaviour", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 23 No. 6, pp.
695-706, 2002a.
[13] F. Luthans, "Positive organizational behavior: developing and managing
psychological strength", Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 16,
pp. 57-72, 2002b.
[14] N. Biswas, "Creating eustress in the organization: The managerial role",
Mangalmay Journal of Management and Technology, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp.
84-94, 2009.
[15] E. MacKenna (2000). Business Psychology and organisational
behaviour, 3rd ed. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
[16] T.W. Colligan and E.M. Higgins, "Workplace stress: Etiology and
consequences", Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, Vol. 21 No. 2,
pp. 89-98, 2005.
[17] R.S. Lazarus (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
[18] R.S. Lazarus (1999). Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. New York:
Springer Publishing.
[19] R.S. Lazarus and S. Folkman (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New
York: Springer.
[20] H, Selye (1987). Stress without distress. London: Transworld.
[21] M. Macik-Frey, J.C. Quick, and D.L. Nelson, "Advances in occupational
health: From a stressful beginning to a positive future", Journal of
Management, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 809-840, 2007.
[22] C.A. Swody (2006). Work-family enrichment: The role of work eustress
in spillover of positive psychological states. Dissertations Collection for
University of Connecticut. Paper AAI3236151.
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/AAI3236151.
[23] T. Clausen and V. Borg, "Psychosocial work characteristics as
predictors of affective organizational commitment: A longitudinal multilevel
analysis of occupational well-being", Applied Psychology: Health
and Well-being, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 182-203, 2010.
[24] A.L. Kristof-Brown, R. Zimmerman, and E.C. Johnson, "Consequences
of individual-s fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, personorganization,
person- group, and person- supervisor fit", Personnel
Psychology, Vol. 58, pp. 281-342, 2005.
[25] J. R. P French, W. Rodgers, and S. Cobb (1974). "Adjustment as personenvironment
fit", in Coelho, G. V. Hamburg D. A. and Adams J. E.
(Eds.), Coping and adaptation. New York: Basic Books.
[26] L.L. Meier, N.K. Semmer, A. Elfering, and N. Jacobshagen, "The
double meaning of control: Three-way interactions between internal
resources, job control, and stressors at work", Journal of Occupational
Health Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 244-258, 2008.
[27] R. Caplan, S. Cobb, J.R.P. French, R.Van Harrison, and S. Peinneau
(1975). Job demands and worker health, Cincinnati: NIOSH Research
Report.
[28] C. Maslach, "Job burnout: New directions in research and intervention",
Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 12, pp. 189-192,
2003.
[29] J.R. Edwards and C.L. Cooper, "The impacts of positive psychological
states on physical health: A review and theoretical framework", Social
Science and Medicine, Vol. 27, pp. 1447-59, 1988.
[30] R.V. Harrison (1978). "Person-environment fit and job stress", in
Cooper, C.L. and Payne, R. (Eds), Stress at Work, Wiley, New York,
NY, pp. 175-205.
[31] M. LeFevre, G.S. Kolt, and J. Matheny, "Eustress, distress, and
interpretation in occupational stress", Journal of Managerial
Psychology, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 726-744, 2003.
[32] R.L. Kahn, D.M. Wolfe, R.P. Quinn, and J.D. Snoek (1964).
Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and role ambiguity. New
York: Wiley.
[33] S.P. Brown, E. Jones, and T.W. Leigh, "The attenuating effect of role
overload on relationships linking self-efficacy and goal level to work
performance", Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 90 No. 5, pp. 972-
979, 2005.
[34] D. Örtqvist and J. Wincent, J. "Prominent consequences of role stress: A
meta-analytic review", International Journal of Stress Management,
Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 399-422, 2008.
[35] V. Blewett, N. Caulfeild, M.F. Dollard, A.D. LaMontagne, and A. Shaw,
"Job stress in the Australian and international health and community
services sector: A review of the literature", International Journal of
Stress Management, Vol.14 No.4, pp.417-445, 2007.
[36] T.I. Gelsema, M. Van Der Doef, S. Maes, S. Akerboom, and C.
Verhoeven,"Job stress in the nursing profession: The influence of
organizational and environmental conditions and job characteristics",
International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 12 No. 3, 2005.
[37] C.R. Anderson, "Locus of control, coping behaviors, and performance in
a stress setting: A longitudinal study", Journal of Applied Psychology,
Vol. 62 No.4, pp.446-451, 1977.
[38] S. Rothmann, "Job satisfaction, occupational stress, burnout and work
engagement as components of work-related wellbeing", SA Journal of
Industrial Psychology, Vol. 34 No. 3., 2008
[39] P. Warr, "The measurement of well-being and other aspects of mental
health", Journal of Occupational Psychology, Vol. 63, pp. 193-210,
1990.
[40] P.T. Van Katwyk, P.E. Spector, S. Fox, and E.K. Kelloway, "Using the
Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale (JAWS) to investigate affective
responses to work stressors", Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 219-230, 2000.
[41] D. Cable and T. Judge, "Person-organization fit, job choice decisions,
and organizational entry", Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, Vol. 67, 1996.
[42] J.S. House (1980). Occupational stress and the mental and physical
health of factory workers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute
for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
[43] V. De Keyser and I. Hansez, Vers une perspective transactionelle du
stress au travail: Pistes d-évaluations méthodologiques. Cabiers de
Médecine du Travail, Vol. 33 No. 3, 133-144, 1996.
[44] A.F. Hayes and K.J. Preacher (2011). Indirect and direct effects of a
multicategorical causal agent in statistical mediation analysis.
Manuscript submitted for publication, Ohio State University, Columbus,
U.S.A.
[45] P.E. Spector, "Method variance in organizational research: Truth or
urban legend?" Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp.
221-232, 2006.
[46] D. Birkelbach, B. Dawson, B.J. Hoffman, and C.E. Lance, "Method
effects, measurement error, and substantive conclusions",
Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 435-455, 2010.
[47] P.L. Perrewé and K.L. Zellars, "An examination of attributions and
emotions in the transactional approach to the organizational stress
process", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 739-
752, 1999.
[48] M. O'Driscoll and C.L. Cooper (2002). "Job-related stress and burnout",
in P. Warr (Ed.), Psychology at work (5th ed., pp. 203-228). London,
UK: Penguin.
[1] B. Cryer, R. McCraty, and D. Childre, "Pull the plug on stress", Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 81 No. 7, pp. 102-118, 2003.
[2] K.E. Kelloway, A. and Day, "Building healthy workplaces: Where we
need to be", Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, Vol. 37 No. 4,
pp. 309-298, 2005.
[3] W. Macdonald, "The impact of job demands and workload on stress and
fatigue", Australian Psychologist, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 102-117., 2003.
[4] The American Institute of Stress (2000). Job stress.
http://www.stress.org/job.htm?AIS=ff1a2b81a554f34296d9ad426416c5
e3
[5] Medibank Private Limited (2008). The cost of workplace stress in
Australia. Medibank Private Limited Report.
http://www.medibank.com.au/Client/Documents/Pdfs/The-Cost-of-
Workplace-Stress.pdf
[6] D. Gardner and O-Driscoll (2007). "Professional wellbeing", in Evans, I.
M. Rucklidge, J. J., and O- Driscoll, M. (Eds), Professional Practice of
Psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 245-258).Wellington, New
Zealand: The New Zealand Psychological Society Inc.
[7] D.L. Nelson and B.L. Simmons (2003). "Health psychology and work
stress: A more positive approach", in Quick, J.C. & Tetrick, L.E.
Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
[8] H. Selye, "Confusion and controversy in the stress field", Journal of
Human Stress, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 37-44, 1975.
[9] C. Gibbons, M. Dempster, and M. Moutray, "Stress and eustress in
nursing students", Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 61 No. 3, pp. 282-
290, 2008.
[10] M. LeFevre, G.S. Kolt, and J. Matheny, "Eustress, distress and their
interpretation in primary and secondary occupational stress management
interventions: which way first?" Journal of Managerial Psychology,
Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 547-565, 2006.
[11] M.E.P. Seligman and M. Csikszentmihalyi, "Positive Psychology",
American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 5-14., 2000.
[12] F. Luthans, "The need for and meaning of positive organizational
behaviour", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 23 No. 6, pp.
695-706, 2002a.
[13] F. Luthans, "Positive organizational behavior: developing and managing
psychological strength", Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 16,
pp. 57-72, 2002b.
[14] N. Biswas, "Creating eustress in the organization: The managerial role",
Mangalmay Journal of Management and Technology, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp.
84-94, 2009.
[15] E. MacKenna (2000). Business Psychology and organisational
behaviour, 3rd ed. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
[16] T.W. Colligan and E.M. Higgins, "Workplace stress: Etiology and
consequences", Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, Vol. 21 No. 2,
pp. 89-98, 2005.
[17] R.S. Lazarus (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
[18] R.S. Lazarus (1999). Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. New York:
Springer Publishing.
[19] R.S. Lazarus and S. Folkman (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New
York: Springer.
[20] H, Selye (1987). Stress without distress. London: Transworld.
[21] M. Macik-Frey, J.C. Quick, and D.L. Nelson, "Advances in occupational
health: From a stressful beginning to a positive future", Journal of
Management, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 809-840, 2007.
[22] C.A. Swody (2006). Work-family enrichment: The role of work eustress
in spillover of positive psychological states. Dissertations Collection for
University of Connecticut. Paper AAI3236151.
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/AAI3236151.
[23] T. Clausen and V. Borg, "Psychosocial work characteristics as
predictors of affective organizational commitment: A longitudinal multilevel
analysis of occupational well-being", Applied Psychology: Health
and Well-being, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 182-203, 2010.
[24] A.L. Kristof-Brown, R. Zimmerman, and E.C. Johnson, "Consequences
of individual-s fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, personorganization,
person- group, and person- supervisor fit", Personnel
Psychology, Vol. 58, pp. 281-342, 2005.
[25] J. R. P French, W. Rodgers, and S. Cobb (1974). "Adjustment as personenvironment
fit", in Coelho, G. V. Hamburg D. A. and Adams J. E.
(Eds.), Coping and adaptation. New York: Basic Books.
[26] L.L. Meier, N.K. Semmer, A. Elfering, and N. Jacobshagen, "The
double meaning of control: Three-way interactions between internal
resources, job control, and stressors at work", Journal of Occupational
Health Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 244-258, 2008.
[27] R. Caplan, S. Cobb, J.R.P. French, R.Van Harrison, and S. Peinneau
(1975). Job demands and worker health, Cincinnati: NIOSH Research
Report.
[28] C. Maslach, "Job burnout: New directions in research and intervention",
Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 12, pp. 189-192,
2003.
[29] J.R. Edwards and C.L. Cooper, "The impacts of positive psychological
states on physical health: A review and theoretical framework", Social
Science and Medicine, Vol. 27, pp. 1447-59, 1988.
[30] R.V. Harrison (1978). "Person-environment fit and job stress", in
Cooper, C.L. and Payne, R. (Eds), Stress at Work, Wiley, New York,
NY, pp. 175-205.
[31] M. LeFevre, G.S. Kolt, and J. Matheny, "Eustress, distress, and
interpretation in occupational stress", Journal of Managerial
Psychology, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 726-744, 2003.
[32] R.L. Kahn, D.M. Wolfe, R.P. Quinn, and J.D. Snoek (1964).
Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and role ambiguity. New
York: Wiley.
[33] S.P. Brown, E. Jones, and T.W. Leigh, "The attenuating effect of role
overload on relationships linking self-efficacy and goal level to work
performance", Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 90 No. 5, pp. 972-
979, 2005.
[34] D. Örtqvist and J. Wincent, J. "Prominent consequences of role stress: A
meta-analytic review", International Journal of Stress Management,
Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 399-422, 2008.
[35] V. Blewett, N. Caulfeild, M.F. Dollard, A.D. LaMontagne, and A. Shaw,
"Job stress in the Australian and international health and community
services sector: A review of the literature", International Journal of
Stress Management, Vol.14 No.4, pp.417-445, 2007.
[36] T.I. Gelsema, M. Van Der Doef, S. Maes, S. Akerboom, and C.
Verhoeven,"Job stress in the nursing profession: The influence of
organizational and environmental conditions and job characteristics",
International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 12 No. 3, 2005.
[37] C.R. Anderson, "Locus of control, coping behaviors, and performance in
a stress setting: A longitudinal study", Journal of Applied Psychology,
Vol. 62 No.4, pp.446-451, 1977.
[38] S. Rothmann, "Job satisfaction, occupational stress, burnout and work
engagement as components of work-related wellbeing", SA Journal of
Industrial Psychology, Vol. 34 No. 3., 2008
[39] P. Warr, "The measurement of well-being and other aspects of mental
health", Journal of Occupational Psychology, Vol. 63, pp. 193-210,
1990.
[40] P.T. Van Katwyk, P.E. Spector, S. Fox, and E.K. Kelloway, "Using the
Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale (JAWS) to investigate affective
responses to work stressors", Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 219-230, 2000.
[41] D. Cable and T. Judge, "Person-organization fit, job choice decisions,
and organizational entry", Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, Vol. 67, 1996.
[42] J.S. House (1980). Occupational stress and the mental and physical
health of factory workers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute
for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
[43] V. De Keyser and I. Hansez, Vers une perspective transactionelle du
stress au travail: Pistes d-évaluations méthodologiques. Cabiers de
Médecine du Travail, Vol. 33 No. 3, 133-144, 1996.
[44] A.F. Hayes and K.J. Preacher (2011). Indirect and direct effects of a
multicategorical causal agent in statistical mediation analysis.
Manuscript submitted for publication, Ohio State University, Columbus,
U.S.A.
[45] P.E. Spector, "Method variance in organizational research: Truth or
urban legend?" Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp.
221-232, 2006.
[46] D. Birkelbach, B. Dawson, B.J. Hoffman, and C.E. Lance, "Method
effects, measurement error, and substantive conclusions",
Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 435-455, 2010.
[47] P.L. Perrewé and K.L. Zellars, "An examination of attributions and
emotions in the transactional approach to the organizational stress
process", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 739-
752, 1999.
[48] M. O'Driscoll and C.L. Cooper (2002). "Job-related stress and burnout",
in P. Warr (Ed.), Psychology at work (5th ed., pp. 203-228). London,
UK: Penguin.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:64187", author = "J. R. C. Kuntz and Katharina Näswall and Frances Walls", title = "Dual-Response Approach to Work Stress: An Investigation of Stressors and Wellbeing Outcomes", abstract = "This study sought to uncover the complex role of
stress in the workplace by investigating both positive (eustress) and
negative (distress) stress responses. In particular, the study tested a
mediation model in which organisational stressors (person-job fit and
role overload) influence employee affective wellbeing, both directly
and indirectly through stress responses. Participants were recruited
from retail and finance organisations in Australia and New Zealand,
and asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire. A total of
140 individuals returned completed questionnaires. The results show
that person-job fit influenced eustress, which in turn had a positive
effect on employee affective wellbeing; and role overload impacted
distress, which in turn held a negative influence on affective
wellbeing. These findings indicate that different organisational
stressors have unique relationships with eustress and distress
responses. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.", keywords = "Distress, Eustress, Role Overload, Wellbeing.", volume = "7", number = "6", pages = "1854-7", }
