Work Role Stressors and Health Outcomes
Work role stressors such as role overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity can negatively impact employee health and well-being. Understanding the organization of work roles, occupations, and their influence on employee health is crucial in creating a supportive work environment.
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Workload and Work Role Conditions Michael Ford November 10, 2022
What are Work Role Stressors? What employees are expected to do and the conditions under which they are expected to do it Chronic, not acute Characteristics of the worker s job description Workload Autonomy, flexibility Work tasks Time Pressure Social support Role Stressors Role overload Too much to do Role ambiguity Not knowing what to do Role conflict Having work tasks that conflict with each other
Examples Role overload A barista has too many customers to serve and no chance to rest Role conflict A barista has to clean the floors and also serve customers and is not sure which should take priority Role ambiguity A barista is new the job and is not sure what to do Autonomy, control A barista has no say in their work schedule Social support There is no one to help with tasks when they get difficult
Organization of Work Roles Positions Tasks performed by a particular individual in a particular organization Examples: Mr. Smith s history teacher position at Hoover High; Joe Davis package handler position at UPS in Birmingham Specific to a particular individual Jobs Collections of positions that are similar to one another, share the same job title Specific to an organization, transcends the individual Examples: 10thgrade history teacher at Hoover High; package handler at UPS in Birmingham Occupations collections of work roles with similar goals that require the performance of distinctive activities and the applications of specialized skills or knowledge to accomplish these goals Transcend organizations and individuals Examples: History teacher, package handler
Occupations, Work Roles, and Health Understanding work role conditions and employee health Health and other individual outcomes Occupation Job Position Manager behavior, employee job crafting, employee subjectivity Organizational structure, culture Occupational conventions
Role Stress Theory (Kahn et al., 1964) Work role demands are the expectations placed on workers Identified role overload, conflict, and ambiguity as major stressors Also identified interrole conflict When work and nonwork (e.g,. Family) roles conflict with each other Role senders People who create your work role demands Supervisors, customers, coworkers place demands on employees
Job Demands-Resources Model (Demerouti et al., 2001) Job Demands Job Resources Workload Social support Work hours Control, autonomy Time pressure Opportunities to learn Physical demands Clear direction and instructions Social Demands Fairness Mental Demands Help in accomplishing work tasks and reducing demands Require effort Leads to distress, burnout, fatigue Lead to energy, engagement, enthusiasm, positive well-being
Social Exchange Theory Focuses on the quality of the employee-organization relationship High-quality social exchange occurs when The employee believes the organization cares about their well-being The employee in turn is committed to the organization Good work role conditions facilitate a better relationship between workers and the organization Employees show better well-being when in a quality exchange relationship
Potential Ways to Address Role Stressors Job redesign Change workload Give more control Rest breaks Reduce work hours Training Train supervisors on supportive practices Participative workshops Ask for employee input to give employees some control over decisions that affect them Discuss work roles with coworkers Goal-setting and feedback Supervisors set goals to increase employee role clarity Employees get formal feedback on progress toward their goals
Case Study (Schaubroeck et al., 1993) Setting: Business services division of a major university 52 participants 57% men, average age of 41 Initiated by a university committee Involved employees and managers Goal of the intervention Reduce role stress Increase role clarity
Case Study (Schaubroeck et al., 1993) Intervention content Distributed stress management questionnaire Results showed that role conflict, role ambiguity, and a lack of control were major stressors 3 months later, employees attended a 3-hour stress management workshop Focused on relaxation, personal action planning, biofeedback, rational reflection Not a primary organizational intervention in itself; more of a secondary intervention approach 5 months later, a top management group met for a 2-day retreat Charted employee responsibilities 6 months later, role clarification sessions were held for 2-5 hours Employees met and charted their responsibilities Individual work role responsibilities were clarified The whole intervention took 1.5 years
Case Study (Schaubroeck et al., 1993) Method Pre-post with a control group 27 workers in treatment group 25 workers in control group 11 participants were lost in the study Measured before and after the intervention Role ambiguity Role conflict Physical symptoms Supervisor dissatisfaction Psychological ill-health absenteeism
Case Study (Schaubroeck et al., 1993) Results Significant effects on role ambiguity and supervisor dissatisfaction Effects on the following were not statistically significant Role conflict, physical symptoms, psychological ill-health, absenteeism Conclusions Mixed A participative intervention may reduce role ambiguity No evidence for an effect on health or well-being Small sample was an issue (as was the case for many interventions we reviewed)
Other Findings from Work Role Intervention Studies Common theoretical approaches Work role stress Job demands-resources model Social exchange Goal-setting theory Common settings Healthcare (hospitals, home care units, health centers) Other settings University, postal service, retail
Other Findings from Work Role Intervention Studies Intervention content delivery Participative approaches were common Workshops, group exercises, quality circles, focus groups Focused on clarifying expectations and sharing knowledge Creation of new work roles One company created a new position to perform positions previously performed by the supervisor Setting goals One intervention involved employees setting goals and receiving feedback
Other Findings from Work Role Intervention Studies Results Studies looked at effects on Role stressors, physical and mental health, job attitudes (e.g., commitment, job satisfaction, turnover) Mixture of significant and nonsignificant results for the effects of interventions Many studies were underpowered Majority had samples of less than 100 This probably contributed to inconsistent results More research is needed on how to improve work role conditions
Workload Workload was examined as its own category of stressor in our review It also qualifies as a role stressor Workload can be Mental, cognitive Solving problems, running calculations, making decisions, reading, writing Social Persuading others, selling, managing conflict, communicating Physical Lifting, moving objects, stretching one s body, bending, running Objective workload Quantitatively measurable Examples: hours worked, number of clients managed, number of products made Subjective workload Employees perception and appraisal of their workload A better indicator of how stressful the workload is
What is your workload level? Quantitative Workload Inventory (Spector et al., 1998) How often does your job require you to work very fast? How often does your job require you to work very hard? How often does your job leave you with little time to get things done? How often is there a great deal to be done? How often do you have to do more work than you can do well? Use the following scale in answering these questions: Less than once per month or never once or twice per month once or twice per week once or twice per day several times per day
Common Theoretical Approaches to Workload Work Role Stress Job demands-resources model Effort-recovery model Workload depletes workers energy Workers need time to recover their energy after experiencing heavy workload If workers do not have time to recover, energy deficits accumulate Most workload interventions focus on more than workload Also target other role stressors
Workload Case Study (Linzer et al., 2006) Setting 34 primary care clinics across 3 sites in the U.S. 166 primary care physicians (47-49% men, average age of 46-48) Burnout had been identified as a major issue Management was involved in the intervention planning Goals Motivate changes in the workplace Decrease physician stress Improve patient care
Workload Case Study (Linzer et al., 2006) Intervention content Clinicians first provided feedback on their working conditions and stress Research staff facilitated a conversation among clinicians about what interventions might be effective Intervention approaches varied across the clinics based on their individual needs Possible interventions identified through conversations Improving communication Changing work flow to reduce workload and increase efficiency Quality improvement
Workload Case Study (Linzer et al., 2006) Intervention content (continued) Specific ideas developed Standing monthly provider meetings Off-loading non-essential tasks Removing bottlenecks to effective care Reducing time pressure by increasing visit time A new prescription line to free RN staff Shifting paperwork to clerks away from physicians
Workload Case Study (Linzer et al., 2006) Method Pre-test-posttest design with a control group 83 participants in the intervention group and 83 in the control group Results The intervention group showed Increased satisfaction Reduced burnout No overall effects on stress or turnover intent were found Stronger effects on burnout for workflow and quality improvement interventions Stronger effects on satisfaction of interventions that focused on communication and workflow
Other Conclusions from Studies on Workload Few studies were found that focused specifically on workload Most studies focused on workload alongside other issues such as time pressure, feedback, and clarity Healthcare settings are popular for workload and work role interventions Another intervention study conducted on home care nurses in Norway Difficult to draw strong conclusions from this research because of the small number of studies and mixed findings across outcomes
General Issues in Work Role Intervention Research Practical constraints Practical constraints likely drive the sample sizes, which are often too small to draw strong conclusions from Hard to tell the long-term effects and full impact of interventions Some benefits of improved working conditions may be delayed (e.g., employer branding, recruiting, retention, performance, health) Employee involvement Successful interventions seem to incorporate employee input into what should be changed Often starting with workshops or focus groups Interventions are then tailored to the needs identified Sometimes these even differ across groups Work role conditions can be different for each person Depends on how supervisors and individuals craft their roles This may make the impact of organizational interventions more challenging
Thank you! Feel free to email me at: mtford@cba.ua.edu Department of Management Culverhouse College of Business The University of Alabama 101 Alston Hall Box 870225 205-348-8928 www.culverhouse.ua.edu
