Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T21:56:40.942Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Work-related stress impacts on the commitment of urban transit drivers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Jia-Yi Hung ,
Ron Fisher ,
Rod Gapp  and
Geoff Carter
Jia-Yi Hung
Affiliation:
Department of Health Administration, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan
Ron Fisher
Affiliation:
School of Business, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Rod Gapp
Affiliation:
School of Business, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Geoff Carter
Affiliation:
School of Business, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study uses structural equation modeling to test a model hypothesizing the impacts of overload and non-participation on job strain, turnover and commitment of urban transit drivers. The study sample comprises 331 responses from transit drivers from bus companies in Australia. The results show that non-participation has a direct and negative impact on organizational commitment while role overload has a direct and positive influence on intent to leave. An unexpected finding is that while overload and non-participation have significant positive impacts on job strain, there is no significant relationship between strain and organizational commitment. The implications are that work-related stressors appear to influence the organizational commitment and intent to leave of transit drivers directly rather than indirectly through job strain. Role overload and non-participation have not often been considered in the context of the commitment and intent to leave in stressful occupations such as urban transit driving.

Keywords

job stressrole stressstressorsjob straincommitmentoverloadnon-participation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , March 2012 , pp. 220 - 230
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdel-Halim, A. (1981). Effects of role stress, job design, technology, interaction on employee work satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 24(2), 260–273.Google Scholar
Addae, H., Parboteeah, K., & Velinor, N. (2008). Role stressors and organizational commitment: public sector employment in St Lucia. International Journal of Manpower, 29(6), 567–582.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423.Google Scholar
Angle, H., & Perry, J. (1981). An empirical assessment of organizational commitment and organizational effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 1–14.Google Scholar
Barnard, C. (1938). The functions of the executive. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Bech, P., Andersen, M., Bech-Andersen, G., Tonnesen, S., Agnarsdottir, E., & Borg, V. (2005). Work-related stressors, depression and quality of life in Danish managers. European Psychiatry, 20, 318–325.Google Scholar
Beehr, T., Walsh, J., & Taber, T. (1976). Relationship to stress ro individually and organizationally valued states: Higher order needs as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61(1), 41–47.Google Scholar
Bollen, K. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Broadbridge, A. (2002). Retail managers: Their work stressors and coping strategies. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9, 173–183.Google Scholar
Cappelli, P. (1999). The new deal at work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Carrere, S., Evans, G., Palsane, M., & Rivas, M. (1991). Job strain and occupational stress among urban public transit operators. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 64(4), 305–317.Google Scholar
Chang, S.-I. (2008). Work role stressors and turnover intentions: A study of IT personnel in South Korea. Zeitschrift fur Personalforschung, 22(3), 272–290.Google Scholar
Chen, M., & Cunradi, C. (2008). Job stress, burnout and substance use among urban transit drivers: The potential mediating role of coping behaviour. Work and Stress, 22(4), 327–340.Google Scholar
Cheng, E. (2001). SEM being more effective than multiple regression in parsimonious model testing for management development research. Journal of Management Development, 20(7), 650–667.Google Scholar
Cooper, C. (1983). Identifying stressors at work: Recent research developments. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 27(5), 369–376.Google Scholar
Cronbach, L. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297–334.Google Scholar
Dale, K., & Fox, M. L. (2008). Leadership style and organizational commitment: Mediating effect of role stress. Journal of Managerial Issues, 20(1), 109–130.Google Scholar
DeCotiis, T. A., & Summers, T. P. (1987). A path analysis of a model of the antecedents and consequences of organizational commitment. Human Relations, 40(7), 445–470.Google Scholar
de Ruyter, K., Wetzels, M., & Feinberg, R. (2001). Role stress in call centers: Its effects on employee performance and satisfaction. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 15(2), 23–35.Google Scholar
Dubinsky, A., Michaels, R., Kotabe, M., Lim, C., & Moon, H. (1992). Influence of role stress on industrial salespeople's work outcomes in the United States, Japan and Korea. Journal of International Business Studies, 23(1), 77–100.Google Scholar
Etzioni, A. (1961). A basis for comparative analysis of complex organizations. In Etzioni, A. (Ed.), A sociological reader on complex organizations. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Evans, G. (1994). Working on the hot seat: Urban bus operators. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26(2), 181–193.Google Scholar
Evans, G., Johansson, G., & Rydstedt, L. (1999). Hassles on the job: A study of job intervention with urban bus drivers. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 199–208.Google Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.Google Scholar
Gardell, B. (1987). Efficiency and health hazards in mechanized work. In Dalton, J. & Quick, J. (Eds.), Work stress. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Glazer, S., & Beehr, T. (2005). Consistency of implications of three role stressors across four countries. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 467–487.Google Scholar
Goedhard, R., & Goedhard, W. (2005). Work ability and perceived work stress. International Congress Series, 1280, 79–83.Google Scholar
Graham, J., Ramirez, A., Field, S., & Richards, M. (2000). Job stress and satisfaction among clinical radiologists. Clinical Radiology, 55, 182–185.Google Scholar
Greiner, B., Krause, N., Ragland, D., & Fisher, J. (2004). Occupational stressors and hypertension: A multi-method study using observer-based job analysis and self-reports in urban transit operators. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1081–1094.Google Scholar
Greiner, B., Ragland, D., Krause, N., Syme, S., & Fisher, J. (1997). Objective measurement of occupational stress factors: An example with San Francisco urban transit operators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2(4), 325–342.Google Scholar
Guest, D. (1998). Beyond HRM: Commitment and the contract culture. In Sparrow, P. & Marchington, M. (Eds.), Human resource management: The new agenda. London: Pitman Publishing.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F. Jr., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Harris, E., Artis, A., Walters, J., & Licata, J. (2006). Role stressors, service worker job resourcefulness, and job outcomes: An empirical analysis. Journal of Business Research, 59, 407–415.Google Scholar
Indik, B., Seashore, S., & Slesinger, J. (1964). Demographic correlates of psychological strain. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 26–38.Google Scholar
Jones, E., Chonko, L., Rangarajan, D., & Roberts, J. (2007). The role of overload on job attitudes, turnover intentions, and salesperson performance. Journal of Business Research, 60, 663–671.Google Scholar
Kahn, R., Wolfe, D., Quinn, R., Snoek, J., & Rosenthal, R. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Karasek, R. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.Google Scholar
Kelloway, E., & Barling, J. (1991). Job characteristics, role stress and mental health. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 64, 291–304.Google Scholar
Knudsen, H., Ducharme, L., & Roman, P. (2007). Job stress and poor sleep quality: Data from an American sample of full-time workers. Social Science and Medicine, 64, 1997–2007.Google Scholar
Lambert, E., & Hogan, N. (2008). The importance of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in shaping turnover intent: A test of a causal model. Criminal Justice Review, 34(1), 96–118.Google Scholar
March, J., & Simon, H. (1958). Organizations. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
McGrath, J. (1976). Stress and behavior in organizations. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Meyer, J., Becker, T., & Henkin, A. (2004). Employee commitment and motivation: A conceptual analysis and integrative model. Journal of Small Business Management, 35, 39–67.Google Scholar
Mulki, J. P., Jaramillo, J. F., & Locander, W. B. (2008). Effect of ethical climate on turnover intention: Linking attitudinal- and stress theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 78, 559–574.Google Scholar
Penley, L., & Gould, S. (1988). Etzioni's model of organizational involvement: A perspective for understanding commitment to organizations. Journal of Organizational Behevior, 9, 43–59.Google Scholar
Pettegrew, L., Thomas, R., Costello, D., Wolf, G., Lennoz, L., & Thomas, S. (1980). Job related stress in a medical center organization: Management of communication issues. In Nimmo, D. (Ed.), Communication yearbook. New York: Transaction Books.Google Scholar
Qiang, T., Ragunathan, B., & Ragunathan, T. (2001). A path analytic study of the antecedents of organizational commitment of IS managers. Information Resources Management Journal, 14(3), 27–36.Google Scholar
Richardson, H. A., Yang, J., Vandenberg, R. J., DeJoy, D. M., & Wilson, M. G. (2008). Perceived organizational support's role in stressor-strain relationships. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(7), 789–810.Google Scholar
Rydstedt, L., Johansson, G., & Evans, G. (1998). A longitudinal study of workload, health and well-being among male and female urban bus drivers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 71, 35–45.Google Scholar
Schaubroeck, J., Cotton, J., & Jennings, K. (1989). Antecedents and consequences of role stress: A covari-ance structure analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 35–58.Google Scholar
Seyle, H. (1974). Stress without distress. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.Google Scholar
Spector, P. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend? Organizational Research Methods, 9, 221–232.Google Scholar
Spector, P., Chen, P., & O'Connell, B. (2000). A longitudinal study of relations between job stressors and job strains while controlling for prior negative affectivity and strains. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(2), 211–218.Google Scholar
Steers, R. M. (1977). Antecedents and consequences of organizational commitment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 46–56.Google Scholar
Warren, E., & Toh, C. (1997). The stress work book. London: Nicholas Brealey.Google Scholar
Weisberg, J. (1994). Measuring workers' burnout and intention to leave. International Journal of Manpower, 15(1), 4–15.Google Scholar
Yousef, D. (2002). Job satisfaction as a mediator of the relationship between role stressors and organizational commitment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(4), 250–266.Google Scholar