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Social support and occupational stress: a causal analysis.
F H Marcelissen1, J A Winnubst, B Buunk
1TNO Institute of Preventive Health Care, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|January 1, 1988
Summary
Social support from coworkers and supervisors can reduce job stress, particularly for lower occupational levels. This study confirms a causal link, showing support alleviates role ambiguity and overload.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- Job stress research lacks clarity on social support's role.
- Empirical evidence for social support alleviating job stress is limited.
- Cross-sectional designs hinder causal interpretations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the causal role of social support in reducing job stress.
- Examine social support from coworkers and supervisors.
- Clarify the relationship between social support, stressors, and strains.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal panel design with LISREL analysis.
- Survey data from 2034 employees across 21 Dutch companies.
- Follow-up measurements to assess changes over time.
Main Results:
- Employees at highest and lowest occupational levels perceived less social support.
- Coworker support was reported more frequently than supervisor support.
- Social support causally reduced stressors (role ambiguity, overload, conflict, future uncertainty) for lower occupational levels.
Conclusions:
- Social support, especially from coworkers, plays a significant role in mitigating job stress.
- The impact of social support on stressors is more pronounced in lower occupational groups.
- Longitudinal data confirms a causal relationship between social support and reduced job stress.