Adapting the Job Demand/Control Model to a Team Level

A better understanding of sources of stress within a teamwork context might be gained by applying the Job Demands/Control Model of stress (Karasek and Theorell, 1990) to teams as the unit of analysis rather than only to individuals as it is conventionally done. Team performance is frequently treated as a shared team-level outcome; it seems reasonable to assume that shared team characteristics are likely to have effects on stress as well. In particular, teams are unique in their requirement for coordination between team members. Therefore, the present study proposes an adapted Team Job Demands/Control Model of team-level stress phenomena in which team coordination represents a team-level form of control. The current study provides empirical support for the above team-level JDC approach. 40 two-person teams were studied in a laboratory setting using a computer-based team dynamic decision making tasking, including delay in voice transmission between teammates. Team-level task characteristic scales were created using the mean of team members’ survey responses. Team demand, coordination and their interaction were hypothesized to predict stress (H1) and team performance (H2). Delay was predicted to influence demand and control (H3). Team performance was expected to influence stress (H4). Hypotheses were supported. The current study provides initial support for the extension of the JDC model from individual job characteristics to team characteristics. Furthermore, there was evidence that quality of team coordination can be considered a key design characteristic for teams