Social support and the stress process in organisations

Master of EducationA general process of stress in organisations is proposed. The process comprises four stages which describe the path from environmental events to outcomes such as dissatisfaction and absenteeism. The general process contrasts external with internal events as well as stressors with strains and is used to integrate diverse and contradictory concepts of stress. It is argued that generality enables comparison across organisational contexts and across levels of analysis. A review of the social support literature identified four major types of support proposed to operate in organisations and which influence the operation of the stress process in complex ways. A questionnaire was developed to explore the stress process as well as support from co-workers, immediate supervisors and senior managers. Employees from three occupations - nurses, teachers and public administrators - responded to the questionnaire and the results were explored through a combination of exploratory and confirmatory procedures. Analysis of the stress process established substantial similarities across occupations. Central to the interpretation of results was the distinction between qualitative and quantitative stressors. Qualitative stressors were related to a dimension of engagement in the work environment while quantitative stressors were associated with overload. Two consistent dimensions of support were established across occupations: emotional and feedback support. Although the stress process and the two types of support were substantially consistent in the three occupations, there were marked differences in the way support was incorporated into the stress process for each occupation. Implications for the general model and the incorporation of social support are discussed for each occupation. The general process provides a means for integrating diverse perspectives of stress and social support. The establishment of organisational similarities provides a basis for the elaboration of contextual differences