Rethinking job characteristics in work stress research

In work stress research, consistent relationships between job characteristics and strain have not been established across methods for assessing job characteristics. By examining the methods used to assess job characteristics in work stress research, I argue that this is because different methods are assessing interrelated, yet distinct, facets of job characteristics: latent, perceived and enacted facets. The article discusses the implications for work stress research of differentiating these facets of job characteristics