Occupational stress among managers

Stres predstavlja problem suvremenoga društva i njegove su posljedice vidljive, kako na individualnoj, tako i na organizacijskoj razini. Unatoč velikom broju istraživanja stresa na poslu u Republici Hrvatskoj, nedostaje istraživanja o stresu kod rukovoditelja koji je specifičan s obzirom na zahtjevnost i odgovornost na poslovima koje obavljaju. Stoga se ovim diplomskim radom nastojalo dobiti uvid u neke karakteristike vezane za stres kod osoba na rukovodećim pozicijama, pri čemu je povezanost nekih karakteristika slabo istražena i na ne-hrvatskim uzorcima rukovoditeljas i ispitati razlike u Karasekovim karakteristikama posla, lokusu kontrole, radnoj angažiranosti, otpornosti na stres te zadovoljstvu poslom s obzirom na spol i stupanj rukovodeće pozicije. Dodatno je ispitan doprinos lokusa kontrole, Karasekovih karakteristika posla i otpornosti na stres u objašnjenju zadovoljstva poslom i radne angažiranosti. U istraživanju su sudjelovala 163 rukovoditelja, od čega 84 muškarca i 79 žena u dobi od 23 do 68 godina. Ispitanici su popunjavali redom: Upitnik općih podataka o ispitaniku, Karasekov upitnik karakteristika posla, Spectorovu skalu radnog lokusa kontrole, Kratku skalu otpornosti, Utrechtsku skalu radne angažiranosti te Skalu zadovoljstva poslom. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno da ne postoji značajna razlika ni u jednoj od ispitivanih varijabli s obzirom na spol. Rezultati su pokazali da rukovoditelji više razine imaju veću kontrolu i predaniji su poslu od rukovoditelja niže i srednje razine s obzirom na stupanj rukovodeće pozicije, dok rukovoditelji više razine imaju veći internalni lokus kontrole od rukovoditelja niže razine. Rukovoditelji niže razine imaju viši stupanj eksternalnog lokusa kontrole od rukovoditelja srednje razine. Razlika u socijalnoj podršci, psihološkim zahtjevima, otpornosti na stres, energičnosti i zanesenosti s obzirom na stupanj rukovodeće pozicije nije pronađena. Osim toga, rezultati pokazuju da veća socijalna podrška i kontrola posla te veća otpornost na stres, a manji psihološki zahtjevi pridonose zadovoljstvu poslom. Dodatno, uz kontrolu navedenih prediktorskih varijabli, i spol se pokazao značajnim prediktorom zadovoljstva poslom, pri čemu su žene u prosjeku zadovoljnije u odnosu na muškarce. S obzirom objašnjenja radne angažiranosti rezultati su pokazali ponešto različite prediktore. Tako objašnjenju energičnosti značajno pridonose radni staž, internalni lokus kontrole, socijalna podrška i otpornost na stres. Slično tome, više godina radnoga staža, veći internalni lokus kontrole, veća razina otpornosti na stres, ali i veća kontrola posla pridonose objašnjenju predanosti. Konačno, zanesenosti pridonosi više godina radnoga staža i viša razina otpornosti na stres.Stress is the problem of modern society and its effects are notable both on individual and organizational level. In comparison with a huge number of researches about work related stress in the Republic of Croatia, there is less research about stress at managers, which is specific because of requirements and responsibilities referring to the role that they have. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to collect data about some characteristics of stress in people in manager positions, since the relationship between some characteristics are poorly investigated also in sample of non-Croatian managers. Specifically, one of the goals of this research was to investigate the differences in Karask control-demand-support dimensions, locus of control, job engagement, stress resilience and job satisfaction according to gender and work position. Another goal of the research was to investigate the contribution of locus of control, Karask control-demand-support dimensions and stress resilience in explanation of job satisfaction and job engagement. The study included 163 managers, 84 males and 79 females aged between 23 and 68, who completed the following questionnaires: Personal Information Questionnaire, Job Content Questionnaire, version 1.11, Spector work locus of control, Brief Resilience Scale, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Job Satisfaction Scale. The results showed that gender differences in all examined variables are not significant. Regarding the managerial position, results shown that top managers have higher control and are more dedicated than middle and low managers. While top managers have higher level of internal locus of control than low managers, low managers have higher level of external locus of control than middle managers. No significant differences were found between different levels of managerial position regarding social support, psychological demands, stress resilience, vigor and absorption. Besides, results showed that higher level of social support, higher level of control, lower level of psychological demand, and better stress resilience are significant predictors of job satisfaction. Additionally, by controlling predictor variables, gender is also considered as an important indicator of job satisfaction, whereby women are more satisfied than men. Furthermore, in explanation of work engagement, results showed some different predictors. In explanation of vigor, important predictors are work experience, internal locus of control, social support and stress resilience. Similarly, more work experience, higher internal locus of control, higher level of control and better stress resilience are significant predictors of work dedication. To conclude, more work experience and better stress resilience are significant predictors of job absorption