The role of emotional labour and role stress on burnout and psychological strain in high contact service employees

This study examines the relationships between job demands (in the form of role stressors and emotional management) and employee burnout amongst high contact service employees. Employees in customer facing roles are frequently required to manage overwhelming, conflicting or ambiguous demands, which they may feel ill-equipped to handle. Simultaneously, they must manage the emotions they display towards customers, suppressing some, and expressing others, be they genuine or contrived. If the in-role effort required of employees exceeds their inherent capacity to cope, burnout may result. Burnout, in turn, can have serious detrimental consequences for the psychological well being of employees. We find that both emotional management and role stressors impact burnout. We also confirm that burnout predicts psychological strain. In line with the Job Demands and Resources Model, we examine the mitigating impact of perceived support on these relationships but do not find a significant mitigating impact.

Work-related stressors and psychological strain in the sales force:the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

The contemporary workplace appears rife with psychological strain, which can have considerable deleterious outcomes to the firm and the individual. However, research on strain in the sales force is underdeveloped. This paper reports the results of a study of the antecedents and consequences of psychological strain in the sales force, with particular attention to the roles of role ambiguity, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Emotional exhaustion is found to increase strain. Intrinsic motivation reduces strain under conditions of relatively high role ambiguity, but leads to more strain under conditions of low role ambiguity. Strain is found to have a J-shaped relationship with turnover intentions, and is linearly related to lower job satisfaction and lower job performance.

Double machine operation and psychological strain

This study examines the effects of double machine operation on psychological strain. CNC drilling machine operators' reactions to their job were monitored as they rotated between three different work conditions; single machine operation, double machine operation, and double machine operation with additionally high responsibility for products. Results show no effect of double machine operation on strain where responsibility was low. Double machine operation under the condition of high responsibility, however, was found to increase strain.

Impact of just-in-time on job content, employee attitudes and well-being:a longitudinal study

Just-in-time (JIT) production systems are increasingly being seen as a vital way for manufacturing organizations to enhance their competitiveness. A number of commentators have suggested that this will simplify jobs and reduce employee well-being. This paper presents a conceptual framework for interpreting the effects of JIT and reports findings from a study of the impact of JIT on the content of workers'jobs and on job satisfaction and psychological strain. The introduction of JIT led to a reduction in control over work timing, an increase in production pressure, and a drop in job satisfaction. Contrary to claims in the literature, no changes were found in control over work methods, other aspects of cognitive demands and skill use, and in psychological strain. The study shows that JIT can be implemented without radical changes in job content or adverse impact in terms of employee strain, and the implications of these findings are discussed.

Attentional demand and cost responsibility as stressors in shopfloor jobs

Two studies were conducted to test for the effects of attentional demand and cost responsibility on psychological strain. One was a field experiment involving operators of computer-based manufacturing equipment, and the other was a cross-sectional investigation of employees in a wide range of jobs. The results showed increased strain only for those in jobs high on both attentional demand and cost responsibility. Implications for job design for new manufacturing technologies are discussed.