The Impact of Occupational Stress on Quality of Work Life among the Staff of e-Workspace

Authors: Alireza Bolhari, Ali Rezaeean, Jafar Bolhari, Fatemeh Zare

Abstract:

With the advent of new technologies, factors related to mental health in e-workspaces are taken into consideration more than ever. Studies have revealed that one of the factors affecting the productivity of employees in an organization is occupational stress. Another influential factor is quality of work life which is important in the improvement of work environment conditions and organizational efficiency. In order to uncover the quality of work life level and to investigate the impact of occupational stress on quality of work life among information technology employees in Iran, a cross-sectional study design was applied and data were gathered using a questionnaire validated by a group of experts. The results of the study showed that information technology staffs have average level of both occupational stress and quality of work life. Furthermore, it was found that occupational stress has a negative impact on quality of work life. In addition, the same results were observed for role ambiguity, role conflict, role under-load, work-pace, work repetitiveness and tension toward quality of work life. No significant relation was found between role overload and quality of work life. Finally, directions for future research are proposed and discussed.

Keywords: Information Technology, e-Workspace, Healthcare, IT Staff, Occupational Stress, Quality of Work Life

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1083047

References:

[1] K. G. Vivien, and T. S. H. Teo, "Occupational stress and IT personnel in Singapore: Factorial dimensions and differential effects", International Journal of Information Management, 19(4): 227-291, 1999.
[2] Bureau of Labour Stastistics, "Occupational employment projections to 2016", Monthly Labour Review, November, 2007.
[3] R. L. Dhar, and M. Bhagat, " Job stress, coping process and intentions to leave", Delhi Business Review, 9 (1), 2008.
[4] T. A. Beehr, and J. E. Newman, "Job stress, employee health, and organizational effectiveness: a facet analysis, model, and literature review", Personnel Psychology, 31 (4): 665-699, 1978.
[5] J. Y. L Thong, and C. S. Yap, "Information systems and occupational stress: a theoretical framework", Omega; The International Journal of Management Science, 28(6): 681-692, 2000.
[6] V. J. Sutherland, and C. L. Cooper, "Sources of Work Stress", In: Occupational stress. Ed. J. Hurrell, L. Murphy, S. Sauter, C. Cooper, London: Taylor & Francis, 1988.
[7] S. J. Motowidlo, J. S. Packard, and M. R. Manning, "Occupational stress: its causes and consequences for job performance", Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4): 618-629, 1986.
[8] T. T. Serey, "Choosing a Robust Quality of Work Life", Business Forum, 27(2): 7-10, 2006.
[9] M. J. Sirgy, D. Efraty, P. Siegel, and D. J. Lee, "A new measure of quality of work life (QWL) based on need satisfaction and spillover theories", Social Indicators Research, 55(3): 241-259, 2001.
[10] G. Rethinam, and M. Ismail, "Constructs of quality of work life: A perspective of information and technology professionals", European Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1): 58-70, 2008.
[11] D. Normala, "Investigating the relationship between QWL and organizational commitment amongst employees in Malaysian firms", International Journal of Business and Management, 5(10): 75-82, 2010.
[12] L. Timossi, B. Pedroso, A. Francisco, and L. Pilatti, "Evaluation of QWL: An adaptation from the Walton-s QWL model", Proceedings of the XIV International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 13-16 October 2008, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2008.
[13] R. E. Walton, "Criteria for Quality of Working Life", In: The Quality of Working Life. Ed. LE Davis, AB Cherns, New York: The Free Press, pp. 91-104. 1975.
[14] P. A. Lewellyn, and E. A. Wibker, "Significance of quality of life on turnover intentions of certified public accountants", In: Quality of life studies in marketing and management, Ed, HL Meadow, MJ Sirgy, International Society for Quality of Life Studies, Blacksburg, VA, pp. 182-193. 1990.
[15] E. E. Kossek, and C. Ozeki, C. "Work-family conflict, policies and the job-life satisfaction relationship: a review and direction for organizations' behavior-human resources research", Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 139-49, 1998.
[16] R. D. Howell, J. B. Wilcox, D. N. Bellenger, and L. B. Chonko, "An assessment of the role conflict and role ambiguity scales", In: AMA Educators proceedings. Ed, Frazier, G., Ingene, C., Aaker, D., Ghosh, A., Kinnear, T., Levy, S., Staelin, R., & Summers, J., San Francisco, CA: American Marketing Association, pp. 314-319, 1988.
[17] J. R. Rizzo, R. J. House, and S. I. Lirtzman, "Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations", Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2): 150-163, 1970.
[18] R. E. Kopelman, J. H. Greenhaus, and T. F. Connolly, "A model of work, family and interrole conflict: A construct validation study", Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(2): 198-215, 1983.
[19] W. Kirch "Encyclopedia of Public Health, Massachusetts", Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2008.
[20] M. M. Harris, and A. Bladen, "Wording effects in the measurement of role conflict and role ambiguity: A multitrait-multimethod analysis", Journal of Management, 20(4): 887-901, 1994.
[21] J. Stranks, "Stress at Work; Management and Prevention", Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Publishing, 2005.
[22] R. F. Lusch, and R. R. Serpkenci, "Personal differences, job tension, job outcomes, and store performance: A study of retail store managers, " The Journal of Marketing, 54(1): 85-101, 1990.
[23] R. J. House, and J.R. Rizzo, "Role conflict and ambiguity as critical variables in a model of organizational behavior", Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 7(3): 467-505, 1972.
[24] A. M. Rossi, J. C. Quick, and P. L. Perrewe, "Stress and quality of working life: the positive and the negative", North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, 2009.
[25] M. Furlong, and J. Connor, "Quality of life and stress in wheelchairusers", In: Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures. New York: Springer Science, 2009.
[26] E., Avis, K. W. Smith, S. McGraw, R. G. Smith, V. M. Petronis, and C. S. Carver, "Assessing quality of life in adult cancer survivors (QLACS) ", Quality of Life Research, 14: 1007-1023, 2005.
[27] X. Yang, C. Ge, B. Hu, T. Chi, and L. Wang, "Relationship between quality of life and occupational stress among teachers", Public Health, 123(11): 750-755, 2009.
[28] R. L. Kahn, D. M. Wolfe, R. P. Quinn, J. D. Snoek, and R. A. Rosenthal "Organizational stress: studies in role conflict and ambiguity", New York: Wiley, 1964.
[29] D. Olsen, and J. P. Near, "Role conflict and faculty life satisfaction", Review of Higher Education, 17(2): 179-195, 1994.
[30] M. Van Sell, A. Brief, and R. Schuler, "Role conflict and role ambiguity: Integration of the literature and directions for future research", Human Relations, 34(1), 43-71, 1981.
[31] G. E. Martin, and A. MacNeil, "Define roles and resolve role conflict", Connexions Module, v.1.5, 2007.
[32] I. Lee, and H. Wong, "Occupational stress and related factor in public health nurses", Nursing Research 10(4): 253-260, 2002.
[33] P. Carayon, and C. Hajnal, "A diary study of computer use and worker stress: preliminary results", In: Human-Computer Interaction: Applications and Case Studies, (Eds.), M. J. Smith, G. Salvendy Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1993.
[34] P. Subba, and B. A. Rao, "Quality of work life in commercial banks", New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House, Pvt Ltd., 1998.
[35] H. A. Saad, A. J. A. Samah, and N. Juhdi, "Employees- perception on quality work life and job satisfaction in a private higher learning institution", International Review of Business Research Papers, 4(3): 23-34, 2008.
[36] R. T. Hise, "Conflict in the salesman-s role", University of Washington Business Review, XXVII: 52-62, 1968.
[37] K. B. Wright, "Researching internet-based populations: advantages and disadvantages of online survey research, online questionnaire authoring software packages, and web survey services", Journal of Computer- Mediated Communication, 10(3), article 11, 2005.
[38] M. P. Couper , "Web surveys: A review of issues and approaches", Public Opinion Quarterly, 64(4): 464-94, 2000.