Do Job Demands of Chinese Manufacturing Employees Predict Positive or Negative Outcomes? A Test of Competing Hypotheses

• Published in: Stress and health Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 432 - 442
• Main Authors: Cheung, Janelle H., Sinclair, Robert R., Shi, Junqi, Wang, Mo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Adult; challenge and hindrance stressors; China; Chinese manufacturing workers; Female; Humans; job demands-control model; Job Satisfaction; Male; Models, Psychological; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Workload - psychology; Young Adult; Chinese manufacturing workers; job demands-control model; challenge and hindrance stressors
• ISSN: 1532-3005; 1532-2998
• DOI: 10.1002/smi.2568

Karasek's job demands–control (JDC) model posits that job control can buffer against the harmful effects of demands experienced by employees. A large volume of JDC research has obtained support for the main effects of demands and control, but not the interactive effects. Recent research on the challenge–hindrance stressors framework, however, found that work stressors may not always be deleterious, suggesting alternative hypotheses about the effects of demands and control. The present study therefore examined competing hypotheses concerning the effects of job demands on occupational health outcomes. Using a sample of 316 employees in a Chinese manufacturing company, we found that, consistent with the challenge–hindrance framework, production demands were challenge stressors associated with favourable outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and psychological well‐being). In addition, results showed that the interactive role of job control depended on the nature of outcome variables. Future recommendations and implications of findings are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.