Antecedents of intensified job demands: Evidence from Austria

Autor(en)

S. Mauno, Bettina Kubicek, J. Minkkinen, Christian Korunka

Abstrakt

Purpose: In order to understand the driving forces behind intensified job demands (IJDs), the purpose of this paper is to examine demographic factors, structural work-related factors, personal and job resources as antecedents of IJDs. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on cross-sectional (n=4,963) and longitudinal (n=2,055) quantitative data sets of Austrian employees. Data sets were analyzed via regression analyses. Findings: The results showed that IJDs, as assessed through five sub-dimensions: work intensification, intensified job-related, career-related planning and decision-making demands, intensified demands for skills and for knowledge-related learning, remained fairly stable overtime. The most consistent antecedents of IJDs were personal initiative and ICT use at work. Job resources, e.g. variety of tasks and lacking support from supervisor, related to four sub-dimensions of IJDs. Research limitations/implications: The findings suggest that personal (being initiative) and job resources (task variety) may have negative effects as they associated with IJDs. Moreover, supervisors’ support is crucial to counteract IJDs. Practical implications: Employers should recognize that certain personal (e.g. personal initiative) and job-related resources (e.g. lacking supervisory support) might implicate higher IJDs, which, in turn, may cause more job strain as IJDs can be conceived as job stressors. Originality/value: IJDs have received very little research attention because they are new job demands, which however, can be expected to increase in future due to faster technological acceleration in working life. The study has methodological value as longitudinal design was applied.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Arbeits-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialpsychologie

Externe Organisation(en)

University of Tampere, University of Jyväskylä, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

Journal

Employee Relations

Band

41

Seiten

694-707

Anzahl der Seiten

14

ISSN

0142-5455

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2018-0094

Publikationsdatum

06-2019

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501003 Arbeitspsychologie, 501015 Organisationspsychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Industrial relations, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/antecedents-of-intensified-job-demands-evidence-from-austria(2c3e028a-8cfc-45b3-b357-d46255d88a4e).html