The Relationship between Work-Stress, Psychological Stress and Staff Health and Work Outcomes in Office Workers

Abstract

This study examined associations between work-stress, perceived organizational support, supervisor support, staff health (i.e., psychological stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue), and work outcomes (i.e., turnover intentions, organizational commitment, job satisfaction). A heterogeneous sample of 201 office staff recruited via email and snowball sampling completed a short anonymous online survey asking about their recent experiences of the above factors. High work-stress was associated with worse staff health (i.e., anxiety, depression, fatigue) and work outcomes (e.g., greater turnover intentions), and these associations were mediated by high perceived stress. Less workplace support (i.e., supervisor support, perceived organizational support) was associated with adverse work outcomes (i.e., high turnover intentions, less organizational commitment, less job satisfaction), and high depression levels. Neither perceived organizational support nor supervisor support was shown to moderate between high work-stress to the staff health and work outcome associations. Work-stress likely contributed to feelings of high perceived stress in some workers, which then contributed to poor health and higher turnover intentions. However, workplace support did not appear to buffer against the potential to experience ill health or adverse work outcomes (e.g., less job satisfaction). This study examines gaps in the work-stress literature, particularly in relation to adverse work outcomes and the possible impact of organizational support in reducing these and staff health problems.