A multilevel study on the causal relationship in association network of work stress. Moderating effects of social support

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-07-2018-0086
• Published date: 12 August 2019
• Pages: 624-639
• Date: 12 August 2019
• Author: Fu-Chiang Yang,Rui-Hsin Kao,Cheng-Chung Cho
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice,Juvenile/youth crime,Police studies,Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminology & criminal justice

A multilevel study on the causal

relationship in association

network of work stress

Moderating effects of social support

Fu-Chiang Yang

Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,

National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung,

Taiwan, and

Rui-Hsin Kao and Cheng-Chung Cho

Department of Ocean and Border Governance, National Quemoy University,

Kinmen, Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal correlation between the work stress of

immigration officers (IOs) and the cross-level effect of social support.

Design/methodology/approach –A multilevel model was used to analyze the quantitative data obtained

from 231 IOs in Taiwan, who served as the research objects.

Findings –From the results of this study, it was found that a positive significant relationship existed

between role conflict and work stress, as well as between work stress and job burnout. Also, cross-level

context and moderating effect for the relationship between social support and work stress, as well as between

social support, work stress and job burnout were obtained.

Originality/value –This study only considered IOs in airports and ports. Therefore, it is necessary to

determine if other topics of organizational behavior, such as the leadership of supervisors, organizational

climate and work values of IOs, have a positive moderating effect. In this regard, it is recommended that a

longitudinal study should be conducted in the future.

Keywords Social support, Work stress, Role conflict, Job burnout, Immigration officers

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Regarding work stress, immigrants or police studies worldwide (e.g. Chen and Kao, 2010;

Hsieh et al., 2012; Carlan, 2007; Karunanidhi and Chitra, 2013; Adegoke, 2014) showed that

the work stress of most employees can be attributed to their job content and related

factors. It is important to consider work stress because it has many negative impacts on

employees, including reducing their work efficiency (McJunkin, 2005) and compromising

their health in general (Adegoke, 2014).

The National Immigration Agency (NIA) is responsible for border management, the

activities of foreigners in Taiwan and related affairs of immigration. Immigration officers

(IOs) work in shifts or 24 h standby, this affects their sleep schedule (Hung and Kao, 2016).

Role conflict is another problem usually faced by IOs. It refers to a situation in which an

individual plays two or more roles, which conflict with each other and causes role

deviance (Gehrke, 1982). When the perception of the individual experiencing role conflict

is obvious, the person suffers higher work stress, which may cause higher job burnout

( Jackson and Schuler, 1985).

Gronroos (1984) pointed out that service quality involves the sharing and creating of

experience between customers and service providers. IOs who contact citizens frequently

are the pivots maintaining the service quality of NIA (Kao, 2015). According to statistics,

Policing: An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 4, 2019

pp. 624-639

© Emerald PublishingLimited

1363-951X

DOI 10.1108/PIJPSM-07-2018-0086

Received 4 July 2018

Revised 15 November 2018

29 December 2018

Accepted 3 January 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/1363-951X.htm

624

PIJPSM

42,4

work stress including absenteeism, resignation, low performance and expenses on medical,

legal, and insurance activities causes US enterprises to spend over 3,000 hundred millions

dollars (Rosch, 2001). Kao and Cheng (2014) showed that the working time of staffs in

Taiwan is too long and results in higher work stress.

The concept of work stress can be explained in three aspects, namely, stimulation,

interaction process and response. It is believed that work stress is the response of an

individual when faced with threat from certain job characteristics in the working

environment ( Jamal, 1990). The effect of stress depends on the subjective and objective

conditions of the organization, and causes different negative responses to the individual

(Ivancevich and Matteson, 1980). Job burnout is a specific symptom for helping

professions, such as counselors, social workers, physicians, nurses and lawyers.

However, staffs in other professional domains may also experience job burnout

(Kirk-Brown and Wallace, 2004; McJunkin, 2005). Furthermore, some public servants are

exposed to the stresses specified above and job burnout may occur eventually (Ivie and

Garland, 2011).

Kao and Cheng (2014) pointed out that most studies regarded work stress as a negative

concept. It does not only directly affect the negative feeling of the staffs but also affects the

individual’s working performance. When an individual plays too many occupational

inter-sender roles, the problems of inter-sender roles occur naturally (Cooper et al., 1988;

Kao and Cheng, 2014) and job performance is affected.

Social support relieves work stress thereby making members to show more trust and

participation (Isabella and Waddock, 1994), and have a relatively positive state of mind or

behavior (Campion et al., 1993). Furthermore, if proper support is given to staffs, it will

improve theirjob performance and reduce the negativeeffects caused by job factors (Kaoand

Cheng, 2014). Social support improves the control of individual cognition and reduces the

conflict relationship between job roles (Thomas and Ganster, 1995). This implies that, under

certain circums tances, an individ ual’s perception of the social support level positively affects

his or her behavior (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1994).

This study explored the causes and effects of work stress as well as the factors

negatively affecting it. These factors were included in the study to help organizations

identify the group factors they should work on to reduce employees’negative feelings about

the source of the stress, modulate the negative impacts from work stress and formulate

strategies correspondingly. This is the core motivation and objective of this study.

Several personal and group factors are involved in reducing the negative effect of work

stress. From an organizational behavior perspective, it is important to include

organizational hierarchy factors. Nevertheless, because of the current work condition of

frontline IOs as well as assistance from the organization and the work group, this study

considered organizational culture and systems. Conversely, group factors such as support

from the leader and interaction between group members can be used to reduce work stress

on frontline employees by adopting measures such as employee recruitment, supervisor

training, the development of a good communication model between employees and systemic

support. Another objective of this study was to examine the effect of role conflicts because

of the work characteristics of NIA on employees’work stress and the negative influence of

work stress on employees’job performance. When selecting this study’s moderating factors

and outcome variables, personal factors were not considered, except job burnouts which

were used as an outcome variable.

Finally, for the research method, the core of work stress focuses on the individual’s

subjective feeling. This context has the characteristics and effect of the high-level unit

(Kozlowski and Klein, 2000). Along with the development of the concept of multiple

organization theory, the manner of thinking which focuses on individual level may lead to

misunderstanding and fracture of the construct and data analysis. Thus, instead of

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Multilevel

study on the

causal

relationship