Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Organizational and extraorganizational factors affecting stress, employee well-being, and absenteeism for males and females

  • Full Articles
  • Published:
Journal of Business and Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine separately for males and females, the effects of different sources of job and life stress on the emotional and physical well-being of those individuals, and in turn on absenteeism. Results using a sample of 170 males and 204 females indicated that females experienced higher levels of job stress, absenteeism, and poorer emotional well-being. Patterns of relationships for males and females were similar, however, the data suggest that sex moderates the effects of different sources of stress on emotional and physical well-being and absenteeism. The model developed as a part of this research was more complicated for females than for males.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdalla, I. A. (1991). Social support and gender responses to job stress in an Arab culture. In P. L. Perrewe (Ed.), Handbook on Job Stress (Special Issue).Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(7), 273–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychological Association (1985).Developing a national agenda to address women's mental health needs. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkin, R. S., & Goodman, P. S. (1984). Methods of defining and measuring absenteeism. In P. S. Goodman, R. S. Atkin, & Associates (Eds.),Absenteeism. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi, T. S., & Phillips, L. W. (1982). Representing and testing organizational theories: A holistic construal.Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, 459–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, G. K., Biener, L., & Barnett, R. C. (1987). Women and gender in research on work and family stress.American Psychologist, 42, 130–136.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beehr, T.A. & Newman, J.E. (1978). Job stress, employee health, and organizational effectiveness: A Facet analysis, model, and literature review.Personnel Psychology, 31, 665–699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berardo, D. H., Shehan, C. L., & Leslie, G. R. (1987). A residue of tradition: Jobs, careers, and spouses' time in housework.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 381–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhagat, R. S., Allie, S. M., & Ford, D. L. (1991). Organizational stress, personal life stress and symptoms of life strains: An inquiry into the moderating role of styles of coping.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(7), 163–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boehm, V. R. (1972). Negro-white differences in validity of employment and training selection procedures: Summary of research evidence.Journal of Applied Psychology, 56, 33–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brief, A. P., Schuler, R. S., & Van Sell, M. (1981).Managing job stress. Boston, MA.: Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, R. D., Cobb, S., French, J. R. P., Jr., Van Harrison, R., & Pinneau, S. R., Jr. (1975).Job demands and worker health: Main effects and occupational differences. (HEW Publication No. NIOSH). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chusmir, L.H. & Durand, D. E. (1987, May). Stress and the working woman.Personnel, 38–43.

  • Clegg, C. W. (1983). Psychology of employee lateness, absence, and turnover: A Methodological critique and an empirical study.Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 88–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, P, & Mechanic, D. (1983). Sex differences in psychological distress among married people.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 111–121.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C., & Davidson, M. (1982). The high cost of stress on women managers.Organizational Dynamics, 10(4), 44–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duxbury, L. E., & Higgins, C. A. (1991). Gender differences in work-family conflict.Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(1), 60–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, V. B., Gardner, E. P., & Ruth, S. R. (1987). Gender and age in technostress: Effects on white collar productivity.Government Finance Review, December, 17–21.

  • Fisher, C. D., & Gitelson, R. (1983). A meta-analysis of the correlates of role conflict and ambiguity.Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 320–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgibbons, D., & Moch, M. (1980). Employee absenteeism: A Multivariate analysis with replication.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 26, 349–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankenhauser, M., Lundberg, U., Fredrikson, M., Melin, B., Tuomisto, M., Myrsten, A., Hedman, M., Bergman-Losman, B., & Wallin, L. (1989). Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white-collar workers.Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10, 321–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • French, J.R.P. & Caplan, R.D. (1973). Organizational stress and individual strain. In A.J. Marrow (Ed.),The Failure of Success. New York: Amacom, 30–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friend, K. (1982). Stress and performance; Effects of subjective work load and time urgency.Personnel Psychology, 35, 623–633.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1991). Relationship of work and family stressors to psychological distress: The Independent moderating infuence of social support, mastery, active coping and self-focused attention.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(7), 227–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaines, J., & Jermier, J. M. (1983). Emotional exhaustion in a high stress organization.Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 567–586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganster, D. C., & Schaubroeck, J. (1991). Work stress and employee health.Journal of Management, 17(2), 235–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardell, B. (1975).Technology, alienation and mental health. (Technical Report No. 45, Stockholm, Sweden: The Laboratory for Clinical Stress Research, Karolinska Institute).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudet, F. J. (1963).Solving the problems of employee absences. New York: American Management Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebhardt, D. L., & Crump, C. E. (1990). Employee fitness and wellness programs in the workplace.American Psychologist, 45(2), 262–272.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gove, W., & Hughes, M. (1979). Possible causes of the apparent sex differences in physical health: An Empirical investigation.American Sociological Review, 44, 126–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. S. (1980).Comprehensive stress management (2nd. ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Parasuraman, S. (1986). A work-nonwork interactive perspective of stress and its consequences.Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 8, 37–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, N. & Beehr, T. A. (1979). Job stress and employee behaviors.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 23, 373–387.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guttentag, M., & Salasin, S. (1976). Women, men, and mental health. In L. A. Carter, A. F. Scott, & W. Martyna (Eds.),Women and men: Changing roles, relationships, and perceptions. New York: Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haw, M. A. (1982). Women, work and stress: A review and agenda for the future.Journal Health and Social Behavior, 23, 132–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S., & Feinleib, M. (1980). Women, work and coronary heart disease: Prospective findings from the Framingham Heart Study.American Journal of Public Health, 70, 133–141.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrix, W. H. (1985). Factors predictive of stress, organizational effectiveness, and coronary heart disease potential.Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 56, 654–659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrix, W. H., Ovalle, N. K., & Troxler, R. G. (1985). Behavioral and physiological consequences of stress and its antecedent factors.Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(1), 188–201.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrix, W. H., & Spencer, B. A. (1989). Development and test of a multivariate model of absenteeism.Psychological Reports, 64, 923–938.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrix, W. H., Steel, R. P., Leap, T. L. & Summers, T. P. (1991). Development of a stress-related health promotion model: Antecedents and organizational effectiveness outcomes.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(7), 141–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J. & Gyllstrom, K. (1977). Working men and women: Inter-and intra-role conflict.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 4, 319–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. M. & Trist, E. L. (1955). A consideration of industrial accidents as means of withdrawal from the work situation.Human Relations, 8, 121–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huse, E. F., & Taylor, E. K. (1962). The reliability of absence measures.Journal of Applied Psychology, 46, 159–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ilgen, D. R., & Hollenback, J. H. (1977). The role of job satisfaction in absence behavior.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 19, 148–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (1980).Stress and work: A Managerial perspective. Glenview, IL: Scott-Foresman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivancevich, J. M., Matteson, M. T., Freedman, S. A., & Phillips, J. S. (1990). Worksite stress management interventions.American Psychologist, 45(2), 252–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. E., & Schuler, R. S. (1985). A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36, 16–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamal, M. (1984). Job stress and job performance controversy: An empirical assessment.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 33, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jick, T. D., & Mitz, L. F. (1985). Sex differences in work stress.Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 408–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns, G. (1978). Attitudinal and nonattitudinal predictors of two forms of absence from work.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, 431–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joreskog, K. G., & Sorbom, D. (1984).LISREL VI: Analysis of linear structural relationships by the method of maximum likelihood. (3rd. ed). Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R. (1977).Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, D. & Kahn, R. L. (1978).The social psychology of organizations. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lott, B. (1987).Women's lives: Themes and variations in gender learning. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, M. R., & Osland, J.S. (1989). The relationship between absenteeism and stress.Work and Stress, 3, 223–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martocchio, J. J., & O'Leary, A. M. (1989). Sex differences in occupational stress: A Meta-analytic review.Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(3), 495–501.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C. (1982).Burnout: The cost of caring. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathieu, J. E., & Kohler, S S. (1990). A cross-level examination of group absence influences on individual absence.Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 217–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matteson, M. T., & Ivancevich, J. M. (1979). Organizational stressors and heart disease: A research model.Academy of Management Review, 4, 347–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, L. M., & Korabik, K. (1991). Sources of stress and ways of coping among male and female managers.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(7), 185–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. V. (1985). The family-career connection: A new component for career development programs.Journal of Career Development, 12(1), 8–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Motowidlo, S. J., Packard, J. S., & Manning, M. R., Jr. (1986). Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance.Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4), 618–629.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J.C. (1985). Professional women: Are distress and disease inevitable?Academy of Management Review, 10(2), 206–218.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman, S., & Alutto, J. A. (1984). Sources and outcomes of stress in organizational settings: Toward the development of a structural model.Academy of Management Journal, 27, 330–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman, S., & Cleek, M. (1982). Sex versus job role: A study of role stressors, stress reactors, and coping among managers.Eastern Academy of Management Proceedings, 1–4.

  • Pines, A., & Kafry, D. (1981). Tedium in the life and work of professional women as compared with men.Sex Roles, 7(10), 963–977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regan, M. C. & Roland, H. E. (1985). Rearranging family and career priorities: Professional women and men of the eighties.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 985–992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosch, P. J. (1984, February). Coping with stress on the job.Nation's Business, 65.

  • Rosenfield, S. (1980). Sex differences in depression. Do women always have higher rates?Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 33–42.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Technical Report P-200 (1990).SAS/STAT Software: CALIS and LOGISTIC procedures, release 6.04. (Technical Report: SAS Institute, Cary, NC).

  • Singh, J. V. (1986). Technology, size, and organizational structure: A reexamination of the Okayama study.Academy of Management Journal, 29, 800–812.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, G., & Verbrugge, L. M. (1987). Women, work, and health.Annual Review of Public Health, 8, 235–251.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, R. P., & Rentsch, J. R. (1992).Proximal and distal predictors of absence from work. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Steers, R. M., & Rhodes, S. R. (1978). Major influences on employee attendance: A process model.Journal of Applied Psychology, 63, 391–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, S. E., & Bhagat, R. S. (1992). Organizational stress, job satisfaction and job performance: Where do we go from here?Journal of Management, 18(2), 353–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tannen, D. (1990).You just don't understand. New York: Ballantine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tung, R. L. (1980). Comparative analysis of the occupational stress profiles of male versus female administrators.Journal of Vocational Behavior, 17, 344–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulbrich, P.M. (1988). The determinants of depression in two-income marriages.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 121–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Sell, M., Brief, A. P., & Schuler, R. S. (1981). Role conflict and role ambiguity: Integration of the literature and direction for future research.Human Relations, 34(1), 43–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, L. W., & McEachren, L. (1983). Psychosocial correlates of depressive symptomatology in adult women.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 151–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zappert, L. T., & Weinstein, M. D. (1985). Sex differences in the impact of work on physical and psychological health.American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(10), 1174–1178.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zedick, S., & Mosier, K. L. (1990). Work in the family and employing organization.American Psychologist, 45(2), 240–251

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Clemson University, 29634-1305, Clemson, SC

    William H. Hendrix

  2. Mississippi State University, USA

    Barbara A. Spencer

  3. Alabama A&M University, USA

    Gail S. Gibson

Authors
  1. William H. Hendrix
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Barbara A. Spencer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gail S. Gibson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hendrix, W.H., Spencer, B.A. & Gibson, G.S. Organizational and extraorganizational factors affecting stress, employee well-being, and absenteeism for males and females. J Bus Psychol 9, 103–128 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230631

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230631

Keywords

Search

Navigation