Assessment of Stress and Strain Within a Work Setting
Bridge, Mark Fredric
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68944
Description
Title
Assessment of Stress and Strain Within a Work Setting
Author(s)
Bridge, Mark Fredric
Issue Date
1984
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Industrial
Abstract
An instrument labeled the Work Environment Inventory (WEI) was developed to measure organizational stress and strain. It consists of a series of 28 statements to which the subject responds from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" along a five-point Likert scale. The items are combined into a Stress Scale, Strain Scale, and three Strain Subscales.
A midwestern residential mental health center was chosen for investigation. Two sets of knowledgeable Third Parties were selected, trained, and asked to rank work units of their stress and strain. One group of rankers consisted of employees of some of the work units being ranked. They ranked each work unit independent of each other. The second group of rankers consisted of knowledgeable Third Parties not attached to any of the work units being ranked. They worked collectively, pooled information, and reached consensus on rankings.
The WEI was subsequently administered to 142 individuals who were employed on the nine work units studied. Two weeks later, it was readministered to 55 individuals on these same units.
As hypothesized, significant differences were found between some work units in terms of the Stress and/or Strain Scores obtained on the WEI; correlations between Third Party rankings of stress and strain and the appropriate discriminant function scores were significant and positive; and work unit means on Stress and Strain Scales/Subscales obtained from the first and second admnistration did not vary significantly. Evidence was developed which tended to suggest positive correlations between mean discriminant function scores and employee absentee and grievance rates, but not at the level of statistical significance. Insufficient data were available to determine if employee resignation rates correlated positively with mean discriminant function scores.
The WEI appears to be a valid measure of organizational stress and strain in the environment studied. It demonstrated relatively high test/retest reliability. Additional research needs to be conducted to establish its validity in other settings, with different subject and work characteristics, and with other means of validity. Additional field testing should also be concluded to establish its utility to organizational consultants and managers.
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