The relationship between work -specific stress and stress response sensitivity

Over the past several decades, stress has been a growing area of concern for corporations and a growing area of interest for researchers. Stress involves the complex interaction between the individual and the environment. In a very simplified model, stress can be broken down into two major areas: appraisal of the stressor and the response to the stressor. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a disposition to respond to stress may impact responses to work demands thought about in the work environment. The study utilized several revised self-report instruments with 233 working adults from a variety of occupations. Work Specific Stress involves both Work Specific Stressor Appraisal (WSSA) and Work Specific Stress Response (WSSR). The Things To Do Inventory (TTDI) allowed participants to list their top five work demands and then rate each demand on nine dimensions. A principal component analysis of the dimensions resulted in three factors. WSSA included two factors: Appraisal I (Importance, Difficulty, and Ambiguity) and Appraisal II (Lack of Resources and Lack of Control). The third factor was Strain (Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Stress). WSSR included two components: Strain and a state version of the Perceived Stress Scale (State-PSS). Stress Response Sensitivity was defined as a disposition to respond to stress. The Stress Response Indicator (SRI) allowed participants to rate how frequently they thought, felt or behaved in certain ways when under stress. The instrument included three areas: mental worrying, physical discomfort, and emotional upheaval.;Both Appraisal I and II significantly predicted Strain. Appraisal II significantly predicted State-PSS. The SRI significantly predicted both Strain and State-PSS. The SRI also significantly added to the prediction of Strain and State-PSS when entered with Appraisal I and Appraisal II. Contrary to predictions, the SRI did not moderate the relationship between WSSA and WSSR. Both appraisal of the stressors and a sensitivity to respond to stress were shown to be useful predictors of how an individual may respond to stressors. The present study demonstrated that the TTDI and the SRI are useful instruments in the study of organizational stress. Future research should utilize multiple research methods in order to avoid common method variance.