Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T10:50:32.943Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - The Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model: renewed theoretical considerations and empirical evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2009

By
Jan de Jonge ,
Christian Dormann  and
Marieke van den Tooren
Edited by
Katharina Naswall ,
Johnny Hellgren  and
Magnus Sverke
Jan de Jonge
Affiliation:
Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Christian Dormann
Affiliation:
Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany
Marieke van den Tooren
Affiliation:
Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Katharina Naswall
Affiliation:
Stockholms Universitet
Johnny Hellgren
Affiliation:
Stockholms Universitet
Magnus Sverke
Affiliation:
Stockholms Universitet
Get access

Summary

Consider a researcher who uses three measures of stressors, three measures of strains, and three measures of support. If a subset of the 27 interactions were significant, the question becomes whether the significant terms were due to Type I error? In several cases, researchers seemed to provide post hoc explanations as to why the significant terms occurred. Future research should endeavor to refine theoretical models that guide how different sources of support can be matched to particular stressors and strains.

(Viswesvaran, Sanchez, and Fisher, 1999: 328)

This chapter presents a recently developed theoretical model on job-related stress and performance, the so-called Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) model. The DISC model predicts in general that adverse health effects of high job demands can best be compensated for by matching job resources to the high demands. Furthermore, the model predicts that a well-balanced mixture of specific job demands and corresponding job resources will stimulate employee learning, growth, and performance. Not restricting ourselves to social support, which is mentioned in the quote above and which indeed represents one important resource in job stress (cf. Viswesvaran et al., 1999), we present some refined theoretical predictions on emotional, cognitive, and physical processes that guide how different kinds of job resources can be matched to particular job demands and job-related strains. The aim of this chapter is thus twofold: (1) to present a new job stress theory, and (2) to show recent empirical evidence for its basic assumptions by means of a narrative review.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Individual in the Changing Working Life , pp. 67 - 87
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context: update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Ariëns, G. A. M., Mechelen, W., Bongers, P. M., Bouter, L. M., and Wal, G.(2001). Psychosocial risk factors for neck pain: a systematic review. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 39: 180–93.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., and Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego-depletion: is the active self a limited resource?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74: 1252–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S. and McKay, G. (1984). Social support, stress and the buffering hypothesis: a theoretical analysis. In Baum, A., Taylor, S. E., and Singer, J. E. (eds.), Handbook of psychology and health (pp. 253–67). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cohen, S. and Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin 98: 310–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, C. L. (1998). Theories of organizational stress. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cooper, C. L., Dewe, P. J., and O'Driscoll, M. P. (2001). Organizational stress: a review and critique of theory, research, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Cutrona, C. E. and Russell, D. W. (1990). Type of social support and specific stress: toward a theory of optimal matching. In Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., and Pierce, G. R. (eds.), Social support: an interactional view (pp. 319–66). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Davis, N. (2003). Demand-induced strain compensation: a new model of occupational stress and the effects of sense of coherence. Honours thesis, University of South Australia, School of Psychology.
de Graauw, R. (2003). Werkstress…of juist tevreden? Een toetsing van het Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model [Work stress, or just satisfied? A test of the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model]. Masters thesis, Utrecht University.
Hoon, D., Riet, M., and Schippers, M. (2005). De invloed van coping op het DISC-model [The influence of coping on the DISC-model]. Bachelors thesis, Utrecht University.
Jonge, J., Dollard, M. F., Dormann, C., Blanc, P. M., and Houtman, I. L. D. (2000). The Demand–Control model: specific demands, specific control, and well-defined groups. International Journal of Stress Management 7: 269–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Jonge, J. and Dormann, C. (2003). The DISC model: Demand-Induced Strain Compensation mechanisms in job stress. In Dollard, M. F., Winefield, A. H., and Winefield, H. R. (eds.), Occupational stress in the service professions (pp. 43–74). London: Taylor and Francis.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jonge, J. and Dormann, C. (2004). Matching demands, resources, and strains: a test of the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model in three different countries. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 11: Supplement, 187.Google Scholar
Jonge, J. and Dormann, C. (2006). Stressors, resources, and strain at work: a longitudinal test of the Triple Match Principle. Journal of Applied Psychology 91: 1359–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Jonge, J., Dormann, C., and von Nordheim, T. (2006). Matching job demands and job resources: a vignette study. Paper presented at the APA-NIOSH Work, Stress, and Health Conference 2006, Miami.
Jonge, J.Dormann, C., and Vegchel, N. (2004). Taakeisen, hulpbronnen en psychische gezondheid: het Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC)-model [Job demands, job resources, and mental health: the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model]. Gedrag en Organisatie 17: 59–79.Google Scholar
de Jonge, J., van den Tooren, M., Dormann, C., Dollard, M. F., Vlerick, P., Tsutsumi, A., and Shimazu, A. (forthcoming). DISQ: a new instrument for measuring job demands and job resources. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Lange, A. H., Taris, T. W., Kompier, M. A. J., Houtman, I. L. D., and Bongers, P. M. (2004). The relationships between work characteristics and mental health: examining normal, reversed and reciprocal relationships in a 4-wave study. Work and Stress 18: 149–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dollard, M. F., Dormann, C., Boyd, C. M., Winefield, H. R., and Winefield, A. H. (2003). Unique aspects of stress in human service work. Australian Psychologist 38: 84–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dormann, C. and Zapf, D. (1999). Social support, social stressors at work and depression: testing for main and moderating effects with structural equations in a 3-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology 84: 874–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dormann, C. and Zapf, D.(2002). Social stressors at work, irritation, and depressive symptoms: accounting for unmeasured third variables in a multi-wave study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 75: 33–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frese, M. (1999). Social support as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and psychological dysfunctioning: a longitudinal study with objective measures. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 4: 179–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haeslich, G., Streit, B., Richter, P., de Jonge, J., and Merkel, S. (2003). Testing the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model in health care work. Paper presented at the 8th ENOP Conference, Vienna.
Halbesleben, J. R. B. and Buckley, M. R. (2004). Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management 30: 859–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halik, A. N. (2003). The effects of emotional labour on call-centre workers: a test of the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation model. Honours thesis, University of South Australia, School of Psychology.
Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist 52: 1280–1300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Higgins, E. T.(2000). Making a good decision: value from fit. American Psychologist 55: 1217–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Higgins, E. T.(2006). Theory development as a family affair. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42: 549–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist 44: 513–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hobfoll, S. E.(2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: advancing Conservation of Resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review 50: 337–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E.(2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology 6: 307–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hockey, G. R. J. (2000). Work environments and performance. In Chmiel, N. (ed.), Introduction to work and organisational psychology: a European perspective (pp. 206–30). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hoek, A. A. and van Walsem-Reedeker, M. (2004). Taakeisen, hulpbronnen en psychische gezondheid in de tabaksdetailhandel [Job demands, job resources, and mental health in the tobacco retail trade]. Masters thesis, Utrecht University.
Hoogendoorn, W. E., Poppel, M. N. M., Bongers, P. M., Koes, B. W., and Bouter, L. M. (2000). Systematic review of psychosocial factors at work and private life as risk factors for back pain. Spine 25: 2114–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahn, R. L. and Byosiere, P. (1992). Stress in organizations. In Dunnette, M. D. and Hough, L. M. (eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 3, 2nd edn, pp. 571–650). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Karasek, R. A. Jr. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly 24: 285–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karasek, R. A.(1998). Demand/Control model: a social, emotional, and physiological approach to stress risk and active behaviour development. In Stellman, J. M. (ed.), Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety (pp. 34.6–34.14). Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Kompier, M. and Taris, T. (2004). Assessing methodological quality and biological plausibility in occupational health psychology. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health 30: 81–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koslowski, M. (1998). Modeling the stress–strain relationship in work settings. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langen, J., Aaij, S., and Nelson, P. (2005). Het Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC)-model: cognitieve gezondheidsklachten, creatief werkgedrag, actief leergedrag and gebruik van hulpbronnen [The Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC)-model: cognitive health complaints, creative work behavior, active learning behavior and use of job resources]. Bachelors thesis, Utrecht University.
Le Blanc, P. M., de Jonge, J., and Schaufeli, W. B. (in press). Job stress and occupational health. In Chmiel, N. (ed.), An introduction to work and organizational psychology: a European perspective (2nd edn). Oxford: Blackwell.CrossRef
Lekander, M. (2002). Ecological immunology: the role of the immune system in psychology and neuroscience. European Psychologist 7: 98–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslach, C. and Jackson, S. E. (1986). Maslach Burnout Inventory: manual (2nd edn). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Montague, P. R., (1996). The resource consumption principle: attention and memory in volumes of neural tissue. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93: 3619–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, J. A. and Feldman, D. C. (1996). The dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of emotional labor. Academy of Management Review 21: 986–1010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muraven, M. and Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: does self-control resemble a muscle?Psychological Bulletin 126: 147–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Plasschaert, M. (2004). Burnout en jobsatisfactie in ROB/RVT: een onderzoek naar de rol van emotionele belasting [Burnout and job satisfaction in ROB/RVT: an investigation into the role of emotional demands]. Masters thesis, University of Ghent.
Pomaki, G. and Maes, S. (2002). Predicting quality of work life: from work conditions to self-regulation. In Gullone, E. and Cummins, R. A. (eds.), The universality of subjective well-being indicators (pp. 151–73). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sargent, L. D. and Terry, D. J. (1998). The effects of work control and job demands on employee adjustment and work performance. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 71: 219–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaufeli, W. B. and Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: a critical analysis. London: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Siegrist, J. (1996). Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 1: 27–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spiegel, S., Grant-Pillow, H., and Higgins, E. T. (2004). How regulatory fit enhances motivational strength during goal pursuit. European Journal of Social Psychology 34: 39–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taris, T. W. and Kompier, M. A. J. (2005). Job demands, job control, strain and learning behavior: review and research agenda. In Antoniou, A. Stamatios and Cooper, C. L. (eds.), Research companion to organizational health psychology (pp. 132–50). London: Edward Elgar.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terry, D. J. and Jimmieson, N. L. (1999). Work control and employee well-being: a decade review. In Cooper, C. L. and Robertson, I. T. (eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 14, pp. 95–148). Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Terry, D. J., Nielsen, M., and Perchard, L. (1993). The effects of work stress on psychological well-being and job satisfaction: the stress buffering role of social support. Australian Journal of Psychology 45: 168–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vancouver, J. B. (2000). Self-regulation in organizational settings: a tale of two paradigms. In Boekaerts, M., Pintrich, P. R., and Zeidner, M. (eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 303–41). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Doef, M. and Maes, S. (1999). The Job Demand–Control (-support) model and psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research. Work and Stress 13: 87–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vegchel, N., Jonge, J., Bosma, H., and Schaufeli, W.B. (2005). Reviewing the Effort–Reward Imbalance model: drawing up the balance of 45 empirical studies. Social Science and Medicine 60: 1117–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vegchel, N., Jonge, J., and Landsbergis, P. A. (2005). Occupational stress in (inter)action: the interplay between job demands and job resources. Journal of Organizational Behavior 26: 535–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I., and Fisher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the process of work stress: a meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational behavior 54: 314–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vohs, K. D., Baumeister, R. F., and Ciarocco, N. J. (2005). Self-regulation and self-presentation: regulatory resource depletion impairs impression management and effortful self-presentation depletes regulatory resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88: 632–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wall, T. D., Jackson, P. R., Mullarkey, S., and Parker, S. K. (1996). The Demands-Control model of job strain: a more specific test. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 69: 153–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weehuizen, R. (2003). Mental capital: position paper Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. Maastricht: MERIT.Google Scholar
Zapf, D., Seifert, C., Schmutte, B., Mertini, H., and Holz, M. (2001). Emotion work and job stressors and their effects on burnout. Psychology and Health 16: 527–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×