An empirical investigation of job stress, social support, service length, and job strain

Abstract

Although different approaches to job stress exist, the person—environment fit approach seems to have the widest current acceptance. The most well-developed person—environment (P—E) fit formulation of job stress has been produced by French and his associates at the University of Michigan. The present study evaluated several relationships within the French job stress model, using bus operators from a midwestern transit authority as the sample. Results provided only limited support for the model, and length of service was found to be an important variable to consider in future research. The usefulness of measuring job stress as a discrepancy score and issues regarding the construct validity of P—E fit job stress are also discussed.