Challenging challenge and hindrance appraisals

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study extends earlier works that focused on stressor appraisals (stressor as challenge and stressor as hindrance) as mediators of stressors and psychological strains. We also tested whether psychological strains would then affect organisational outcomes. Survey data were gathered from a general sample of 237 full-time employees at three time points. The first time was a screener survey to ensure the study represented full-time working adults. After the screening survey, data on both predictor and criteria were gathered two more times. Time 1 reflects data gathered on role stressors (overload and conflict), appraisals (challenge and hindrance), and psychological strains (anxiety and tedium). Time 2 also included a set of measures targeted toward organisational attitudes (affective organisational commitment, job satisfaction) and outcome (turnover intention). Drawing from the transactional model of stress, we tested a structural equations model to the data and found that stressor appraisals did not mediate the stressor-psychological strain outcome. However, consistent with prior research, psychological strains did mediate the relationship between stressors and organisational outcomes and across all models, psychological strains measured at T1 had the highest goodness of fit. These findings suggest that self-appraisal may not be sufficient to explain the causal mechanism linking stressors to outcomes.