High Role Ambiguity Research Articles

Effect Of Stress on Employees’ Performance at West African Examination Council Zonal Office, Kaduna

The research investigated how stress impacts employees' performance and also x-ray whether there is any relationship between stress and performance. To achieve this, the study looked at the meaning of stress generally, various causes of stress, and occupational stress, particularly among the staff of the West Africa Examination Council Kaduna Zonal Office. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source of data was questionnaire administered to the respondents. The secondary data was sourced from textbooks, reports of past works, journals, and materials from the internet. Lazarus' interactional theory was adopted to analyse the work. From the collected and analysed data, the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between the primary sources of stress for employees at the West African Examination Council Zonal Office in Kaduna and their work efficiency and effectiveness and workplace stress have a significant impact on the overall job performance of employees at the West African Examination Council Zonal Office in Kaduna. The study recommended that WAEC should develop and offer specific programs addressing identified stressors, such as high workload and role ambiguity, to help employees manage their stress more effectively also WAEC should improve job descriptions and provide regular feedback to ensure employees have clear expectations and adequate support, reducing role ambiguity and its impact on efficiency.

Prevalence and determinants of burnout among South African doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burnout, resulting from chronic workplace stress that has been unsuccessfully managed, has previously been documented in doctors. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased occupational challenges faced by doctors, potentiating their risk for burnout. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of burnout among medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three public sector hospitals in Gqeberha, South Africa. A cross-sectional study of 260 voluntary participants was conducted. Participants completed self-administered electronic questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the determinants of burnout. The prevalence of burnout in this study was 78%. Burnout was significantly associated with being a medical intern or community-service medical officer (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] = 6.72, 1.71-26.40), being in the lowest income band (AOR = 10.78, 2.55-45.49), and using alcohol to manage work-related stress (AOR = 3.01, 1.12-8.04). Job-related factors associated with burnout were experiencing high conflict at work (AOR = 5.04, 1.92-13.20) and high role ambiguity and role conflict (AOR = 4.49, 1.98-10.18). Low support at work (AOR = 9.99, 3.66-27.23), medium job satisfaction (AOR = 5.38, 2.65-10.93) and medium support at work (AOR = 3.39, 1.71-6.73) were positively associated with burnout. Participants with medium (AOR = 0.28, 0.10-0.80) and high levels of resilience (AOR = 0.08, 0.03-0.25) were protected against burnout. Coronavirus disease 2019-related factors were not significantly associated with burnout. The burnout prevalence among South African medical doctors at public hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic was high and strongly associated with job stress factors. Given the increased prevalence of burnout among doctors and the strong associations with job stress factors, mitigation of burnout requires targeted organisational interventions.

Values, Performance, or Both? How Values-Focused Work Can Benefit From Results-Based Management

While results-based performance measurement has become a common practice in governing relationships with external stakeholders, many nonprofits are struggling with severe tensions when implementing results-based management practices inside the organization. This article draws on performance management research in accounting and management to analyze why results-based management poses particular challenges for nonprofits. As its first contribution, the article conceptualizes dedication to values as a particular characteristic of nonprofit organizations that involves high role ambiguity among nonprofit staff. Second, it specifies a particular tension associated with results-based management practices in values-focused work: Results-based management helps to reduce role ambiguity, but by doing so it creates role conflict. Third, the article proposes the interactive use of results-based information as an approach to how organizations with a high dedication to values can increase role clarity for nonprofit staff, while avoiding role conflict.

The negative impact of individual perceived isolation in distributed teams and its possible remedies

AbstractPrevious research on distributed teams indicates that physical distance between team members is problematic for team functioning. We advance this research by investigating the role of team members' psychological experiences of isolation using both a longitudinal diary study and a time‐lag field study, applying a Job Demand–Resource (JD‐R) theory lens (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017). With the diary study, we capture daily fluctuations of perceived isolation and its antecedents and consequences. Results show that (a) where distributed team members work, and (b) how much they communicate, contribute to the degree to which distributed team members may feel isolated. The combined results of the diary study and the time‐lagged field study show that 1) perceived isolation, and 2) perceived isolation combined with high role ambiguity, contribute to experiences of helplessness. Subsequently, feelings of helplessness hamper the level of perceived team implicit coordination. Theoretical and practical implications for managing distributed teams are discussed.

Perceived Vulnerability to Disease and the Relationship with Teacher Satisfaction in South Africa during COVID-19: The Serial Role of Burnout, Role Conflict, and Ambiguity.

Teachers’ work roles and responsibilities have changed dramatically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These unprecedented changes have the potential to generate role stress and burnout and reduce teachers’ job satisfaction. This study investigated the serial relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, role stress, burnout, and teaching satisfaction. It was hypothesised that individuals who perceive themselves to be at high risk of contracting COVID-19 would report high role conflict and ambiguity in the workplace, which would in turn lead to high levels of burnout and low satisfaction with teaching. Participants were schoolteachers (N = 355) who completed the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, the Role Orientation Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Teaching Satisfaction Scale. Path analysis confirmed that perceived vulnerability to disease was associated with role conflict and ambiguity, which was in turn associated with emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and low teaching satisfaction. Teachers who appraised themselves as being more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 experienced greater role stress, which was associated with high levels of burnout and low teaching satisfaction. This study highlights that threat appraisals related to contracting COVID-19 represent an additional job demand and this needs to be matched by job resources that can facilitate coping.

Association between role conflict and ambiguity and stress among nurses in primary health care centers in Saudi Arabia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to assess the association between role conflict and ambiguity among nurses in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Saudi Arabia and their stress levels during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.In this online cross-sectional study, sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, role conflict, and ambiguity of 432 nurses were assessed using the Bowling Scale for Role Conflict and Ambiguity and stress was assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale from September 27 to October 17, 2020. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for above-median stress levels of nurses with average and high (2nd and 3rd tertiles) role conflict and ambiguity compared with nurses with low role conflict and ambiguity (1st tertile).The mean (standard deviation) age of the nurses was 36.5 ± 6.6 years, and 25.9% of them were males. After adjusting for PHC type and working hours, nurses with average and high role conflict had significantly higher stress rates than those with low role conflict, with ORs (95% CIs) of 2.69 (1.62–4.46) and 6.31 (3.78–10.53), respectively. Similarly, nurses with average- and high-role ambiguity had significantly higher stress than those with low role ambiguity, with ORs (95% CIs) of 2.15 (1.30–3.55) and 7.68 (4.54–13.01), respectively. Increasing stress rates were detected across increasing categories of role conflict and ambiguity (P values for trend <.001).We found that role conflict and ambiguity were associated with stress among nurses in PHCs in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cross-Level Moderation Effect of Resource-Providing Leadership on the Demands-Work Ability Relationship.

Employees in female-dominated sectors are exposed to high workloads, emotional job demands, and role ambiguity, and often have insufficient resources to deal with these demands. This imbalance causes strain, threatening employees’ work ability. The aim of this study was to examine whether resource-providing leadership at the workplace level buffers against the negative repercussions of these job demands on work ability. Employees (N = 2383) from 290 work groups across three countries (Germany, Finland, and Sweden) in female-dominated sectors were asked to complete questionnaires in this study. Employees rated their immediate supervisor’s resource-providing leadership and also self-reported their work ability, role ambiguity, workload, and emotional demands. Multilevel modeling was performed to predict individual work ability with job demands as employee-level predictors, and leadership as a group-level predictor. Work ability was poor when employees reported high workloads, high role ambiguity, and high emotional demands. Resource-providing leadership at the group level had a positive impact on employees’ work ability. We observed a cross-level interaction between emotional demands and resource-providing leadership. We conclude that resource-providing leadership buffers against the repercussions of emotional demands for the work ability of employees in female-dominated sectors; however, it is not influential in dealing with workload or role ambiguity.

Role ambiguity as an amplifier of the association between job stressors and workers' psychological ill-being: Evidence from an occupational survey in Japan.

ObjectivesWe aim to examine the extent to which role ambiguity modifies the association between job stressors and workers’ psychological ill‐being.MethodsWe used data from 41 962 observations from 13 811 individuals (10 269 males and 3542 females) who participated in three to eight waves of an occupational survey conducted in Japan. We estimated fixed‐effects models to explain psychological distress (defined by Kessler 6 score ≥13) by role ambiguity. Four types of job stressors (i.e., high job demands, low job control, high effort, and low reward), and their interactions were examined along with potential confounders. We repeated a similar analysis for job dissatisfaction.ResultsThe fixed‐effects models showed that role ambiguity as well as the four job stressors were positively associated with psychological distress, albeit somewhat more modestly than the results of the pooled cross‐sectional models. More notably, we found that role ambiguity substantially amplified the association between job stressors and psychological distress; for example, a combination of high job demands and high role ambiguity added to the risk of psychological distress by 3.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5%–4.5%), compared with 1.4% (95% CI: 0.4%–2.3%) for a combination of high job demands and low role ambiguity. In contrast, we did not find a modifying effect of role ambiguity on the association between low job control and psychological distress. Similar results were observed for job dissatisfaction.ConclusionThe results underscore the importance of reducing role ambiguity to mitigate the adverse impact of job stressors on workers’ psychological ill‐being.

Integrating Formal and Shared Leadership: the Moderating Influence of Role Ambiguity on Innovation

This research seeks to integrate traditional formal leadership structures and emerging shared leadership approaches to team leadership to examine how they jointly relate to innovative outcomes in teams. To reconcile contradictory theory and research that views formal leadership as both beneficial and detrimental to informal leadership, we take a contingency-based approach and hypothesize and find that a designated, nominal formal leader is positively related to shared leadership emergence when role ambiguity is high. Additionally, high role ambiguity enhances the indirect effect of designated formal leadership on team innovation via shared leadership. Alternatively, low ambiguity neutralizes the effect of designated formal leadership on shared leadership and the indirect effect on team innovation via shared leadership. These findings help to address conflicting perspectives regarding the linkage of formal leadership and shared leadership and their respective influence on team innovation.

Can taking charge at work help hospitality frontline employees enrich their family life?

Abstract Managing work-family interface has been a key issue for hospitality employees. By integrating the literature on thriving at work into the work-family enrichment model, this study proposes taking charge as a resource-generating behavior that employees could undertake to enrich their family life. Using data collected on two occasions from frontline employees and their supervisors in a hotel in China, we find that those who take charge are more likely to experience thriving at work, which helps them improve the quality of their family life. Furthermore, working under a leader facing high role ambiguity augments this relationship. The study findings advance current work-family enrichment literature, and also carry important practical implications for promoting employees’ work-to-family enrichment in the hospitality sector.

Role ambiguity and economic hardship as the moderators of the relation between abusive supervision and job burnout: An Application of uncertainty management theory

Based on uncertainty management theory (Lind & Van den Bos, 2002; Van den Bos & Lind, 2002), we explored whether uncertainty in the workplace (role ambiguity) as well as off the workplace (economic hardship) moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates’ job burnout. Using survey method, we obtained 458 valid responses from employees in a transportation company in Taiwan. The results of moderated hierarchical regression showed that both role ambiguity and economic hardship induce the positive relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates’ job burnout. Abusive supervision related more strongly to job burnout when subordinates perceived higher role ambiguity (higher uncertainty) or higher economic hardship (higher uncertainty). As predicted, high uncertainty increases subordinates’ attentions to the injustice from abusive supervision and thus strengthens the negative psychological consequences of abusive supervision, regardless of whether the source of uncertainty corresponds to the source of (in)justice perception.

Association between work role stressors and sleep quality.

Work-related stressors are associated with low sleep quality. However, few studies have reported an association between role stressors and sleep quality. To elucidate the association between role stressors (including role conflict and ambiguity) and sleep quality. Cross-sectional study of daytime workers whose sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Work-related stressors, including role stressors, were assessed using the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire (GJSQ). The association between sleep quality and work-related stressors was investigated by logistic regression analysis. A total of 243 participants completed questionnaires were received (response rate 71%); 86 participants reported poor sleep quality, based on a global PSQI score ≥6. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that higher role ambiguity was associated with global PSQI scores ≥6, and that role conflict was significantly associated with sleep problems, including sleep disturbance and daytime dysfunction. These results suggest that high role stress is associated with low sleep quality, and that this association should be considered an important determinant of the health of workers.

Crucial Role of Motivational CQ on SIEs' Intention to Stay and In-role Job Performance

Although self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) have become the target of recruitment when multinationals hunt for international talent, they are still considered as a risk to corporate personnel security because of their mobility. In order to help companies turn this risk into a rare resource, this study analyzes how SIEs' motivational CQ impacts their intention to stay and in-role job performance by investigating 250 SIEs in China-based companies. Our findings indicate that SIEs' motivational CQ is a significant predictor of their intention to stay with their employer and their in-role job performance. We also find that SIEs' intention to stay partially mediates the positive relationship between their motivational CQ and in-role job performance under the condition of low power distance and high role ambiguity. Our findings add new empirical evidence to the existing literature on SIE management, cultural intelligence, and person-environment fit, and has important implications for SIE management.

Relationship between occupational stress and job burnout among rural-to-urban migrant workers in Dongguan, China: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesIn China, there have been an increasing number of migrant workers from rural to urban areas, and migrant workers have the highest incidence of occupational diseases. However, few studies have...

Dealing with Organizational Double Binds: Three-way Interactive Effects of Role Stressors and Coping on Worker Exhaustion.

Based on theory regarding the dynamics of organizational double binds, hypotheses were developed about interactive effects of role conflict, role ambiguity, and coping on psychological exhaustion. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 948 civil servants employed by a government administration in Germany. The sample included 250 (26.4%) women (M age = 43.6 year, SD = 8.3) and average organizational tenure was 17.1 year (SD = 10.0). Moderated multiple regression supported the two hypothesized three-way interactions. Under conditions of high role conflict and high role ambiguity, exhaustion was lower in workers reporting high control coping than in workers reporting low control coping. Under conditions of high role conflict and high role ambiguity, worker exhaustion was more pronounced when support coping was high than when it was low. Problem-focused control coping seems crucial to maintain mental health in dealing with contradictory and unclear work role expectations. Emotion-focused support coping appears symptomatic of prolonged involvement in psychologically dysfunctional work situations that cannot otherwise be addressed. Implications are discussed in the context of growing awareness of the contradictory demands organizations impose on employees.

Relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived individual level occupational stress among Japanese schoolteachers.

Japanese teachers are mentally and physically burdened with various work stressors. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived individual level occupational stress including role problems among Japanese schoolteachers. This study included 1,006 teachers working in public schools in a Japanese city. The Japanese version of Zung’s Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) was used to evaluate depressive symptoms, and the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire was used to evaluate occupational stress and three measures of social support. Subjects with SDS scores of more than 50 were categorized into the “depressive group.” We examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived individual level occupational stress using multiple logistic regression analyses. A total of 202 (20.1%) teachers belonged to the depressive group. We found that high role ambiguity, high role conflict, high quantitative workload, and low social support from family or friends were significantly related to depressive symptoms. To moderate role ambiguity and role conflict experienced by teachers, it is necessary to clarify the priority order of teachers’ work. Furthermore, it is necessary to reduce workload by focusing on the content of teachers’ work and the setting of education itself. Focusing on these elements will reduce teachers’ depressive symptoms.

The effects of felt accountability and role ambiguity on organisational commitment: a replication of results analysing social network analysis

Using the conflict theory of decision making (Janis and Mann, 1977) as a theoretical foundation, we examined the moderating effects of role ambiguity on the felt accountability-organisational commitment relationship. Data from a the USA healthcare provider indicated that clear role expectations ameliorate the strain reactions caused by felt accountability on continuance commitment, but not on affective commitment. In particular, as felt accountability increased, employees who perceived low levels of role ambiguity experienced more continuance commitment, but those with high role ambiguity perceptions experienced less continuance commitment. By measuring felt accountability with a roster (i.e., social network analysis) and an established scale, we were able to replicate our results, thus lending credence to our findings and providing a new measurement approach for an important organisational stressor.

The effects of felt accountability and role ambiguity on organisational commitment: a replication of results analysing social network analysis

Using the conflict theory of decision making (Janis and Mann, 1977) as a theoretical foundation, we examined the moderating effects of role ambiguity on the felt accountability-organisational commitment relationship. Data from a the USA healthcare provider indicated that clear role expectations ameliorate the strain reactions caused by felt accountability on continuance commitment, but not on affective commitment. In particular, as felt accountability increased, employees who perceived low levels of role ambiguity experienced more continuance commitment, but those with high role ambiguity perceptions experienced less continuance commitment. By measuring felt accountability with a roster (i.e., social network analysis) and an established scale, we were able to replicate our results, thus lending credence to our findings and providing a new measurement approach for an important organisational stressor.

A Prospective Study of Psychosocial Work Characteristics and Long Sick Leave of Japanese Male Employees in Multiple Workplaces

The aim of this study was to identify psychosocial work characteristics associated with long sick leave in a large population of male Japanese employees in multiple workplaces. We examined various psychosocial work characteristics (job overload, job control, supervisor support, coworker support, support by family and friends, role ambiguity, role conflict, intragroup conflict and intergroup conflict) of employees in six factories at the base line. We then conducted a follow-up survey on the recorded long sick leaves of ≥ 30 continuous days taken by the employees due to any medical condition. We found 574 cases of long sick leave out of 15,531 subjects during an average 5.07-yr follow-up. The results showed that high supervisor support was significantly associated with a decrease in the hazard ratio (HR) of long sick leave after adjustment for several confounding factors (95%CI; 0.69-0.97). High role ambiguity also tended to increase HR, but without reaching significance (95%CI; 0.99-1.41). The results suggest that supervisor support in the workplace may be important to reduce long sick leave in Japanese male employees.

Completing the surrogate motherhood process: Parental order reporters’ attitudes towards surrogacy arrangements, role ambiguity and role conflict

This study investigated the attitudes of parental order reporters (PORs) towards their work with surrogacy arrangements and their experiences of role conflict and role ambiguity. A questionnaire was used to assess PORs’ perceptions of their role in parental order [PO] applications, attitudes towards surrogacy arrangements and the legal process and the influence of role ambiguity or conflict. Questionnaires were distributed to all PORs employed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in England. Thirty-three PORs participated (response rate 46%) who, on average, had each completed five PO applications (range 1–40). Positive attitudes towards surrogacy and the child’s needs for openness about origins were found. Concerns about the inadequacy of preparation and assessment arrangements, overseas arrangements and non-regulation of surrogacy agencies were evident. PORs with high-role ambiguity were more likely to report less positive attitudes towards the emotional consequence of surrogacy on offspring. High scores on role ambiguity and role conflict were reflected in less positive attitudes towards the parties’ preparation towards parenthood. These results have implications for training, policy and practice in this area.