This chapter discusses literature related to employees in the organizations regarding job stress, social support (moderator) and affective commitment. The study includes four sections of literature in this chapter. The first section of literature discusses nonprofit organizations and how job stress connects to affective commitment in NPOs. The second section provides reviews with prior studies about job stress and affective commitment respectively. The third section explains the relationship between two variables (including job stress and affective commitment) which depicted by previous propositions. The final section discusses the relationship among job stress, social support and affective commitment.
Nonprofit Organization
The research described the characteristics of nonprofit organizations, and then provided information about working situations of employees and organizational operations in the nonprofit organizations in Taiwan.
Characteristics of Nonprofit Organizations
When it comes to nonprofit organizations, Drucker (1992) said that managing the nonprofit organizations is essential for board executives to create the human resource and organizational resources and to give practices of changes in the society. Without constant official institutions’ supports, the organizations need to contribute more efforts to conduct different missions of social benefits. The big difference between nonprofit organizations and profit organizations is a stakeholder issue (Lee, 2011: p.120). Characteristics of nonprofit organizations are also different from profit organizations as well as general enterprises and governments. NPOs with have important characteristics can promote faster organizational efficiency, effectiveness and better job quality. Some characteristics in the NPOs are indicated as follow (Basini & Buckley, 1997):
1. NPOs do not necessarily exist to generate profit for the owners, but they may generate
income that is spent
2. NPOs are outsides of the realm of government and private enterprises; they may rely on both for funding or expertise, etc.
3. NPOs’ staffing may be made up of unpaid volunteers as well as paid employees
4. NPOs may be exempt from taxation of income or property, and may generate revenues through charitable donations (p.2)
Moreover, according to different missions and organizational purposes, NPOs are divided into many types, including charitable organization, fundraising, religious organizations, political campaigns and social service in this society (Lee, 2011: p.120). In addition to above NPOs’ characteristics, the evaluation of reward and appraisal system was differenced from the private sectors (Basini & Buchley, 1997). Therefore, for many NPOs, The management of NPOs is becoming a critical issue, especially for integrating collaboration of different sectors and managing volunteer and employees.
The Employees in NPOs
For nonprofit organizations, human resource is a valuable resource, including volunteers and employees (Gindling, 2004: p.122). In Taiwan, for 1990-mids, the number of foundations has gradually increased double speed of growth rate, with the rapid development of NPOs, Kuan (2010) estimated that 4500 NPOs were established in Taiwan based on the statistical information of 2010 Ministry of Interior. But, the human resources in NPOs also exist in uneven distributions and extreme discrepancies from different types of foundations; the scale of human resources is from 1 to more than 1000 people (Hsiao, 2006: p.11). For volunteers, organizations can recruit new volunteers who became new human resources under no financial pressures. And volunteers can also help organizations implement different assistance programs. But, for recruiting new employees, it is not easy for organizations to implement this recruitment process because of budgets limitation. According to the statistical
smaller from1990 until 2010, for external and internal environment in NPOs, the welfare services have been noticed and improved in our society.
Therefore, the nature of the practical working situation of organizational goals of the employees in NPOs is differing from private sectors (Ashcraft & Kedrowicz, 2002). There are some problems related to the working situation of employees faced by NPOs, including organizational resources, the attitude of supervisor and peers, no strategic planning for overall missions in NPOs and psychological pressures(Chiu, 2002; Tsai, 2002; Thomas & Lan Lau, 2009). In fact, the employees in NPOs have identifications with organizational missions to the organizations and they can devote themselves to conduct different activities (Seetoo, 1999). Retaining and maintaining employees are vital policies for NPOs, because it is not easy to replace any employees who have the practical knowledge’s base of long time.
Therefore, it is important for sectors to continue to explore and care the understanding of what are real skills and training needs for employees. Also, the organizations need to strengthen the employees to meet challenges of the organizational missions and human resource (Kathryn & Grant, 2003).
Job Stress
In the workplace, job stress is attained from working experiences for many workers (Story & Billingham, 2001). According to Kahn and Quinn (1964) study, the occupational stress is a negative factor. And it is easy for workers to connect with their works, such as work load, role conflict, role ambiguity, and poor working conditions. During the psychological or physiological change, the employees who feel the chronic organizational stress have increasingly changed by their external and internal working environments (Beehr
& Newman, 1978). Also, Kessler et al. (1985) proved that the psychological well being and stress have some connections with each other. Therefore, employees perceived some personal conditions and feeling from their works, simultaneously, it can produce the psychological and
physiological situations. This research found that different types of sources that employee received can result in much job stress.
Story and Billingham(2001: p.601) stated, “there are six general areas of stress in the workplace, including physical environment, employee’s role, organizational structure and climate, public image and expectation and the inter-face between work and home” (p.601).
Also, Lu et al. (2003) also found that there are six sources related to stress during the working, including physical environment, role stressors, organization structure and job characteristics, relationship with others, career development and work family conflict. Moreover, people who experience much emotional exhaustions can produce some burnout, and then the burnout is connected with working performance, absenteeism and working satisfaction. According to Antoniou et al. (2006) study, employees produce the job stress, the sources of stress could cause by endogenous and exogenous. On the hand, the exogenous including the balance between the training and work, the situation of working on projects, the balance between families and works. On the other hand, the endogenous including career development, organizational structure, the distributions of employee in NPOs, role position, job complexity and organizational climate. Generally, according to Kahn and Byosiere (1992), the job stress was divided into three dimensions, including role conflict, role ambiguity and overload.
Three dimensions were discussed below in NPO context.
The Job Stress in Nonprofit Organizations
The working situations of employees in NPOs still have some potential problems. For working time; even though, the organizations set up the constant working time, NPOs’
workers usually don’t finish their works on time due to the heavy working loading. Because of nature of NPOs’ job, employees in NPOs are especially sensitive to face with much stress and its devastating effects under the complicate working environments. Owing to limitation of fewer organizational resources, the distribution of human resource, and fundraising
problems, it is easy for NPOs’ workers feel the job stress, and finally become burnout in the workplace (Maslach & Leiter, 1997).
Under full of stressful environments, the employees need to complete their works that caused by pre-employees and finish own works with limitation of human resource. Therefore, the job overload is very heavy. Employees need to wear different shoes to implement multiple tasks in the working environment. Thomas and Lan (2009) said that the characteristics of NPO’s job are dangerous or stressful and lack of supervisory.
The NPOs’ workers need to experience many frustrations and depressions because of gaps between job expectations and realities. Because, the Michael et al. (2009) indicated that
“when role expectation are not clear due to lacks of information and the work it entails”(p.267), the problem of role ambiguity was cause by employee’s awareness, and then the employees can lose confidences and increase the anxieties and hopelessness (Muchinsky, 1997). In addition, under the incompatible role expectation and the requirement of organization, employee could create the role conflict that produces the psychological stress.
Almost all the NPOs’ workers need to deal with the multiple cases during the period of long time. So, when it comes to staff training, although employees are willingness to accept the staff trainings designed by organizations, their participation still depends on their working loading. Otherwise, NPOs’ workers would not only experience more job stress, but also reduce the benefit of training outcomes after staff trainings.
The Models Affecting Job Stress in the Organizations
When it comes to models related to job stress, this research adopts three models to introduce the process and psychological impacts when employees experience job stress in the workplace, including the Conservation of Resources Model, the Job Demand- Resources Model and Work Stress Model.
Conservation of Resources Model
The first model, which is called Conservation of Resources Model, is to describe the importance of accepting available sources for employees during working. Halbesleben and Buckley (2004) said that “Stress and burnout occur when individuals perceive a threat to that which they value (resources)” (pp.861-862). Therefore, the employees may have difficulties in acquiring treasure and helpful resources, which means that it is sensitive for employees to have feeling of unsafe and produce job stress at that time.
The Job Demands—Resources Model
The second model, which is called The Job Demands—Resources Model, is to divide into two dimensions as well as job demands and job resources in performing how to need considerations to deal with your job stress in the workplace (Halbesleben & Buckley, 2004).
(1) Job demands are those aspects of the job that require effort, and as a result are associated with psychological costs
(2) Job resources are characteristics of the job that assist in achieving work goals, diminish the demands of the job, or lead to personal growth. (pp.862-863)
Therefore, job demands and job resources can affect employees producing degrees of job stress as well as exhaustion and disengagement when employees deal with external working needs lacking of any resources supports.
Figure 2.1 The job demands—resources model.
Adapted from: “The job demands- resourcesmodel of burnout.” By Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.
B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2001), Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 499-512.
Work Stress Model
The third model, which is called Work Stress Model, is to divide into three steps, and then Work Stress Model described that people who received stress affect how to use the strategy of stress management to deal with any situations under different sources of stressors.
Therefore, this study indicated that job stress plays vitals impact on employees’
psychological needs, physiological needs and organizational performance.
Figure 2.2 Work stress model
Note: Adapted from “Worksite stress management interventions.” By Ivancevich, Matteson, Freedman, and Phillips. (1990), American Psychologist, 45(2), 252-261.
Results or Consequences
Affective Commitment
Meyer and Allen’s (1991) study indicated that organization commitment was divided into three dimensions, including continuance commitment, normative commitment and affective commitment. However, as the range of organization commitment is so board, this study was only focused on affective commitment, which involves employees’ emotional changes (Beck and Wilson, 2000). Also, after combining many literatures, this study found that affective commitment which was caused by psychological pressure and social supports would influence the perceptions of employees in the organizations. Accordingly, the researcher explained the concept, affective commitment, in the following two sections, including the important for employees on emotions to change and the impact of job stress on affective commitment to change.
The Importance for Employees on Emotion to Change
When it comes to affective commitment, it is defined as the employee’s positive emotional attachment to the organization. It means that the identifications from employees are connected with the commitment of organization base on varies of attitudes of working situations. When the employees produce the strong psychological attachment in their hearts, the employees have more willingness to devote their efforts to their organizations (Mueller et al., 1992). Moreover, in the organizations, employees who have the relationship with
affective commitment can contribute their efforts to the organizational tasks, which mean that this factor is related to the positive attitudes towards organizational change. This is because Beck and Wilson (2000) indicated that the evidence for developmental needs from employees’
psychological attachment is more important than other two organizational commitments (continuance and affirmative commitment).
Also, Meyer and Allen (1993) also indicated that affective commitment refers to workers’ psychological attachment to the working locations. Therefore, the NPOs’ workers stay in the stressful working environment, it is easy to affect psychological process in their minds. For affective commitment, Ugboro (2006) indicated that there was a significant positive relationship associated with job performance, employee employment and self determination. It is not only adjusting the organizational performance of employee, but also connecting with the level of psychological and physiological in the organizations. When affective commitment from employees becomes much weaker, employees are tired of their works and lose their feelings of organizational identifications. According to the Somers (1995) statistical result, the study showed that there was a significant and positive relationship with affective commitment and employee intention in the organizations. Therefore, when employees decide to leave their jobs, the organizations need to care about employees’ real needs from emotional attachment in their working environments.
The Impact of Job Stress on Affective Commitment to Change
Furthermore, there are some literatures connecting with psychological, spiritual aspect and employees in the working organizations. According to the Rego and Cunha (2008) finding, employees with higher affective commitment can attach to their organizations and sense of loyalty because of importance of workplace spirituality. The employees in the organizations are suitable for affecting and transferring their affective commitment through spiritual and psychological stress. For continuance and affirmative commitment, it is not belong directly to employees’ emotions and feelings. Rhoades et al. (2001) also indicated that”
Employees have a sense of belonging and identification that increases their involvement in the organization’s activities their willingness to pursue the organization’s goals and their desire to remain with the organizations (p.825)”. This study found that it is an important factor for NPO managers to pay attention on observing employees ‘perceptions on how employees’ attitudes and behaviors they emotionally changed to the organizations (Adawiyah, et al. 2011).
In addition, Lin et al. (2011) also indicated that job psychological stress had a significant and negative influence on employee affective commitment in the organizations. Therefore, it
is obviously for nonprofit organizations to consider that affective commitment is connected to their employees’ emotion change, and this present study aims to understand more details about among connections of job stress, social support and affective commitment.
Table 2.1
The Finding for the Literature of Affective Commitment
Authors Finding
Meyer and Allen (1993)
Affective commitment refers to workers’ psychological attachment to the working locations.
Somers (1995) Affective was positively related to intent to remain with the organization.
Beck and Wilson (2000)
The evidence for developmental needs from
employees’ psychological attachment is more important than other two organizational commitments
Rhoades et al.
(2001)
Employees have a sense of belonging and identification that increases their involvement in the organization’s activities their willingness to pursue the organization’s goals and their desire to remain with the organization. (p.825)
Cartwright and Cooper (2002)
Job stressors associated with negative attitudes to change and affect the individual’s value to the organizations.
(Continued)
Table-2.1(Continued)
Authors Finding
Vakola and Nikolaou (2005) The range of organizational and individual factors were caused and related by the commitment as well as work Experience, personal characteristics. Structural characteristics and role related features.
Ugboro (2006) There was a significant relationship
associated with job performance, employee employment and self determination.
Rego and Cunha (2008)
The findings suggest that when people experience workplace spirituality, they feel more affectively attached to their organizations, experience a sense of obligation/loyalty towards them, and feel less instrumentally committed.
Liu et al.(2011)
Job psychological stress had a significant negative influence on employee affective commitment to change. it is suggested that by improving psychological factors at work, it is possible to promote employee affective commitment to change as well as positive organization change.
Job Stress and Affective Commitment
In NPOs, the employees can produce job stress by facing varies of cases during working time. When the multiple tasks increase, the job stresses also increase. Therefore, it is possible for employees to affect their affective commitment to the organizations. This is because they do not concentrate devoting efforts with their works, and improving organizational efficiency.
Some literatures showed that job stress was associated with the affective commitment on the workplace. Kessler et al.’s (1985) research found that fundamental nature of stress has an impact on psychological well-being. Based on above study, the level of psychological pressures can affect the employees’ feelings in the working environment. Therefore, Heller et al. (1990) also indicated that it is essential for organizations to understand the psychological situations of employees by diagnosing their social and working conditions, and then to lessen psychological distress. The fore-mentioned scholars proved that job stress have a significant relationship with affective commitment. Moreover, Yousef (2002) also showed that role ambiguity has a clear impact on affective and normative commitment. However, Moorman et al. (1998) and Wayne et al. (1997) demonstrated that role stress did not have a direct effect on workers’ affective commitment, but an indirect effect through job satisfactions.
For social service workers, the employees need to face work-family problems and social obligations. Therefore, it is unfair for employees to implement the different works and experience more additional job stress and no brighter future in their organizations. Moreover, Fornes et al. (2008) created the conceptual model to explain what factors of antecedents affecting the outcomes to the workplace commitment. From this model, it is important for organizations to build the policies based on those antecedents and move toward improving organizational outcomes through promoting employee perceptions as well as affective commitment, individual employee commitment and perceived organizational support. The conceptual model of workplace commitment is as follows:
*Congruency *Individual and Organizational Success
*Interesting Work *Organizational *Clarity of Purpose *Emotional Attachment Commitment *Willing to Change in Organizational Citizenship
*Equity and Fairness *Extra-role Performance
*Feedback & Recognition *Perceived Support of *Increased Job Satisfaction and Work Motivation
*Empowerment Organization *Improved Performance
*Autonomy *Improved Production
* Lower Absenteeism and Turnover * Reduced Work-related Stress
*Congruency * Improved Self-esteem/Self-image
*Interesting Work
*Congruency *Individual
*Feedback & Recognition Employee Commitment *Increased Employee Well-being
*Autonomy *Perceived Meaningfulness *Self-Awareness
Figure 2.3 The conceptual model of workplace commitment
Adapted from “Workplace commitment: A conceptual model developed from integrative review of the research.” Fornes, A. L., Rocco, T. S., & Wollard, K. K, (2008), Human Resource Development Review, 7(3), 339-357.
Based on this conceptual model, the organizations can make a balance between employees’ work and psychological needs. Indentifying the importance of good fit between employees and organizational values is a key to increase the affective commitment to the employees (Van Vianen, 2000). Also, Lahiry (1994) indicated that the greater levels of consistency of individual and organizational values, the greater the levels of employee affective commitment.
Based on above literature reviews, therefore, the hypotheses 1 and sub-hypotheses (1a,
Based on above literature reviews, therefore, the hypotheses 1 and sub-hypotheses (1a,