Psychological strain as the mediator in the relationships between work design and work attitudes among Malaysian technical workers

Abstract

Work design has long been found to affect employee well-being, but scholars have begun to question whether the established theoretical relations regarding work design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. This study examined the mediation effect of psychological strain on the relationships between work design variables and work attitude outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions). This research involved a survey design. Self-reports on the study variables were obtained from 429 technical workers in a large telecommunication company in Malaysia. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the mediation effects hypotheses. The findings confirmed the direct effects of job demands and job control on psychological strain. Psychological strain (especially anxiety/depression) functioned as a mediator between work design variables and work attitudes. The findings may help human resource practitioners understand how work design influences employees’ well-being.