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On the Relation Between Job Characteristics and Depression: A Longitudinal Study

  • Published:
International Journal of Stress Management

Abstract

The current study assumes that workers actively influence the characteristics of their work environment. Not only will one's work environment (job characteristics) affect personal characteristics, such as feelings of depression; depression in turn is expected to affect the characteristics of one's work environment as well. Using a sample of 593 young Dutch workers, a longitudinal model relating feelings of depression and job characteristics to each other was tested using structural equation modeling. The results largely supported our expectations. Depressive workers were less likely to experience a job transition than non-depressive workers. If depressive workers did experience a job transition, work outcomes were less positive than for nondepressive workers. Thus, it appears that the relation between job characteristics and depression can be construed as a reciprocal relation. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Toon W. Taris

  2. Bok & Taris Psychological Consultancy, Hilversum

    Toon W. Taris & Inge A. Bok

  3. Institute Work and Stress, Bilthoven

    Denise G. Caljé

Authors
  1. Toon W. Taris
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  2. Inge A. Bok
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  3. Denise G. Caljé
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Taris, T.W., Bok, I.A. & Caljé, D.G. On the Relation Between Job Characteristics and Depression: A Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Stress Management 5, 157–167 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022988915062

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022988915062

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