Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Stressful Situations at Work and in Private Life among Young Workers: An Event Sampling Approach

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Most studies on occupational stress concentrateon chronic conditions, whereas research onstressful situations is rather sparse. Using anevent-sampling approach, 80 young workersreported stressful events over 7 days (409work-related and 127 private events). Contentanalysis showed the newcomers' work experiencesto be similar to what is typically found inolder samples (e.g., social stressors,quantitative overload, problems ofcooperation). At work and in private life,social stressors were dominant. Inmultilevel-analyses active coping predictedhigher success in calming down and problemsolving, particularly in controllablesituations. Palliation was positively relatedto successful calming down and negatively toevent-related well-being. With regard to therelationship between chronic conditions andsituational variables, (stable) job control wasassociated with successful calming down instressful situations, and it buffered theeffect of chronic job stressors on successfulsituational calming down, yielding a specificvariant of the demands-control model. Number ofwork-related stressful events, weighted bysignificance, was moderately associated withchronic job stressors. However, while chronicjob stressors predicted momentary well-beingover and above the weighted number of events,events did not predict momentary well-being,and its prediction of stable well-beingdisappeared once chronic stressors werecontrolled. These results show how chronicconditions represent background variables thatnot only have a stronger influence onwell-being but also influence the immediatereaction to stressful encounters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aiken, L. S. and S. G. West: 1991, Multiple Regression (Sage, Thousand Oaks).

    Google Scholar 

  • Apenburg, E.: 1986, ‘Befindlichkeitsbeschreibung als Methode der Beanspruchungsmessung. Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung und Validierung einer modifizierten Fassung der Eigenzustandsskala von Nitsch [Description of state as a method for measuring stress related to job demands: Studies related to the development and validation of a modified version of Nitsch's personal state scale]', Zeitschrift für Arbeits-und Organisationspsychologie 30, pp. 3-14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold, J.: 1997, ‘The psychology of careers in organization', In C. L. Cooper and I. T. Robertson (eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1997, Vol. 12 (Wiley, Chichester), pp. 1-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bamberg, E.: 1992, ‘Stressoren in der Erwerbsarbeit und in der Freizeit: Zusammenhaenge mit psychischen Befindensbeeintraechtigungen [Stressors in an occupation and in nonwork time: Relationships with psychological moderators]', Zeitschrift für Arbeits-und Organisationspsychologie 36, pp. 84-91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beehr, T.: 1995, Psychological Stress in the Workplace (Routledge, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolger, N., A. DeLongis, R. C. Kessler and E. A. Schilling: 1989, ‘Effects of daily stress on negative mood', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57, pp. 808-818.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buunk, B. P. and K. Verhoeven: 1991, ‘Companionship and support at work: A microanalysis of the stress-reducing features of social interaction', Basic and Applied Social Psychology 12, pp. 243-258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J.: 1960, ‘A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales', Educational and Psychological Measurement 20, pp. 37-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. L., P. J. Dewe and M. P. O'Driscoll: 2001, Organizational Stress. A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutrona, C. E.: 1986, ‘Behavioral manifestations of social support: A microanalytic investigation', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51, pp. 201-208.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLongis, A., J. Coyne, G. Dakof, S. Folkman and R. S. Lazarus: 1982, ‘Relationship of daily hassles, uplifts, and major life events to health status', Health Psychology 1, pp. 119-136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckenrode, J.: 1984, ‘The impact of chronic and acute stressors on daily reports of mood', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, pp. 907-918.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckenrode, J. and N. Bolger: 1997, ‘Daily and within-day event measurement', In S. Cohen, R. C. Kessler and L. U. Gordon (eds.), Measuring Stress. A Guide for Health and Social Scientists (Oxford University Press, New York), pp. 80-101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S.: 1992, ‘Making the case for coping', in B. N. Carpenter (ed.), Personal Coping: Theory, Tesearch, and Application (Praeger, Westport, CT), pp. 31-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsythe, C. J. and B. E. Compas: 1987, ‘Interaction of cognitive appraisals of stressful events and coping: Testing the goodness of fit hypothesis', Cognitive Therapy and Research 11, pp. 473-485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frese, M.: 1985, ‘Stress at work and psychosomatic complaints: A causal interpretation', Journal of Applied Psychology 70, pp. 314-328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fried, Y., H. A. Ben-David, R. B. Tiegs, N. Avital and U. Yeverechyahu: 1998, ‘The interactive effect of role conflict and role ambiguity on job performance', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 71, pp. 19-27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grebner, S., A. Elfering and N. K. Semmer: 2003a, Work Experience, Blood Pressure, and Well-Being Among Young Workers. Unpublished manuscript, University of Berne, Switzerland.

  • Grebner, S., N. K. Semmer and A. Elfering: 2003b, Working Conditions and Well-Being Among Young Workers: A Longitudinal Study with Self-Report and Rating Data. Manuscript submitted for publication, University of Berne, Switzerland.

  • Grund, S.: 1997, Situationsbezogene Messung von Stressereignissen am Arbeitsplatz [Situation-Related Measurement of Stressful Events at Work]. Unpublished master's thesis. University of Berne, Switzerland.

  • Hobfoll, S. E.: 2001, ‘The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory', Applied Psychology: An International Review 50, pp. 337-421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holahan, C. J. and R. H. Moos: 1990, ‘Life stressors, resistance factors, and improved psychological functioning: An extension of the stress resistance paradigm', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58, 909-917.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hox, J. J.: 2002, Multilevel Analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jex, S. M.: 1998, Stress and Job Performance (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, R. L. and P. Byosiere: 1992, ‘Stress in organizations', in M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd edn (Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA), pp. 571-650.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kälin, W., N. K. Semmer, A. Elfering, F. Tschan, J.-P. Dauwalder, S. Heunert and F. Crettaz de Roten: 2000, ‘Work characteristics and well-being of Swiss apprentices entering the labor market', Swiss Journal of Psychology 59, pp. 272-290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, A. D., J. C. Coyne, C. Schaefer and R. S. Lazarus: 1981, ‘Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: Daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events', Journal of Behavioral Medicine 4, pp. 1-39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R. A.: 1979, ‘Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign', Administrative Science Quarterly 24, pp. 285-308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasl, S. V.: 1992, ‘Surveillance of psychological disorders in the workplace', in G. P. Keita and S. L. Sauter (eds.), Work and Well-Being. An Agenda for the 1990s (American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.), pp. 73-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S.: 1999, Stress and Emotion: A New Synthesis (Free Association Books, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R. and R. M. Kowalski: 1995, Social Anxiety (Guilford Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marmot, M., T. Theorell and J. Siegrist: 2002, ‘Work and coronary heart disease', in S. Stansfeld and M. Marmot (eds.), Stress and the Heart: Psychosocial Pathways to Coronary Heart Disease (BMJ Books, London), pp. 50-71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marmot, M. G., H. Bosma, H. Hemmingway, E. Brunner and S. Stansfeld: 1997, ‘Contribution of job control and other risk factors to social variations in coronary heart disease incidence', Lancet 350, pp. 235-239.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEwen, B. S.: 1998, ‘Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators', New England Journal of Medicine 338, pp. 171-179.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrath, J. E. and F. Tschan: in press, Time Matters in Social Psychology (American Psychological Association, Washington D.C.).

  • Mohr, G.: 1986, Die Erfassung psychischer Befindensbeeintraechtigung bei Industriearbeitern [Assessment of Stress Effects in Industrial Workers] (Lang, Frankfurt).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohr, G.: 1991, ‘Fuenf Subkonstrukte psychischer Befindensbeeintraechtigungen bei Industriearbeitern: Auswahl und Entwicklung [Five subconstructs of psychological strain in industrial personnel: Selection and development]', in S. Greif, E. Bamberg and N. Semmer (eds.), Psychischer Stress am Arbeitsplatz (Hogrefe, Göttingen), pp. 91-119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroe, S. M.: 1983, ‘Major and minor life events as predictors of psychological distress. Further issues and findings', Journal of Behavioral Medicine 6, pp. 189-205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ockenfels, M.: 1995, Der Einfluss von chronischem Stress auf die Cortisolkonzentration im Speichel. Gesamtkonzentration, Tagesprofil und Cortisolreaktivitaet auf alltaegliche Stressoren [The Effect of Daily Hassles on Salivary Cortisol] (Waxmann, Muenster, Germany).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostendorf, F.: 1990, Sprache und Persoenlichkeitsstruktur. Zur Validitaet des Fuenf-Faktoren-Modells der Persoenlichkeit [Language and Personality Structure. On the Validity of the Five-Factor Model of Personality] (Roderer, Regensburg, Germany).

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkes, K. R.: 1986, ‘Coping in stressful episodes: The role of individual differences, environmental factors, and situational characteristics', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51, pp. 12770-1292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peeters, M. C. W., B. P. Buunk and W. B. Schaufeli: 1995a, ‘Social interactions, stressful events and negative affect at work: A micro-analytic approach', European Journal of Social Psychology 25, pp. 391-401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peeters, M. C. W., B. P. Buunk and W. B. Schaufeli: 1995b, ‘A micro-analytic exploration of the cognitive appraisal of daily stressful events at work: The role of controllability', Anxiety, Stress, and Coping 8, pp. 127-139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrez, M.: 2001, ‘Coping assessment', in N. J. Smelser and P. B. Baltes (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 4 (Elsevier, Oxford, UK), pp. 2766-2770.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrez, M. and M. Reicherts: 1989, ‘Belastungsverarbeitung: Computerunterstuetzte Selbstbeobachtung im Feld [Coping behavior: Computerized self-observation in the field]', Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie 10, pp. 129-139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrez, M. and M. Reicherts: 1992, Stress, Coping, and Health. A Situation-Behavior Approach. Theory, Methods, Applications (Hogrefe and Huber, Bern).

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrez, M. and M. Reicherts: 1996, ‘A computer-assisted self-monitoring procedure for assessing stress-related behavior under real life conditions', in J. Fahrenberg and M. Myrtek (eds.), Ambulatory Assessment: Computer-Assisted Psychological and psychophysiological Methods in Monitoring and Field Studies (Hogrefe and Huber, Kirkland, WA), pp. 51-67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pike, J. L., T. L. Smith, R. L. Hauger, P. M. Nicassiol, T. L. Patterson, J. McClintick, C. Costlow and M. R. Irwin: 1997, ‘Chronic life stress alters sympathetic, neuroendocrine, and immune responsivity to an acute psychological stressor in humans', Psychosomatic Medicine 59, pp. 447-457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasbash, J., W. Browne, H. Goldstein, M. Yang, I. Plewis, M. Healy, G. Woodhouse, D. Draper, Langford and T. Lewis: 2000, A User's Guide to MLwiN (Multilevel Models Project, Institute of Education, University of London, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Reicherts, M.: 1988, Diagnostik der Belastungsverarbeitung [Diagnosis of Coping with Stress] (Huber, Bern).

    Google Scholar 

  • Reicherts, M. and S. Pihet: 2000, ‘Job newcomers coping with stressful situations: A micro-analysis of adequate coping and well-being', Swiss Journal of Psychology 59, pp. 303-316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saks, A. M. and B. E. Ashforth: 2000, ‘The role of dispositions, entry stressors, and behavioural plasticity theory in predicting newcomers' adjustment to work', Journal of Organizational Behavior 21, pp. 43-62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schallberger, U. and M. Venetz: 1999, ‘Kurzversionen des MRS-Inventars von Ostendorf (1990) zur Erfassung der fuenf “grossen” Persoenlichkeitsfaktoren [Brief versions of Ostendorf's MRS inventory for the assessment of the big five personality factors]', Reports from the Department of Applied Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semmer, N. K.: 2003, ‘Individual differences, work stress and health', in M. J. Schabracq, J. A. Winnubst and C. L. Cooper (eds.), Handbook of Work and Health Psychology, 2nd edn. (Wiley, Chichester), pp. 83-120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semmer, N.: 1998, ‘Control at work: Issues of specificity, generality, and legitimacy', in W. J. Perrig and A. Grob (eds.), Control of Human Behavior, Mental Processes, and Consciousness — Essays in Honour of the 60th Birthday of August Flammer (Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ), pp. 714-741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semmer, N., D. Zapf and H. Dunckel: 1995, ‘Assessing stress at work: A framework and an instrument', in O. Svane and C. Johansen (eds.), Work and Health — Scientific Basis of Progress in the Working Environment (Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg), pp. 105-113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semmer, N. K., D. Zapf and S. Greif: 1996, ‘“Shared job strain”: A new approach for assessing the validity of job stress measurements', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 69, pp. 293-311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnentag, S.: 2001, ‘Work, recovery activities, and individual well-being: A diary study', Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 6, pp. 196-210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnentag, S. and M. Frese: 2003, ‘Stress in organizations', in W. C. Borman, D. R. Ilgen and J. R. Klimoski (eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology: Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Vol. 12 (Wiley, New York), pp. 453-491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E.: 1992, ‘A consideration of the validity and meaning of self report measures of job conditions', in C. L. Cooper and I. T. Robertson (eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1992, Vol. 7 (Wiley, Chichester), pp. 123-151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E., D. Zapf, P. Y. Chen and M. Frese: 2000, ‘Why negative affectivity should not be controlled in job stress research: Don't throw out the baby with the bath water', Journal of Organizational Behavior 21, pp. 79-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. A.: 1987, ‘Event content in a daily survey is differentially associated with concurrent mood', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52, pp. 56-58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terry, D. J. and N. L. Jimmieson: 1999, ‘Work control and employee well-being: A decade review', in C. L. Cooper and I. T. Robertson (eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14 (Wiley, Chichester), pp. 95-148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theorell, T. and R. A. Karasek: 1996, ‘Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research', Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 1, pp. 9-26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A.: 1994, ‘Stressors and problem-solving: The individual as psychological activist', Journal of Health and Social Behavior 35, pp. 143-159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitaliano, P. P., D. J. DeWolfe, R. D. Maiuro, J. Russo and W. Katon: 1990, ‘Appraised changeability of a stressor as a modifier of the relationship between coping and depression: A test of the hypothesis of fit', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59, pp. 582-592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warr, P.: 1999, ‘Well-being and the workplace', in D. Kahneman, E. Diener and N. Schwarz (eds.), Well-Being. The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (Russell Sage Foundation, New York), pp. 393-412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D. and J. W. Pennebaker: 1989, ‘Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity', Psychological Review 96, pp. 234-254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wüst, S., I. Federenko, D. H. Hellhammer and C. Kirschbaum: 2000, ‘Genetic factors, perceived chronic stress, and the free cortisol response to awakening', Psychoneuroendocrinology 25, pp. 707-720.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Berne, Muesmattstr. 45, Unitobler, CH-3000, Berne 9, Switzerland E-mail

    Simone Grebner, Achim Elfering, Norbert K. Semmer, Claudia Kaiser-Probst & Marie-Louise Schlapbach

Authors
  1. Simone Grebner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Achim Elfering
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Norbert K. Semmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Claudia Kaiser-Probst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marie-Louise Schlapbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Grebner, S., Elfering, A., Semmer, N.K. et al. Stressful Situations at Work and in Private Life among Young Workers: An Event Sampling Approach. Social Indicators Research 67, 11–49 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000007333.96382.3a

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000007333.96382.3a

Search

Navigation