Organizational uncertainty and stress among teachers in Hong Kong: work characteristics and organizational justice

Hassard, J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3662-052X, Teoh, K and Cox, T, 2017. Organizational uncertainty and stress among teachers in Hong Kong: work characteristics and organizational justice. Health Promotion International, 32 (5), pp. 860-870. ISSN 0957-4824

Preview

Text PubSub7908_Hassard.pdf - Post-print Download (466kB) | Preview

Abstract

A growing literature now exists examining the relationship between organizational justice and employees' experience of stress. Despite the growth in this field of enquiry, there remain continued gaps in knowledge. In particular, the contribution of perceptions of justice to employees’ stress within an organizational context of uncertainty and change, and in relation to the new and emerging concept of procedural-voice justice. The aim of the current study was to examine the main, interaction and additive effects of work characteristics and organizational justice perceptions to employees' experience of stress (as measured by their feelings of helplessness and perceived coping) during an acknowledged period of organizational uncertainty. Questionnaires were distributed among teachers in seven public primary schools in Hong Kong that were under threat of closure (n =212). Work characteristics were measured using the demand–control–support model. Hierarchical regression analyses observed perceptions of job demands and procedural-voice justice to predict both teachers’ feelings of helplessness and perceived coping ability. Furthermore, teacher’s perceived coping was predicted by job control and a significant interaction between procedural voice justice and distributive justice. The addition of organizational justice variables did account for unique variance, but only in relation to the measure of perceived coping. The study concludes that in addition to 'traditional' work characteristics, health promotion strategies should also address perceptions of organizational justice during times of organisational uncertainty; and, in particular, the value and importance of enhancing employee’s perceived 'voice' in influencing and shaping justice-related decisions.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Health Promotion International
Creators:	Hassard, J., Teoh, K. and Cox, T.
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date:	1 October 2017
Volume:	32
Number:	5
ISSN:	0957-4824
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1093/heapro/daw018 DOI
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	13 Feb 2017 16:31
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2018 08:25
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30169

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads