Social challenge stressors and work engagement: the moderating role of political skill
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22235/cp.v18i1.3511Keywords:
social stress, work stressors, political skill, engagement, curvilinear relationshipAbstract
This study offers a counterpoint to the generalization of positive and linear effects resulting from challenge stressors in the workplace. The guiding objective was to verify whether social challenge stress impacts individuals' work engagement positively or negatively, according to the political skill degree available by professionals. We used moderation analysis and hierarchical regression to assess these relationships. The sample comes from civil servants of a Brazilian federal institution (N = 606). The results indicate that political skill moderates the relationship between social stress and engagement positively, except in cases where such skill is low, a situation in which the interaction becomes negative. The evidence also reveals that a positive curvilinear association better explains the association between social stress and work engagement. The findings suggest that the Challenge-Hindrance Stress Framework (CHF) has an application conditioned by the possible abilities that a given stressor demands to be evaluated as an obstacle or a challenge. We intended to extend the theory on stressors and contribute to the human resource management practice by elucidating conditions or portions of professionals in which the CHF does not apply or lacks contextualization.
Downloads
References
Agnst, R., Benevides-Pereira, A. M. T., & Porto-Martins, P. C. (2009). UWES Utrecht Work Engagement Scale: Escala de Engagement no Trabalho de Utrecht. http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Test%20Manuals/Test_manual_UWES_Brazil.pdf
Allen, R. W., Porter, L. W., & Angle, H. L. (2016). Organizational influence processes. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315290614
Bakker, A. B., & Sanz-Vergel, A. I. (2013). Weekly work engagement and flourishing: The role of hindrance and challenge job demands. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.06.008
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Sanz-Vergel, A. I. (2014). Burnout and work engagement: The JD–R approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 389-411. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091235
Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Work & Stress, 22(3), 187-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370802393649
Barreiro, C. A., & Treglown, L. (2020). What makes an engaged employee? A facet-level approach to trait emotional intelligence as a predictor of employee engagement. Personality and Individual Differences, 159, 109892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109892
Basit, A. A. (2020). How does political skill lead to job and organization engagement? Role of self-evaluations. Journal of Management Development, 39(7/8), 895-910. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-05-2019-0164
Bedi, A., & Schat, A. C. H. (2013). Perceptions of organizational politics: A meta-analysis of its attitudinal, health, and behavioural consequences. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne, 54(4), 246-259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0034549
Blickle, G., Wendel, S., & Ferris, G. R. (2010). Political skill as moderator of personality–job performance relationships in socioanalytic theory: Test of the getting ahead motive in automobile sales. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(2), 326-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.10.005
Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (5th ed.). Guilford.
Cavanaugh, M. A., Boswell, W. R., Roehling, M. V., & Boudreau, J. W. (2000). An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among US managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.65
Cifre, E., Vera, M., Rodríguez-Sánchez, A. M., & Pastor, M. C. (2013). Job-person fit and well-being from a gender perspective. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 29(3), 161-168. https://doi.org/10.5093/tr2013a22
Clarke, S. (2012). The effect of challenge and hindrance stressors on safety behavior and safety outcomes: a meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17(4), 387-397. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029817
Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2014). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Psychology Press.
Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2017). Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace (5th ed.). McGraw Hill Irwin.
Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Brazil. (2022). Conselho Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa. http://conselho.saude.gov.br/comissoes-cns/conep/
Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: a theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364
Cribari-Neto, F., & Lima, M. da G. A. (2014). New heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors for the linear regression model. Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistics, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1214/12-bjps196
De Lange, A. H., Taris, T. W., Kompier, M. A., Houtman, I. L., & Bongers, P. M. (2003). “The very best of the millennium": longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support) model. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 8(4), 282. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.8.4.282
De Moraes, R. M. (2017). Escala de percepção de política na organização: Adaptação e validação para o contexto brasileiro. Revista Eletrônica de Ciência Administrativa, 16(3), 197-212. https://doi.org/10.21529/RECADM.2017012
De Moraes, R. M., & Teixeira, A. J. C. (2020). Managers, engagement and political behaviors: A nonlinear relationship. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 24, 218-231. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2020180255
De Moraes, R. M., Istoe, R. S. C., & Miranda, V. A. (2022a). Panorama bibliométrico do modelo de estresse desafio-obstáculo: evolução e tendências. InterSciencePlace, 17(5), 275-294.
De Moraes, R. M., Istoe, R. S. C., & Miranda, V. A. (2022b). Estresse e gênero no local de trabalho. Open Science Research (3), 2412-2420. https://dx.doi.org/10.37885/220308197
De Moraes, R. M., Istoe, R. S. C., & Miranda, V. A. (2023a). Escala de Estressores de Desafio Social no Trabalho: Validação Psicométrica e Aplicação no Contexto Brasileiro. Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho, 23(2), 2454-2460. https://doi.org/10.5935/rpot/2023.2.24256
De Moraes, R. M., Istoe, R. S. C., & Miranda, V. A. (2023b). How political skill and work engagement differ by hierarchical level: Evidence from Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 25, 533-550. https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v25i4.4242
Dormann, C. F., Elith, J., Bacher, S., Buchmann, C., Carl, G., Carré, G., Marquéz, J. R. G., Gruber, B., Lafourcade, B., Leitão, P. J., Münkemüller, T., McClean, C., Osborne, P. E., Reineking, B., Schröder, B., Skidmore, A. K., Zurell, D., & Lautenbach, S. (2013). Collinearity: a review of methods to deal with it and a simulation study evaluating their performance. Ecography, 36(1), 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2012.07348.x
Duarte, J., Berthelsen, H., & Owen, M. (2020). Not all emotional demands are the same: Emotional demands from clients’ or co-workers’ relations have different associations with well-being in service workers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 7738. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217738
Efron, B., & Narasimhan, B. (2020). The automatic construction of bootstrap confidence intervals. Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics, 29(3), 608-619. https://doi.org/10.1080/10618600.2020.1714633
Eggli, A., Romano-Pereira, D., & Elfering, A. (2021). Short-term effects of social stressors at work on rumination and physical symptoms in social workers. Industrial Health, 59(4), 220-228. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2020-0192
Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Brouer, R. L., & Munyon, T. P. (2012). Political skill in the organizational sciences. In G. R. Ferris & D. C. Treadway (Eds.), Politics in organizations: Theory and research considerations (pp. 487-528). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C. J., Douglas, C., & Frink, D. D. (2005). Development and validation of the political skill inventory. Journal of Management 31(1), 126-152. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0149206304271386
Fuller, C. M., Simmering, M. J., Atinc, G., Atinc, Y., & Babin, B. J. (2016). Common methods variance detection in business research. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3192-3198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.12.008
Gabel-Shemueli, R., Rondan, V. P., Lozano, R. A. P., & Huarcaya, G. A. (2012). Estrés laboral: relaciones con inteligencia emocional, factores demográficos y ocupacionales. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia, 17(58), 271-290.
Giorgi, G., Leon-Perez, J. M., & Arenas, A. (2015). Are bullying behaviors tolerated in some cultures? Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between workplace bullying and job satisfaction among Italian workers. Journal of Business Ethics, 131, 227-237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2266-9
Harris, J. N., Ferris, G. R., Summers, J. K., & Munyon, T. P. (2016). The role of political skill in relationship development, work and social networks, and work effectiveness. Human Resource Management Theory and Research on New Employment Relationships, 47-75.
Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach (3rd ed.). Guilford.
Hayes, A. F., & Cai, L. (2007). Using heteroskedasticity-consistent standard error estimators in OLS regression: An introduction and software implementation. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 709-722. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192961
Hessels, J., Rietveld, C. A., & van der Zwan, P. (2017). Self-employment and work-related stress: The mediating role of job control and job demand. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(2), 178-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.10.007
Jannesari, M. T., & Sullivan, S. E. (2021). Leaving on a jet plane? The effect of challenge–hindrance stressors, emotional resilience and cultural novelty on self-initiated expatriates' decision to exit China. Personnel Review, 51(1), 118-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2020-0362
Kane-Frieder, R. E., Hochwarter, W. A., & Ferris, G. R. (2014). Terms of engagement: Political boundaries of work engagement–work outcomes relationships. Human Relations, 67(3), 357-382. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726713495068
Kern, M., & Zapf, D. (2021). Ready for change? A longitudinal examination of challenge stressors in the context of organizational change. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(3), 204. https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ocp0000214
Kern, M., Heissler, C., & Zapf, D. (2021). Social job stressors can foster employee well-being: Introducing the concept of social challenge stressors. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36, 771-792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09702-7
Kim, T. T., Karatepe, O. M., & Chung, U. Y. (2019). Got political skill? The direct and moderating impact of political skill on stress, tension and outcomes in restaurants. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(3), 1367-1389. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2018-0014
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
Kubicek, B., Uhlig, L., Hülsheger, U. R., Korunka, C., & Prem, R. (2023). Are all challenge stressors beneficial for learning? A meta-Analytical assessment of differential effects of workload and cognitive demands. Work & Stress, 37(3), 269–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2022.2142986
Lawrence, K. D. (2019). Robust regression: analysis and applications. Routledge.
LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & LePine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor–hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 764-775. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.18803921
Lesener, T., Gusy, B., & Wolter, C. (2019). The job demands-resources model: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Work & Stress, 33(1), 76-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1529065
Levy, P. E. (2010). Industrial/organizational psychology: Understanding the workplace (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Lin, S. H., Wu, C. H., Chen, M. Y., & Chen, L. H. (2014). Why employees with higher challenging appraisals style are more affectively engaged at work? The role of challenging stressors: A moderated mediation model. International Journal of Psychology, 49(5), 390-396. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12064
Lin, W., Ma, J., Wang, L., & Wang, M. O. (2015). A double‐edged sword: The moderating role of conscientiousness in the relationships between work stressors, psychological strain, and job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(1), 94-111. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1949
Liu, C., Liu, Y., Mills, M. J., & Fan, J. (2013). Job stressors, job performance, job dedication, and the moderating effect of conscientiousness: A mixed-method approach. International Journal of Stress Management, 20(4), 336-363. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034841
Maher, L. P., Ejaz, A., Nguyen, C. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2021). Forty years of political skill and will in organizations: a review, meta-theoretical framework and directions for future research. Career Development International, 27(1), 5-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-07-2021-0191
Mauno, S., Kinnunen, U., & Ruokolainen, M. (2007). Job demands and resources as antecedents of work engagement: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70(1), 149-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2006.09.002
Mazzola, J. J., & Disselhorst, R. (2019). Should we be “challenging” employees?: A critical review and meta‐analysis of the challenge‐hindrance model of stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(8), 949-961. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2412
Meisler, G. (2014). Exploring emotional intelligence, political skill, and job satisfaction. Employee Relations, 36(3), 280-293. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2013-0021
O'Brien, K. E., & Beehr, T. A. (2019). So far, so good: Up to now, the challenge–hindrance framework describes a practical and accurate distinction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(8), 962-972. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2405
Parker, S. L., Jimmieson, N. L., & Amiot, C. E. (2010). Self-determination as a moderator of demands and control: Implications for employee strain and engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(1), 52-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.06.010
Perrewé, P. L., Zellars, K. L., Ferris, G. R., Rossi, A. M., Kacmar, C. J., & Ralston, D. A. (2004). Neutralizing job stressors: Political skill as an antidote to the dysfunctional consequences of role conflict. Academy of Management Journal, 47(1), 141-152. https://doi.org/10.5465/20159566
Podsakoff, N. P., LePine, J. A., & LePine, M. A. (2007). Differential challenge stressor-hindrance stressor relationships with job attitudes, turnover intentions, turnover, and withdrawal behavior: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 438. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.438
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539-569. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452
Rosen, C. C., Dimotakis, N., Cole, M. S., Taylor, S. G., Simon, L. S., Smith, T. A., & Reina, C. S. (2020). When challenges hinder: An investigation of when and how challenge stressors impact employee outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(10), 1181. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000483
Rutner, P. S., Irani Williams, F., Campbell, C., & Riemenschneider, C. K. (2015). The politics of emotion: Exploring emotional labor and political skill across job types within the it/is profession. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, 46(3), 52-73. https://doi.org/10.1145/2804075.2804079
Saks, A. M. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement revisited. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 6(1), 19-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-06-2018-0034
Sanhokwe, H., & Chinyamurindi, W. (2023). Work engagement and resilience at work: The moderating role of political skill. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 49. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v49i0.2017
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and psychological measurement, 66(4), 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
Schroder, U. A., & Silva, R. C. (2020). O ‘jeitinho brasileiro’a partir de uma perspectiva cognitivo-interacional (The ‘Brazilian jeitinho’from a cognitive-interactional perspective). Estudos da Língua (gem), 18(2), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.22481/el.v18i2.6287
Sun, S., & van Emmerik, H. I. (2015). Are proactive personalities always beneficial? Political skill as a moderator. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 966. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0037833
Vigoda‐Gadot, E., & Meisler, G. (2010). Emotions in management and the management of emotions: The impact of emotional intelligence and organizational politics on public sector employees. Public Administration Review, 70(1), 72-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02112.x
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Universidad Católica del Uruguay
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
