The moderating effect of work-linked couple relationships and work-family integration on the spouse instrumental support-emotional exhaustion relationship.

Based on boundary theory and conservation of resources theory, we argue that employees with a spouse in the same occupation or workplace (referred to as work-linked couples) enhance the effectiveness of spousal instrumental support in reducing emotional exhaustion. In the first study of nurses (n = 103), we found that work-linked couples have more highly integrated work and family roles than participants whose spouses did not share an occupation or workplace. In a second study of working adults (n = 484), we found that work-linked couples have a stronger relationship between spouse instrumental support and the reduction of emotional exhaustion; this moderated relationship was mediated by their work-family integration. We discuss the implications of these findings for the study of work and family roles, social support, and emotional exhaustion, and provide suggestions for future research.

Reacting to and recovering from a stressful situation: the negative affectivity-physiological arousal relationship.

Although it is one of the most widely researched personality correlates of psychological reactions, the relationship between negative affectivity (NA) and physiological arousal has received little attention. This study examined the associations between NA and physiological outcomes of heart rate, skin temperature, and muscle tension. The authors hypothesized that when individuals are in a stressful situation, persons high in NA experience more heightened physiological arousal than those low in NA. After personality and demographic data were collected, 230 individuals participated in a stressful intervention. Individuals high in NA experienced a significantly greater rate of increase in electromyogram during the stress intervention and a lesser rate of decrease in electromyogram after the stressful event than those low in NA. In regard to skin temperature, those high in NA did not recover from the stress intervention as well as those low in NA. Negative affectivity was not related to heart rate.

The interactive effects of positive affect and conscientiousness on strain.

The purpose of our study was to more fully investigate a combination of personal resources, namely positive affect (PA) and conscientiousness, on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and job tension. We examined a sample of nurses employed by a metropolitan hospital and found that the combination of high positive affect and high levels of conscientiousness was associated with lower levels of all strain variables. Our findings suggested that conscientiousness strengthened the negative relationship between PA and job strain. Our results were consistent with the view that some dispositions can act as resources protecting individuals from experienced stress. Implications of these results, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Political skill: an antidote in the role overload-strain relationship.

Political skill is characterized by social perceptiveness and the ability to adjust one's behavior to different and changing situational needs to influence others. The authors argue that politically skilled individuals enjoy a sense of personal security that allows them to perceive interpersonal control over the process and outcomes of interpersonal interactions within organizations. The authors examine the buffering effects of political skill on the perceived role overload-strain relationship, with strain operationalized as job tension, job (dis)satisfaction, and general anxiety. Results support the hypothesized moderating effects of political skill such that greater political skill reduces the negative effects of role overload on all types of strain. The contributions and limitations of the study are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Abusive supervision and subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior.

The relationship between subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision and supervisors' evaluations of subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) was explored among a sample of 373 Air National Guard members and their military supervisors. As predicted, the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' OCB was stronger among subordinates who defined OCB as extra-role behavior (compared with those defining OCB as in-role behavior), and this effect was fully mediated by the interactive effect of procedural justice and OCB role definitions. The study's implications for theory and research are discussed, its limitations are identified, and directions for future research are suggested.