A conservation of resources study of standard and contingent employees
| Date | 03 April 2017 |
| Pages | 644-661 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2015-0228 |
| Published date | 03 April 2017 |
| Author | Laura Madden,Deborah Kidder,Kimberly Eddleston,Barrie Litzky,Franz Kellermanns |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
A conservation of resources
study of standard and
contingent employees
Laura Madden
Department of Management, East Carolina University,
Greenville, North Carolina, USA
Deborah Kidder
Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship,
University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Kimberly Eddleston
Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Northeastern University,
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Barrie Litzky
Department of Management and Organization Management,
Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA, and
Franz Kellermanns
Department of Management, University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the differential effects of workplace stress and the use of
social support by contingent vs standard employees.
Design/methodology/approach –Conservation of resources (COR) theory is used to frame research
questions. Using content analysis of 40 interviews from individuals in the hospitality industry, differences
between the levels of stress reported by contingent and standard employees as well as differences in their use
of social support networks to offset stress is examined.
Findings –Contingent employees report experiencing more stress than do standard employees in the same
profession. Furthermore, contingent employees seek out more social support than do standard employees.
There was no difference between the two groups with respect to the desire for social support from three
sources: vertical, horizontal, and customer groups.
Originality/value –This study extends the literature on contingent workers, the literature on how different
types of employees deal with stress, as well as adding to the COR literature by showing that contingent
employees experience and assuage their stress differently than do standard employees.
Keywords Qualitative, Stress, Social support, Conservation of resources, Contingent employees
Paper type Research paper
Experiencing workplace stress is increasingly common and expensive (Bowling et al., 2012;
Harris and Kacmar, 2005; Sonnentag and Frese, 2003). Because of its relationship to
absenteeism, turnover, lowered productivity, ill health, and increased insurance costs,
researchers and organizations alike have focused on relieving workplace stress (Cooper and
Cartwright, 1994; Halkos and Bousinakis, 2010; Nixon et al., 2011). One method for
counteracting workplace stress is social support, which refers here to connections an
employee has to colleagues who can provide assistance (Hobfoll and Stokes, 1988).
Social support mitigates stress by providing employees with much-needed resources that
conservation of resources (COR) theory suggests are central to employees’ability to offset
stress experienced in the everyday execution of their jobs (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989, 2001).
Personnel Review
Vol. 46 No. 3, 2017
pp. 644-661
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-08-2015-0228
Received 19 August 2015
Revised 19 March 2016
Accepted 7 June 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
644
PR
46,3
However, manyof these studies of workplace stressrely on information from employeesin
standard employment arrangements, in which employees work full-time for an indefinite
period at the employer’s business under his or her supervision (Kalleberg, 2000). Although
traditional, the standard employm ent arrangement has been giving way to contingent
employment arrangements (Feldman, 2006) as organizations adapt to global economic
changes, increasedcompetition, and rising levels of uncertainty that have altered the modern
employment landscape (e.g. Buddelmeyer et al., 2015; Redpath et al., 2009). Contingent
employment arrangements allow organizations to adapt quickly to shifts in demand and
external threats and therefore have gained popularity in organizations (Davis-Blake and
Broschak, 2009) and organizational research (e.g. Connelly and Gallagher, 2004). A nascent
body of organizational research indicates that the uncertainty inherent in contingent work
arrangements creates stress (Bernhard-Oettel et al., 2008; Papadopoulos et al., 2010; Schreurs
et al., 2010), and COR theory indicates that employees experience stress when they lose or
cannot access resources (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989). Consequently, research related to contingent
employees’experience of stress and access to resources is essential and surprisingly scarce.
We address this gap with a content analysis of 40 interviews with bartenders in the
Northeastern region of the USA. This sample is particularly well-suited for an examination
of workplace stress because of the many incongruous duties in their work. Bartenders are
front-line employees who regularly interact with multiple stakeholder groups that inevitably
have different expectations (Buonocore, 2010). Further, a key element of their job is
attending to the general public’s safety (Buvik, 2013) as well as the safety of their customers
(Tutenges et al., 2013); however, their income is largely dependent on gratuities from
customers (Lynn, 2015). In addition, the hospitality industry relies on part-time workers
(Choy, 1995), which allows us to explore our key research questions.
Consequently, we offer multiple contributions to the literature. First, th e literature related to
how different types of employees deal with stress (Liu et al., 2008; Perrewé and Zellars, 1999;
Zellars and Perrewé, 2001) often incorporates an axiomatic belief that contingent employees
desire standard employment arrangements and that anyaltruistic behavior is intended to secure
more permanent employment (e.g. De Cuyper, Mauno, Kinnunen, De Witte, Mäkikangas and
Nätti (2010)). In contrast, this study suggests that the extra work contingent employees do to
build relationships helps them later during stressful times. By applying COR theoryto examine
the relationship between employment contract and reported levels of stress and social
support resources, we also add to the COR literature by showing that contingent employees
experience and assuage their stress differently than do standard employees. In previous
literature (e.g. De Cuyper et al., 2012), the stress incurred by the threat of losing a job is mitigated
for employees who are confident in their ability to secure another job. Although we find
evidence of stress from job insecurity, our results also demonstrate that the work itself
causes stress. By examining both types of stress, we are able to provide a more inclusive
view of how different groups of employees experience their work. This also enables us to speak
to a growing need for research that studies the changing nature of work (e.g. Ainsworth and
Purss, 2009; Stirpe et al., 2014). By highlighting differences between contingent and standard
employees’need for social support as well as the sources of that support, we show the
value of considering the type of work arrangement. Because the number of contingent
employment arrangements is increasing (Cappelli and Keller, 2013; Zimmerman et al., 2013),
this understanding about contingent employees’experience of work and the unique strategies
they employ is a valuable contribution.
Theoretical foundations
Contingent employment arrangements
Contingent or temporary employment is defined as “dependent jobs of limited duration”
(De Cuyper and De Witte, 2007, p. 65). The lack of an explicit or implicit contract was a key
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Conservation
of resources
study
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