Effort-reward imbalance at work: the role of job satisfaction
| Date | 05 March 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2016-0218 |
| Published date | 05 March 2018 |
| Pages | 319-333 |
| Author | Dwayne Devonish |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Effort-reward imbalance at work:
the role of job satisfaction
Dwayne Devonish
Department of Management Studies, The University of West Indies,
Cave Hill, Barbados
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship
between effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and burnout, turnover intentions, and mental health.
Design/methodology/approach –Based on a sample of 323 full-time employees in the small
developing country in the Caribbean, this survey study tested a mediation model with job satisfaction
depicting the relationship between ERI and various outcome variables. The model was compared to a
partial mediation model.
Findings –The structural equation modelling (SEM) results revealed that the partial mediating model was
superior to the full mediation model, suggesting that job satisfaction plays only apartial role in mediating the
relationships between ERI and burnout, turnover intentions, and mental health.
Research limitations/implications –The study presents a cross-sectional approach to model testing
but the study controlled for CMV statistically using the common latent factor approach within latent
SEM procedures.
Practical implications –Organisations should ensure that employees’efforts are appropriately and fairly
rewarded as a means of reducing negative ERIs which can have adverse consequences on the physical and
mental health of employees.
Originality/value –Using latent SEM procedures and statistical controls for CMV, the study examined job
satisfaction as a potential mediator in a popular stressor-strain model.
Keywords Quantitative, Burnout, Barbados, Mental health, Job satisfaction, Caribbean,
Effort-reward imbalance
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The theoretical and empirical study of workplace stress and health has grown tremendously
over the last two decades. Over these years, a number of theoretical models of work stress
have been introduced to provide comprehensive and interesting explanations for the
relationships among work environments, employee perceptions, and job strain. One such
stress model that has dominated the literature has been the effort-reward imbalance (ERI)
model (Siegrist, 1996).
The ERI model has been used to provide a detailed understanding about how adverse
health outcomes emerge as a result of failed reciprocity at work. The model suggests that
effort at work is spent in the context of a socially organised exchange process in which
adequate rewards are expected in the form of money (salary and benefits), esteem (respect
and support), or security and career opportunities. The model posits that imbalances in
effort and reward exchanges are likely to create severe health-related and behavioural
consequences. As a result, the model has provided a popular area of study for both
academics and practitioners in the field of occupational psychology.
There have been a number of studies that have empirically supported the predictive
effects of ERI on a range of individual-level stress-related outcomes or job strains
(de Jonge et al., 2000; Siegrist, 1996; Siegrist and Li, 2016; Van Vegchel et al., 2005).
The popular categories of stress-related outcomes or strains have been classified as physical
(e.g. headaches, hypertension, backaches, etc.), psychological (e.g. anxiety and depression),
and behavioural (absenteeism, low performance and turnover) strains ( Jex, 1998). In the
domain of physical strain, a number of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have
Personnel Review
Vol. 47 No. 2, 2018
pp. 319-333
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-08-2016-0218
Received 27 August 2016
Revised 5 February 2017
15 May 2017
Accepted 30 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
319
Effort-reward
imbalance at
work
To continue reading
Request your trial