Effects of a Workplace Intervention on Daily Stressor Reactivity

Kate A. Leger, Soomi Lee, Kelly D. Chandler, David M. Almeida

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Heightened affective and physical reactions to daily stressful events predict poor long-term physical andmental health outcomes. It is unknown, however, if an experimental manipulation designed to increase interpersonal resources at work can reduce associations between daily stressors and physical and affective well-being. The present study tests the effects of a workplace intervention designed to increase supervisor support for family and personal life and schedule control on employees’ affective and physical reactivity to daily stressors in different domains (i.e., work, home, interpersonal, and noninterpersonal stressors). Participants were 102 employed parents with adolescent children from an information technology (IT) division of a large U.S. firm who participated in theWork, Family, and Heath Study. Participants provided 8-day daily diary data at baseline and again at a 12-month follow-up after the implementation of a workplace intervention.Multilevel models revealed that the intervention significantly reduced employees’ negative affect reactivity to work stressors and noninterpersonal stressors, compared to the usual practice condition. Negative reactivity did not decrease for nonwork or interpersonal stressors. The intervention also did not significantly reduce positive affect reactivity or physical symptomreactivity to any stressor type. Results demonstrate thatmaking positive changes in work environments, including increasing supervisor support and flexible scheduling, may promote employee health and well-being through better affective responses to common daily stressors at work.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)152-163
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Occupational Health Psychology
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Psychological Association

Funding

This research was conducted as part of the Work, Family, and Health Network, which is funded by a cooperative agreement through the National Institutes of Health: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [U01HD051217, U01HD051218, U01HD051256, U01HD051276], National Institute on Aging [U01AG027669], Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [U01OH008788, U01HD059773]

FundersFunder number
National Institute on AgingU01AG027669
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
National Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthU01HD059773, U01OH008788
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentU01HD051276, U01HD051217, U01HD051218, U01HD051256

    Keywords

    • Daily stress
    • Negative affect
    • Physical symptoms
    • Stressor reactivity
    • Workplace intervention

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Applied Psychology
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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