AbstractsPsychology

The role of individual differences in perceptions of stress has long been recognized. Despite this, the models that are used to measure stress at the workplace the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model were developed to assess strenuous work characteristics and their health effects, regardless of the individual. Because work characteristics are usually measured using self-reports the measures cannot be completely objective. The present study examined the susceptibility of the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model to Five-Factor personality traits and cynicism. In addition, this study tested the longitudinal measurement invariance of the effort-reward imbalance scales. This study was part of the ongoing prospective, population-based Young Finns study. The measurements for the present study were carried out in 2001, 2007, and 2012. Five-Factor personality traits were assessed with a questionnaire on the Five-Factor model, and cynicism was assessed with a scale derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Work characteristics were measured with questionnaires on the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model. The results showed that high neuroticism was associated with higher job strain and higher effort-reward imbalance and that high agreeableness was associated with lower job strain and lower effort-reward imbalance. High extraversion, high openness, and high conscientiousness were associated with lower job strain. Furthermore, high conscientiousness was related to lower effort-reward imbalance only in men. High job strain prospectively predicted higher cynicism six years later. The effort-reward imbalance scales achieved strict longitudinal measurement invariance and showed adequate criterion validity. Although developed to measure the structural work environment, the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model seem to be susceptible to Five-Factor personality traits especially to neuroticism and agreeableness. In addition, high job strain seems to have far reaching consequences on cynical attitudes. Furthermore, the results show that scores on effort-reward imbalance from different time points can reliably be compared with each other. This study shows that organizations and occupational health services should apply a more person-oriented approach to increasing wellbeing at work. Ihmisen persoonallisuus voi vaikuttaa stressin kokemiseen. Mikä on toisesta stressaavaa, ei toisessa aiheuta stressireaktiota. Työn stressaavia tekijöitä mittaavat mallit eivät ota tätä yksilöllistä vaihtelua huomioon. Mallit kehitettiin kuvastamaan kuormittavia työoloja ja niiden terveysvaikutuksia, riippumatta ihmisestä joka kuormitusta kokee. Kuitenkin ihmiset altistuvat työstressille, reagoivat siihen ja palautuvat siitä eri tavoin. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, onko persoonallisuus yhteydessä työstressin kokemiseen. Lisäksi tutkittiin työkuormitusmittarin pysyvyyttä yli ajan. Persoonallisuutta arvioitiin viiden suuren faktorin mallin…