A LONGITUDINAL TEST OF KARASEK JOB STRAIN MODEL AMONG OFFICE WORKERS

Karasek's job Strain model was tested in a sample of 122 office workers. Two rounds of data were collected and used to examine the reliability of the results and the relationships between job characteristics and worker strain over time. Moderated regression analyses based on standard scores of the independent variables were conducted to examine the interaction of job control and workload, and of skill utilization and workload, on various indicators of worker strain. The results indicated that there was neither multiplicative nor additive effect of job control/skill utilization and workload on worker strain. Some of the relationships between job characteristics and worker strain were not stable over time. The cross-lagged correlation analysis showed that workload at Time 1 had some effect on one of the worker strain indicators at Time 2, but not the reverse.