Job stress and attitudes toward change: The mediating effect of psychological attachment

Abstract

The present study explores the indirect effect of job stress on attitudes toward change through individuals’ psychological attachment (organisational commitment mindsets and job embeddedness). The sample comprised N = 350 employees (black African: 67%; males: 69%; 26–40 years: 67%) who were affected by organisational change in the South African fast-moving consumer goods sector. The participants completed self-report measures on their job stress and psychological attachment experiences and their attitudes towards organisational change. The analysis applied structural equation modelling to test for the mediation effect of psychological attachment on the link between job stress and attitudes toward change. The findings suggest job stress to have a direct negative effect on job embeddedness and a positive, direct effect on attitudes toward change. Low levels of job embeddedness had a direct effect on positive attitudes toward change and mediated the link between job stress and attitudes toward change. The study contributes to organisational change theory by suggesting that experiences of job stress lower employees’ job embeddedness and this lowered sense of attachment translates into change-supportive attitudes.

Keywords:

• job stress
• attitudes toward change
• psychological attachment
• organisational commitment
• job embeddedness