Lay Theories of Workplace Stress – Evidence from a Romanian Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study aims at investigating Romanian employees’ intuitive beliefs concerning the causes of workplacestress as well as the solutions for reducing it. Another objectives aim to measure the gender differences at the levelof these beliefs and the relation between these beliefs and the tenure. Atotal of 104 employees (50% women) whooccupy various hierarchic levels in different organizations completed a questionnaire derived from the questionsused in Rydstedt, Devereux, & Furnham’s study (2004). The questionnaire contains items for the causes of workplacestress as well as for the solutions for reducing it. Factor analysis provided a solution with 6 factors for causesand 5 factors for solutions. Age difference and conflict, gender differences, and supervisor attitude and job satisfactionare the factors that reveal significant differences between men and women. Also, results show a negativesignificant correlation between the tenure in organization and the factor named excess information and hierarchy.Identifying its own employees’ beliefs regarding stress can contribute to the organizational strategies developmentfor the reduction and control of occupational stress.