The moderating effects of culture-driven individual differences in the stress-strain relationships: comparison between Switzerland and South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the moderating effects of culture-driven individual differences in the relationship between work conditions and work-related health outcomes in Switzerland and South Africa: Swiss natives (n = 397) and Swiss foreigners (n = 224), White South Africans (n = 432) and non-White South Africans (n = 434). We used the horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism scale to measure culture-driven individual differences, the Job Content Questionnaire to measure psychological job demands, and the General Health Questionnaire and the General Work Stress Scale to measure work-related health outcomes. Results suggest that high vertical individualism had a general buffering effect in the stress–strain relationship among the South African White group. Low vertical collectivism played a similar role among the South African non-White group and the Swiss foreigners group, while high horizontal collectivism had a detrimental effect in stressful work conditions in both South African groups. Finally, horizontal individualism had no moderating effect. Generally, our study suggests that to investigate the moderating role of culture-driven individual differences according to the ethnic group of belonging is promising, given that the same individual characteristic does not necessarily interact in the same way in the stress–strain relationship.