Purpose: This study aims to identify social and organizational antecedents of stress. This paper also investigates whether attitudes toward organizational changes and reforms might explain stress perception and mediate the relationships between social and organizational job characteristics and stress perception.
Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach is used to identify the relationships between our research variables. The investigated population is composed of middle managers working in Swiss public hospitals (N = 720), which are currently being confronted by major reforms.
Findings: The findings show that perceived social support (work relationships with and support from colleagues), as well as several job characteristics (autonomy in performing tasks; flexibility in the organization of working time; degree of conflict) are significantly related to stress perception. Moreover, positive attitudes toward change are negatively related to stress, and mediate the relationships between perceived social support as well as job characteristics and stress perception.
Originality/value: The innovation of this paper is grounded in the specific population we investigate, as our empirical inquiry concerns middle managers working in public hospitals. Moreover, this research highlights the central role of job characteristics and attitudes toward change in explaining stress perception.
Practical implications: This paper sheds light on several job characteristics which could contribute to mitigating stress perception among middle managers. The findings could therefore guide HRM specialists in their efforts to create a favorable work environment so as to facilitate middle managers' activities.