Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (2001), 74, 2946

2001 The British Psychological Society

Printed in Great Britain

29

Testing reciprocal relationships between job

characteristics and psychological well-being:
A cross-lagged structural equation model
Jan de Jonge*
Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Christian Dormann
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Germany

Peter P. M. Janssen
Department of Health Organization, Policy and Economics, Section Work and Health,
Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Maureen F. Dollard
School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Whyalla Campus, South Australia

Jan A. Landeweerd and Frans J. N. Nijhuis

Department of Health Organization, Policy and Economics, Section Work and Health,
Maastricht University, The Netherlands

This article describes a two-wave panel study which was carried out to examine
reciprocal relationships between job characteristics and work-related psychological
well-being.
Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 261 health care professionals using
structural equation modelling (LISREL 8). Controlling for gender, age, and
negative aV ectivity, the results primarily supported the hypothesis that Time 1 job
characteristics in uence Time 2 psychological well-being. More speci cally, Time 2
job satisfaction was determined by Time 1 job demands and workplace social
support, respectively. Furthermore, there was also some preliminary but weak
evidence for reversed cross-lagged eV ects since Time 1 emotional exhaustion seemed
to be the causal dominant factor with respect to Time 2 (perceived) job demands.
In conclusion, this study builds on earlier cross-sectional and longitudinal
ndings by eliminating confounding factors and diminishing methodological
de ciencies. Empirical support for the in uence of job characteristics on
psychological well-being aYrms what several theoretical models have postulated
to be the causal ordering among job characteristics and work-related psychological
well-being.
*Requests for reprints should be addressed to Jan de Jonge, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology,
Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.

30

Jan d e Jonge et al.

The purpose of this study was to examine the causal relationship between job
characteristics and employee psychological well-being. While there is some general
agreement that these relationships do exist, there is still some disagreement about
the speci c nature, magnitude, and in particular the causal direction of the
relationships (e.g. Semmer, Zapf, & Greif, 1996; Zapf, Dormann, & Frese, 1996).
For instance, do high job demands lead to job-related strain? Or, is strain primary
such that high-strained workers are more likely to report their job demands as
higher? Good examples of longitudinal panel studies are scarce (less than 10%,
according to Zapf and colleagues), which means that evidence of strong causal
relationships between job characteristics and well-being outcomes has been
piecemeal and limited in scope. Moreover, comprehensive empirical tests of all
postulated relationships by means of sophisticated statistical techniques, such as
covariance structure models, are rather scarce as well (Zapf et al., 1996).
Demonstrating causal relationships has become important from a theoretical,
practical, and methodological perspective. For example, prominent job characteristics models like the demandcontrolsupport (DCS) model (Karasek & Theorell,
1990) and the job characteristics (JC) model (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) assume
that the causal ow is unidirectional, where job characteristics a V ect well-being
outcomes, and not vice versa. If this is really the case, then there is reason to
believe that some of the observed problems may have their roots in the properties
of the job itself. Therefore, restructuring jobs or workplaces may be a useful
starting-point for eV ective interventions.
However, current transactional models like Edwards cybernetic model of stress,
coping and well-being (Edwards, 1998) emphasize the reciprocal nature of the
stress process, in which perceived job characteristics are also a V ected by employee
well-being. Practically, the impact of stress management on employee well-being
multiplies itself over time, as increases in well-being and decreases in job stressors
mutually reinforce each other (Daniels & Guppy, 1997).
There are still methodological pitfalls and de ciencies in longitudinal research,
which make it very diYcult to detect causal as well as reciprocal relationships.
According to Frese and Zapf (1988) as well as Kessler and Greenberg (1981), a
plausible causal relationship exists between two variables if there is an association
of some sort between them, if there is evidence about the direction of causality, and
if other explanations can be ruled out. In short, we cannot demonstrate causality.
We can only make causal relationships plausible by ruling out alternative explanations (see also Bollen, 1989). In this respect, several recommendations can be
made, such as performing a full panel design with an adequately planned time lag,
taking stabilities of variables into account, and using covariance structure modelling
(e.g. Finkel, 1995; Frese & Zapf, 1988; Van der Kamp & Bijleveld, 1998; Williams
& PodsakoV , 1989; Zapf et al., 1996).
The focus of the present article is on the direction of relationships between job
characteristics and work-related psychological well-being in a two-wave panel
study. In this context, the DCS model or the JC model are useful vehicles to
investigate speci c job characteristics and speci c well-being outcomes. Both
models obviously favour the unidirectional perspective and allow for unambiguous
predictions of the signs of the relationships between job characteristics and

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

31

employee well-being. For example, a two-wave panel study involving 180 student
teachers by Parkes, Mendham, and Von Rabenau (1994) revealed that Time 2
somatic symptoms were predicted by a combination of high Time 1 demands, low
Time 1 autonomy and low Time 1 social support. For this reason, we hypothesize
that job characteristics at Measurement 1 in uence employee well-being at
Measurement 2 (H1).
There are methodological and substantive reasons to expect reversed eV ects of
employee well-being on working conditions. According to the so-called drift
hypothesis (Frese, 1982; Kohn & Schooler, 1983; Lorence & Mortimer, 1985;
Williams & PodsakoV , 1989), one can postulate that highly motivated workers drift
to better jobs accompanied with more job autonomy, more support, and fewer
demands. In contrast, people with bad health or motivational de cits in particular
may drift to worse jobs due to their bad personal record of sickness absenteeism or
even disability (see also Waldron, Herold, Dunn, & Staum, 1982).
As Daniels and Guppy (1997) have noted, as the individual changes, so will his
or her transactions with the environment (p. 157). For instance, unsatised people,
people with a low motivation, or people who are emotionally exhausted may receive
less social support because people with poor well-being may not be seen as being
able to reciprocate by their supervisors and colleagues (Daniels & Guppy, 1997).
Since supervisors may perceive them as also lacking drive, they may not be given
autonomy either. Added to this, one could also argue that occupational burnout
leads to cognitive and behavioural withdrawal reactions which, in turn, lead to lack
of workplace social support (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; see also Firth-Cozens &
Hardy, 1992).
Even if the actual amount of support, autonomy, and demands do not change,
there may be poorer perceptions of these working conditions. It is well known that
negative moods, in particular depression, lead to an increased recall of negative
information (e.g. Mathews, 1993; Taris, Bok, & Calje, 1998). Since uncontrollable
events are supposed to be more aversive than controllable ones (Miller, 1980),
following Daniels and Guppy it can be argued that people with reduced mood may
recall more uncontrollable events and thus report less autonomy. Similarly,
individuals with reduced aV ective well-being may recall more demands and fewer
situations in which they received support so that they report less support than was
actually available to them and more demands (see also Firth-Cozens, 1992).
Nevertheless, in their overview of longitudinal studies by Zapf et al. (1996), only
six out of 16 studies on organizational stress which tested for reversed causation,
yielded evidence for reversed causation. Thus, when compared to the great number
of theoretically proposed mechanisms, the empirical evidence for such eV ects is not
strong. In conclusion, our second hypothesis is that psychological well-being at
Measurement 1 in uences (perceived) job characteristics at Measurement 2 (H2).
Finally, as several authors have stated (e.g. Caldwell & OReilly, 1982; James &
Jones, 1980; James & Tetrick, 1986; Williams & PodsakoV , 1989; Zapf et al., 1996),
there is also reason to believe that reciprocal relationships between (perceived) job
characteristics and psychological well-being do exist in that Time 2 well-being is
in uenced by Time 1 job characteristics, and Time 2 (perceived) job characteristics
are aV ected by Time 1 psychological well-being. Williams and PodsakoV (1989), for

32

Jan d e Jonge et al.

instance, have argued that at a conceptual level, such reciprocal relationships are
prevalent in organizational behaviour research like job design and job stress
research. Bi-directional in uences which imply some sort of vicious circle do not
correspond entirely to the nature of most social and psychological systems. Hence,
a few longitudinal studies have demonstrated that simultaneous reciprocal causality
does occur (e.g. Bateman & Strasser, 1983; James & Jones, 1980; James & Tetrick,
1986; Kohn & Schooler, 1983; Schwarzer, Hahn, & Jerusalem, 1993; Taris et al.,
1998). For example, Schwarzer et al. (1993) found in a three-wave panel study that
poor mental health leads to lower (perceived) social support which, in turn, leads
to poorer mental health. Taken together, we nally hypothesize that, in addition to
Hypotheses 1 and 2, (perceived) job characteristics and psychological well-being
mutually in uence each other (H3).
In addition to all this, the present study was designed to address some of the
above-mentioned methodological issues (e.g. performing a full panel design and
using covariance structure modelling).
Method
Design and participants
We conducted a full panel design with two panel waves: participants supplied data at two
measurement points in time. The aim was to have about a one-year interval between the two
measurements. This time appears to be long enough for possible changes in individual scores, but not
too long for too much non-response in our study sample (see also Frese & Zapf, 1988; Vermaat,
1994). Moreover, in this way possible seasonal uctuations in work were controlled for.
Self-report questionnaires were administered and could be returned by mail. All questionnaires
contained an administration number for second round identi cation.
As part of an extensive research project (De Jonge, 1995), the initial sample consisted of health care
workers of one general hospital and three nursing homes in The Netherlands. At Time 1, 457 health
care workers received the questionnaires, and 380 respondents returned the questionnaire (83%
response rate). At Time 2, 363 out of 454 health care workers returned the questionnaire, giving an
80% response rate. The nal sample re ects those persons who participated at both times. The
number of respondents who completed both questionnaires was 261, or 57% of the initial group. This
percentage is not very unusual according to the literature about panel non-response (Hagenaars,
1990). A breakdown of the demographic characteristics of the sample shows that 89% of the health
care workers were women. The mean age of the group was 31.87 years (SD = 852). The mean work
experience was 10.68 years (SD = 717), and 45% of the respondents worked full-time.
A comparison of continuous participants with drop-outs showed that our data did not appear to
su V er from serious selection problems. The panel group was signi cantly older (t = 2.04, p < .05), and
had signi cantly higher mean work experience (MannWhitney Z = 4.02, p < .001). These results are
not surprising, because a substantial number of the drop-outs were (young) student nurses, who
change units twice a year.
An important question is whether disappearance from the sample is an outcome of a causal
dynamic that is diV erent from that of the survivors. To nd out whether this was the case or not, it
is advisable to check for causal homogeneity in the sample (Hagenaars, 1990; Kessler & Greenberg,
1981). In other words, causal relationships should be (nearly) the same for the panel group and the
drop-outs. Cross-sectional multi-sample structural equation analyses (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993)
indicated that disappearance from the sample was not likely to be the result of diV erent causal
dynamics (group comparison: D v 2(12) = 9.09, p = n.s.). Therefore both groups were quite comparable
in terms of internal consistency as well as in terms of the pattern of relationships between job
characteristics and psychological well-being.

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

33

Measures
The questionnaire comprised three main sections: demographic/personal characteristics, job
characteristics and employee psychological well-being.
Demographic and personal characteristics. These refer to background factors such as gender, age and
negative aV ectivity. These variables may confound the results (Burke, Brief, & George, 1993; Karasek
& Theorell, 1990; Spector, 1997). Therefore, we included these variables to control for their possible
in uence. Negative aV ectivity was measured by trait anxiety, as recommended by several authors
(Clark, Watson, & Mineka, 1994; Dollard & Wine eld, 1998; Watson & Clark, 1984). The scale was
derived from the Dutch Organizational Stress Questionnaire (Reiche & Van Dijkhuizen, 1979), and
consists of four items with a response scale ranging from 1 never to 4 always. An example item is
I feel nervous.
The job characteristics, demands, autonomy, and social support, included in this study were guided
by Karaseks DCS model (Karasek & Theorell, 1990). In order to minimize bias, the subjective
indictors of the job characteristics contained items with a minimum of cognitive processing. In other
words, these items were precisely de ned and were worded as neutrally as possible (cf. Frese, 1999;
Frese & Zapf, 1988).
Job d emands. These were measured by an eight-item questionnaire (5-point response scale ranging from
1 never to 5 always) that included a wide range of qualitative and quantitative demanding aspects
of the job, such as working under time pressure, working hard, and job complexity. The psychological
job demands scale has been well validated in Dutch samples of health care professionals (e.g. De
Jonge, Janssen, & Van Breukelen, 1996; De Rijk, Le Blanc, Schaufeli, & De Jonge, 1998). An example
item is: In the unit where I work, work is carried out under pressure of time.
Job autonomy. This was assessed by the Maastricht Autonomy Questionnaire (MAQ; De Jonge,
Landeweerd, & Van Breukelen, 1994; De Jonge, 1995), which consisted of ten Likert-items with a
5-point response scale ranging from 1 very little to 5 very much. The MAQ measures the workers
opportunity to determine a variety of task elements, like the method of working, the pace of work and
the work goals. For instance, The opportunity that the work o V ers to determine the method of
working yourself.
Workplace social support. A ten-item scale of total work-related social support (from the senior
nursing oYcer as well as from colleagues) was used to measure workplace social support. The
scale was derived from a Dutch questionnaire on organizational stress (VOS-D; Bergers, Marcelissen,
& De WolV , 1986). A 4-point response scale was used, ranging from 1 never to 4 always. For
instance, If there are problems at work, can you talk about them with your senior nursing
oYcer/colleagues?
The choice of the three psychological well-being variables (cf. Warr, 1987) was also guided
by the DCS model (see also Van der Doef & Maes, 1999). That is, emotional exhaustion re ected
outcomes of the job-strain hypothesis of the DCS model, whereas job satisfaction and work
motivation re ected outcomes of the active behaviour hypothesis (for more details, see Karasek &
Theorell, 1990).
Emotional exhaustion. We measured emotional exhaustion by means of the Dutch version of the
Maslach Burnout Inventory (Schaufeli & Van Dierendonck, 1993). This instrument is particularly
suitable for use in human services professions like nursing. Moreover, emotional exhaustion is the
most characteristic burnout dimension that is closest to more orthodox job-strain variables
(Enzmann, Schaufeli, Janssen, & Rozemann, 1998; Maslach, 1998). In its original form, the scale
consists of nine items, scored on a 7-point scale (ranging from 0 never to 6 always). Because
of insuYcient factorial validity in earlier burnout studies, one of the original items (i.e. Working
with people directly puts too much stress on me) was eliminated in the Dutch version of
the MBI.
Job satisfaction. This was assessed by a single item (i.e. I am satis ed with my present job) that was
scored on a 5-point rating scale, ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 5 fully agree. It has been shown
that a global index of overall job satisfaction is a valid measure of general job satisfaction (e.g.

34

Jan d e Jonge et al.

Scarpello & Campbell, 1983; Wanous, Reichers, & Hudy, 1997). Wanous et al. (1997) assumed a
reliability of .57 for such a single-item measure.
Work motivation. This was measured by ve items in which the respondents were asked how
stimulating, interesting and challenging their work was (De Jonge, 1995). The questions were
answered on a 5-point scale with a response scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree to 5 fully agree.
For example, My work stimulates me to perform better all the time.

Data analysis
We performed covariance structure modelling (LISREL 8; Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993) in order to
analyse our panel data. Because of the large number of items used to operationalize all the variables
in our model, simultaneous consideration of all observed variables (i.e. items) would result in
unreliable parameter estimates and insuYcient power (Bentler & Chou, 1987; Jaccard & Wan, 1996).
Therefore, each of the components in the panel model was included in the structural equation
analyses as a latent variable. In other words, the covariance structure model was simpli ed by
assuming that the observed and latent variables were identical (each construct had only one
operationalization). Furthermore, a two-step approach was followed (cf. Anderson & Gerbing, 1988).
First we tested the measurement models, and secondly we tested the structural equation models.
The measurement models used showed the variables to be valid and reliable (De Jonge, 1995; see
also Table 1).
Using structural equation modelling may lead to a slightly complex variant of the general panel
model (e.g. see Finkel, 1995; Kessler & Greenberg, 1981). By means of such a cross-lagged structural
equation model (see Fig. 1), a number of competing structural equation models were tted to the data
in several steps. First of all, a model without cross-lagged structural paths but with temporal stabilities
(model M 1) was speci ed. Second, this stability model was compared with three more complex models
that were nearest in likelihood to the hypothesized structural model:
(1) a model with cross-lagged structural paths from Time 1 job characteristics to Time 2
psychological well-being (model M 2; re ecting Hypothesis H1 in arrow 1);
(2) a model with cross-lagged structural paths from Time 1 psychological well-being to Time 2 job
characteristics (model M 3; re ecting Hypothesis H2 in arrow 2);
(3) a model with both cross-lagged structural patterns (model M 4) representing reciprocal eV ects
(re ecting Hypothesis H3 in arrows 1 and 2).
Full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation was used to assess the t of this
cross-lagged structural equation model. Note that the model consists of regression coeYcients
representing the diV erential cross-lagged structural paths, testretest coeYcients between the
measurement scales, covariances between the background variables, residual covariances between the
job characteristics, and errors in equations. The latter are allowed to correlate, because error caused
by mis-speci cation of the model would be re ected in these correlations. The existence of an
additional variable that is not included in the model might be responsible for this error-correlation
(called occasion-factor by Dwyer, 1983), and is necessary in order to explain the outcome variables
more fully (Long, 1983, MacCallum, Wegener, Uchino, & Fabrigar, 1993). Moreover, Time 1 gender
(dummy variable), Time 1 age, and Time 1 negative aV ectivity (NA) were introduced into the panel
model as potential confounders. Consequently, these variables were labelled as exogenous variables
(see Bollen, 1989, p. 126), and all other variables were labelled as endogenous variables (i.e. the job
characteristics and psychological well-being). Finally, we assume that gender, age, and negative
aV ectivity were directly related to the Time 1 variables, and only indirectly to the Time 2 variables (i.e.
by way of testretest coeYcients from Time 1 variables to Time 2 variables).

Results
Preliminary results
Prior to the LISREL analyses, the means, standard deviations, coeYcient alphas
and Pearson correlations (including testretest coeYcients) were computed (see

SD

Gendera (1)

Age (1)
31.87 8.52
AVectivity (1)
1.44 .41 .75
Demands (1)
3.16 .68 .88
Autonomy (1) 2.73 .59 .81
Support (1)
3.34 .32 .75
Satisfaction (1) 4.02 .85
Motivation (1) 3.82 .69 .86
Exhaustion (1) 1.68 .92 .85
Demands (2)
3.16 .71 .89
Autonomy (2)
2.78 .58 .84
Support (2)
3.28 .38 .82
Satisfaction (2) 3.94 .83
Motivation (2) 3.63 .66 .86
Exhaustion (2) 1.61 .88 .85

.08
.08
.02
.06
.02
.16*
.13*
.06
.11
.01

2 .19*

2 .08

2 .05

2 .11

*p# .05, two-tailed.

a
Gender was coded 0 (males) and 1 (females).
Note. N=261.
Key. (1)=Time 1; (2)=Time 2.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Measures

.01
.03
.13*
.04
.09
.16*
.07
.01
.04
.00
.03
.06
.12

.24*
.25*
.19*
.45*
.52* 2 .13
.20*
.72* 2 .35*
.64*
2 .04 2 .27*
.23*
2 .18* 2 .21*
.24*
2 .26* 2 .34*
.17*
2 .09 2 .20*
.37*
.33* 2 .17*

2 .30*
2 .19* 2 .24*
2 .34* 2 .31*
2 .07 2 .26*

.21*

2 .03

.46*
.34*
.52*
2 .25* 2 .40* 2
2 .21* 2 .28* 2
.29*
.22*
.59*
.36*
.38*
.55*
.25*
.40*
2 .24* 2 .35* 2

.27*
.21*
.25*
.32*
.43*
.62*
.25*

.66*

.50*

11

12

13

14

.39*
.39*
.53*
.27*
.42*
.55*
.50* 2 .33* 2 .44* 2 .54* 2 .36*

10

2 .16* 2 .43*
2 .26* 2 .34*
2 .43* 2 .40*
2 .25* 2 .20*

Table 1. Means, standard deviations (SD), coeYcient alphas (a ) and Pearson correlations of the study variables

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

35

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

37

Table 2. Goodness-of- t indices and chi-square diVerence tests of nested structural

models of psychological well-being
Model
No cross-lagged (M1)
Cross JCT1PWT2 (M2)
Cross PWT1JCT2 (M3)
Both cross (M4)

98.86***
81.85***
86.95***
68.49***

d.f.
48
39
39
30

Comparison

M1
M1
M1
M2
M3

vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.

M2
M3
M4
M4
M4

D v

17.01*
11.91
30.37*
13.36
18.46*

D d.f.

9
9
18
9
9

*p# .05; ***p# .001.

Note. N=261.
Key. JC=Job characteristics; PW=Psychological well-being; T1=Time 1; T2=Time 2.

The rst chi-square diV erence test showed that the diV erence between the
stability model and the model with cross-lagged eV ects from job characteristics to
well-being outcomes was signi cant (M1 vs. M 2: D v 2(9) = 17.01, p# .05). This
means that the unconstrained model with lagged eV ects (M2) better accounts for
the data than the constrained model with no lagged eV ects (M1). In other words,
there is statistical evidence that Time 1 job characteristics in uence Time 2
psychological well-being.
Alternatively, a second chi-square diV erence test showed that the diV erence
between the stability model and the model with cross-lagged structural paths from
Time 1 well-being to Time 2 (perceived) job characteristics was not signi cant (M1
vs. M 3: D v 2(9) = 11.91, p = n.s.). Thus, model M 3 has no better statistical t than
model M 1. Generally, psychological well-being in Measurement 1 was not able to
in uence (perceived) job characteristics in Measurement 2.
The chi-square di V erence test between the stability model and the model with all
cross-lagged structural paths was signi cant (M1 vs. M 4: D v 2(18) = 30.37, p# .05).
However, model t did not improve if reversed structural paths were added to the
conventional paths (M2 vs. M 4: D v 2(9) = 13.36, p = n.s.). On the contrary, there
was a clear improvement in model t if usual structural paths were added to the
reversed paths (M3 vs. M 4: D v 2(9) = 18.46, p# .05). Generally, in terms of
chi-square relative to the degrees of freedom, model M 2 showed the best t of all
competing models (see Table 2). Model M 2 also had a relatively good t when the
most important practical t indices were reviewed (i.e. GFI = .96, AGFI = .86,
RMSEA = .07, NNFI = .91, AIC = 240.31, PNFI = .35, and CFI = .97), according
to criteria presented by Hu and Bentler (1998) or by Schumacker and Lomax
(1996). For instance, in terms of model comparisons, model M 2 showed the best
combination of NNFI and CFI. In terms of parsimony, model M 2 showed the
lowest AIC compared to the other lagged models (i.e. models M 3 and M 4). If one
were to take these t indices as the most important ones, it would also lead to the
preference of model M 2.

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

39

coeYcients of the best tting model (M2). It should be noted that the FIML
estimates have been standardized and that only signi cant relationships between
job characteristics and psychological well-being and testretest stability coeYcients
are shown. Regarding the signi cant cross-lagged parameters, it appears that Time 1
job demands in uence Time 2 job satisfaction. Higher levels of Time 1 job demands
cause lower levels of Time 2 job satisfaction. Furthermore, Time 1 workplace social
support in uences Time 2 job satisfaction as well; that is, higher levels of social
support lead to higher levels of job satisfaction. Taken together, both job demands
and social support appeared to be the causal factors.
As mentioned before, evidence exists that reciprocal relationships are present
since the unconstrained model with both types of lagged eV ects (M4) better
accounts for the data than the constrained model with no lagged eV ects (M1).
However, we also concluded that the chi-square di V erence test was mainly caused
by the eV ects of job characteristics on psychological well-being. This means that, in
general, the reciprocal model can exist without reversed eV ects, but it cannot exist
without eV ects of job characteristics on psychological well-being. Referring to
Rogosas (1980) statement again, we tried to explore those reciprocal cross-lagged
patterns in addition to model M 2 by examining the individual pathways. Results
from model M 4 showed one additional cross-lagged eV ect from Time 1 emotional
exhaustion to Time 2 (perceived) job demands (standardized path coeYcient:
.11, p# .05). This reversed structural path indicated that higher levels of Time 1
emotional exhaustion seemed to in uence higher levels of (perceived) psychological job demands at Time 2.
Discussion
The main purpose of the present study was to test and evaluate the direction of
relationships between job characteristics and employee psychological well-being.
We used a two-wave panel design which allowed more rigorous interpretation of
causality and reciprocity than cross-sectional designs. Additionally, we tried to
avoid the possible methodological pitfalls of standard statistical techniques by
testing cross-lagged structural equation models.
The results primarily supported Hypothesis H1 such that, after controlling for
gender, age and negative a V ectivity, job characteristics in uenced psychological
well-being. More speci cally, both job demands and workplace social support
appeared to be the causally dominant factors with regard to job satisfaction.
Furthermore, there was also some preliminary but weak evidence for reversed
cross-lagged eV ects since emotional exhaustion seemed to be the causally dominant
factor with respect to (perceived) job demands.
The present ndings are consistent with the scarce longitudinal studies in this
research area. For instance, James and Tetrick (1986) performed a two-stage least
squares analysis of job characteristics and job satisfaction. After comparing three
alternative causal models, they concluded that job characteristics appeared to be a
stronger cause of job satisfaction than vice versa.
A closer inspection of the lagged relationships indicated additional support for
job characteristicswell-being relationships, as far as job demands and workplace

40

Jan d e Jonge et al.

social support were concerned. Both variables showed a lagged pattern of relation
similar to cross-sectional ndings presented in the literature. The nding that
psychological job demands are negatively associated with job satisfaction was
replicated in the present study (Spector, 1997). Interestingly, though we found a
lagged eV ect which strengthens earlier cross-sectional ndings in health care work
(e.g. De Jonge et al., 1996; Landsbergis, 1988; McLaney & Hurrell, 1988). The
lagged relationship between social support and job satisfaction seems to re ect the
nature of work of nurses and nurses aides. A key characteristic feature of their jobs
is that workplace social support plays an important role in daily work, because for
the most part nurses and nurses aides work closely together in teams (e.g. Shinn,
Rosario, Morch, & Chestnut, 1984). This nding also underlines the assumptions of
the DCS model concerning highly motivated and satis ed employees (Karasek &
Theorell, 1990). It is therefore not surprising that this model has been expanded
with workplace social support as a key predictor (Johnson & Hall, 1988). Finally,
a number of empirical studies indicate that supportive relationships generally
enhance outcomes such as job satisfaction and work motivation (e.g. see Boumans
& Landeweerd, 1992; Parkes et al., 1994; Peeters, 1994). In all, these results provide
additional empirical evidence for these two job characteristics in the prediction of
employee well-being.
Conversely, there was weak evidence for only one lagged reversed relationship
with emotional exhaustion as a predictor for (perceived) psychological job
demands. This contradicts the research that does nd evidence of reversed
causation (e.g. Zapf et al., 1996). Reasons for this can only be speculative. For
instance, Daniels and Guppy (1997) found only a weak eV ect of poor well-being for
the appraised stressfulness of job demands, not their frequency. This carries the
risk that relationships between demands and well-being are a V ected by self-report
or method variance (Wall, Jackson, Mullarkey, & Parker, 1996). We tried to avoid
evaluative components like intensity in the measurement of demands, and used
descriptive as well as frequency-based measures instead (e.g. Frese & Zapf, 1988),
and this might be a reason for lack of corroboration. A similar way of reasoning
could be true for job autonomy to explain lack of reversed causation (e.g. De Jonge,
1995; Wall et al., 1996).
Previous longitudinal studies that detected reversed eV ects on (perceived) social
support covered either a very short time lag (e.g. Daniels & Guppy, 1997; Fisher,
1985) or longer time lags (Marcelissen, Winnubst, Buunk, & De WolV , 1988).
However, a panel study by Billings and Moos (1982) which used a similar time lag
as our study (i.e. one year), failed to demonstrate lagged eV ects of psychological
symptoms on support. It might be that in general the eV ect of aspects of well-being
on (perceived) social support takes place within a few months rather than a
one-year period. Another reason might be that reversed eV ects of well-being on
(perceived) support are speci c rather than global, and that the support measure
used in our study was not speci c enough to detect reversed eV ects. For example,
Daniels and Guppy (1997) found a diV erential pattern of associations between
aspects of well-being and subsequent reported diV erent dimensions of social
support. More speci cally, they found eV ects on help support and social
dependability, but not on esteem support. In a similar vein, Marcelissen et al.

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

41

(1988) found that strains a V ected only support by co-workers, and not by the
supervisor.
The reversed association between emotional exhaustion and (perceived) job
demands was found in earlier burnout studies. For instance, a two-wave panel study
among health care professionals (3 months time interval) also showed that Time 1
emotional exhaustion predicted Time 2 (perceived) work overload (Leiter & Durup,
1996). In addition, in a two-wave longitudinal study (10 months time interval)
among teachers, Shirom and Oliver (1986) found that burnout was a predictor
rather than a consequence of (perceived) job demands.
There are several reasons why one may expect that emotional exhaustion in
particular a V ects (perceived) working conditions rather than job satisfaction and
work motivation. First, the drift hypothesis, which is rather non-speci c in
suggesting that any kind of poor health may cause bad working conditions by
workers drifting to a new and worse job, does not apply because job changes were
excluded from the present study. Secondly, perceived working conditions rather
than objective ones were considered, so that perceptual mechanisms are more likely
to apply than eV ects of well-being on actual (objective) working conditions.
Thirdly, the argument that people with poor a V ective health recall more unfavourable working conditions particularly applies to depression (Daniels & Guppy,
1997). Among the variables investigated in the present study, emotional exhaustion
is most closely linked to depression as indicated by items such as feeling
depressed, feeling hopeless, and feeling worthless. Fourthly, emotional exhaustion has been conceived as a general and comprehensive dimension of well-being
(Enzmann et al., 1998). Hence, if emotional exhaustion or any other broad
well-being variable is included, further health-related variables may have only weak
additional eV ects on the perceptions of job conditions. Therefore, emotional
exhaustion may have stronger eV ects on working conditions than job satisfaction
and work motivation.
Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), however, explained such reversed causal eV ects
from burnout to (perceived) job characteristics from a methodological point of
view. They stated that regression approaches to control statistically for the initial
burnout scores may be inappropriate as a method to study predictors of change,
especially if the stability of burnout scores is high (which often seems to be the
case). Therefore, they proposed promising alternative methods for the study of
change, such as growth curve modelling. We did not apply this technique, as more
than two waves are required for this approach.
In conclusion, the present results underline the importance of studying
reversed causal eV ects in this kind of study (see also Zapf et al., 1996). We believe
that reversed eV ects should always be conceived as a plausible alternative
explanation for relations between (perceived) job characteristics and employee
well-being.
The concept of negative a V ectivity (NA) as a confounder of the association
between (perceived) job characteristics and job-related strain has been widely
investigated (for an overview, see Spector, Zapf, Chen, & Frese, 2000). There are
important, diverging, reasons for assessing NA in job stress research. First, NA may
spuriously in ate the associations between the variables which have been measured

42

Jan d e Jonge et al.

by self-report methods. Secondly, controlling for NA may also mean that variance
in job-related strain that could be due to the work environment is removed with the
NA measure. In other words, not controlling for NA could lead to an exaggeration
of the job-strain association, whereas controlling for NA in attempting to re ne
methodology could lead to an underestimation of the relative importance of job
characteristics (Dollard & Wine eld, 1998).
Except for job autonomy and work motivation, the present study showed that
NA was correlated with all job characteristics and psychological well-being. In the
structural equation models, however, controlling for NA had no impact on
job-strain relationships. There are at least three plausible interpretations of this
nding. First, although measures used were self-reports, job characteristics
measures have been operationalized in such a way that a certain degree of
objectivity would be derived (cf. Frese, 1999; Frese & Zapf, 1988). Secondly, if
perfect stability of NA is assumed, NA need not be considered in panel studies,
because its eV ect is automatically partialled out if the structural equation model
is in a state of equilibrium (Spector et al., 2000). Finally, a number of studies
have found that NA is not (or weakly) associated with job satisfaction (e.g.
Chen & Spector, 1991; Dormann & Zapf, 1998; Moyle, 1995; Williams, Gavin,
& Williams, 1996). Because the signi cant cross-lagged patterns were mainly
found with regard to job satisfaction, this study underlines the use of job
satisfaction as an index of strain to help overcome the confounding eV ects
produced by NA.
At least two remarks regarding the present study can be made. First, our data are
collected in discrete time samples while the processes to be observed are
continuous. Therefore, we cannot obtain valid parameter estimates until the
measurement period matches the causal lag (Engel & Meyer, 1996; Frese & Zapf,
1988). Moreover, time mis-speci cations may lead to serious problems if the time
lag is too short (Kessler & Greenberg, 1981). We have tried to estimate this period
by means of a pilot study (Vermaat, 1994), but the only remedy seems to be the
estimation of distributed lag models afterwards in multi-wave studies (Engel &
Meyer, 1996). In contrast, one could argue that discrete time approximations of
such continuous processes are in practice quite adequate since in some instances
changes do not occur continuously but in distinct stages (Van der Kamp &
Bijleveld, 1998).
A second point involves the study population. Studying people in just one
occupation has advantages as well as disadvantages. An advantage of a singleoccupation group like health care professionals is that we had virtually no variance
in socio-economic status, which precludes confounding eV ects. The challenge is,
however, to obtain enough variance on the variables of interest to allow hypothesis
tests. Compared to large multi-occupation studies, we might have some restriction
in range in our variables. But health care professionals as an occupational group
have the advantage of providing much natural variance because of di V erent types of
health care areas, and because diV erent specialties exist within the same general
hospital or nursing home (Fox, Dwyer, & Ganster, 1993; Ganster & Fusilier, 1989).
Nevertheless, generalization of the current results to other occupations awaits
further empirical examination.

Job characteristics and psychological well-being: reciprocal relationships

43

In conclusion, this study builds on earlier cross-sectional and longitudinal

ndings by eliminating confounding factors and diminishing several methodological de ciencies. Empirical support for the in uence of job characteristics on
work-related psychological well-being aYrms what several prominent theoretical
models have postulated to be the causal ordering among job characteristics and
a V ective responses to jobs (see Hackman & Oldham, 1980; Karasek & Theorell,
1990; Siegrist, 1998; Warr, 1987). However, this study does not invalidate the
evidence that supports a reverse causal relationship (i.e. from psychological
well-being to (perceived) job characteristics), although this evidence is less
conclusive. It may preliminarily indicate that (perceived) job characteristics and
pyschological well-being in uence each other reciprocally rather than unidirectionally (cf. Edwards, 1998). So, there is a plea for studying more complex models of
the job stress process, including reciprocal relationships.
Practically, the present study indicated that job characteristics themselves are
relatively important predictors of employee well-being. Worksite interventions
decreasing or stabilizing job demands and increasing social supportare useful
starting-points which could improve employee well-being.
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