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      Occupational Stress in Academic life: A Study of Academics of Malaysian Public Universities

      Idris, Mohd Kamel
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      Idris, M. K. (2009). Occupational Stress in Academic life: A Study of Academics of Malaysian Public Universities (Thesis). The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/2597
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/2597
      Abstract
      Stress can lead to poor health and loss of productivity among employees across

      occupations. Stress does not only affect individuals but also organizations by

      causing work absence and staff turnover. Academics in Malaysian public

      universities are no exception. Due to the rapid developments in tertiary

      education, academics in Malaysian public universities are believed to be

      experiencing increased job demands that potentially lead to increased stress.

      This study was carried out to examine: i) the direct effect of role stressors (i.e.

      role overload, role ambiguity and role conflict) on strain; ii) the direct effect of strain

      on the outcomes of strain (i.e. cynicism, professional efficacy, and organizational

      commitment); iii) the moderation effects of organizational support, peer support, and

      self-efficacy on the relationships between role stressors and strain; iv) the mediation

      effect of strain on the relationship between role stressors and strain; and v) the

      mediation effect of outcomes of strain (i.e. cynicism, professional efficacy, and

      organizational commitment) on the relationship between strain and intention to leave

      among those academics.

      This study used a non-experimental two-wave panel design. Eleven of the 12

      study variables were measured using pre-existing scales except for self-efficacy,

      iii

      which was measured by items specially developed for this study. A longitudinal

      survey with a six-month time interval yielded 357 respondents (academics) at time 1

      and 210 respondents at time 2. Data were analyzed using multiple regression,

      hierarchical regression, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test for direct

      effects, moderation effects and mediation effects respectively.

      The findings of this study indicate that academics who experienced increased

      levels of role stressors were more likely to have increased levels of strain.

      Subsequently, the strained academics were more likely to show higher levels of

      cynicism and lower levels of professional efficacy and organizational commitment.

      The predicted moderators (i.e organizational support, peer support, and self-efficacy)

      had no significant influence on the relationships between role stressors and strain.

      Mediation analyses consisted of two parts. In the first part, I found that strain

      strongly mediated the relationship between role ambiguity and outcomes of strain

      (i.e. cynicism, professional efficacy, and organizational commitment). In the

      subsequent mediation analysis, I found that cynicism and organizational commitment

      fully mediated the relationship between strain and intention to leave, but not

      professional efficacy.
      Date
      2009
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Name
      Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
      Publisher
      The University of Waikato
      Rights
      All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
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