The American economy is undergoing a fundamental transformation, moving into a post-industrial society marked by a fast-growing knowledge sector with a diverse, gendered workforce. In this context, through a 2008 survey of 305 people in an information services company, the current project examines employees' job experiences in this new economy. Four potential negative reactions are investigated: work dissatisfaction, lack or organizational commitment, work stress, and life stress. The study assesses the impact on these outcomes of factors derived from three theoretical perspectives: the Gender-Importation Model, the Work Role…rdquo;Occupational Socialization Model, and the Family-Spillover Model.
The analysis revealed three major conclusions. First, individual characteristics, including being a woman, had little impact on work reactions. In fact, if anything, males showed higher levels of work dissatisfaction and life stress than females. Second, work-role experiences shaped job-related reactions. Consistent with previous research, supervisory support insulated against all outcomes. Among work-role factors, role overload exerted the most pervasive effects, suggesting that the amount of work expected in the new economy may be particularly detrimental to employees.
Third, when the intersection of work and family was examined, role overload in this social domain was unrelated to views about work (dissatisfaction and commitment) but had clear effects in increasing work stress and life stress. This finding indicates that family-related factors do not reduce employees' embrace of their careers but do exact a cost by fostering higher levels of stress. Further, a special challenge faced by workers in the new economy may be coping with diverse forms of role overload, as the demands for productivity at work and involvement at home coalesce in unprecedented ways. This possibility is merits future study.