11206: Strain-Effects of Emotional Exhaustion on Perceptions of Workload: Experimental Evidence

Recent evidence challenges work-related stress theories by providing evidence that the relationship between job stressors and job strain is reciprocal. This means that job stressors increase job strain over time (referred to as stressor-effect) and that job strain increases job stressors over time (referred to as strain-effect). With this study, we experimentally investigate strain-effects using a workplace simulation. Specifically, we test whether strain effects are due to a subjective process (stressor perception hypothesis) or an objective process (stressor creation hypothesis). We randomly assigned N = 61 participants to either a high-strain or a low-strain condition to manipulate job strain. Subsequently, participants worked on a second task that had an objectively equal workload for all participants, allowing us to assess subjective differences in workload perception. Results showed that participants in the high-strain condition perceived significantly higher workload in the second task compared to those in the low-strain condition, despite working under identical objective conditions. However, there were no significant differences in task performance between conditions. These findings support the stressor perception hypothesis while providing no evidence for the stressor creation hypothesis, suggesting that strain-effects occur primarily through altered subjective perception rather than actual changes in job stressors. Our research provides causal evidence for strain-effects and highlights the importance of investigating the vicious cycle connecting job stressors and burnout.

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