The Effect of Coworker Support on a Worker¿s Stress: the Mediating Effects of Perceived Job Characteristics

Social support from the work environment has been considered as one of the critical resources that can reduce the negative effect of stressors, but the mechanism that explains the effect of social support on stress remains unanswered. The purpose of this study is therefore to explain the effect of social support, more specifically coworker support, on an individual¿s stress by introducing job characteristics as mediators. Using nationally representative data collected by the Families and Work Institute, this study tested an integrated model based on two job characteristics theories, the Social Information Processing approach (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978) and the Demand-Control model of job characteristics (Karasek, 1979), proposing that an individual¿s perception toward job characteristics is socially constructed by his/her work environment (coworkers¿ support), which in turn affects the level of his/her stress.