FACILITATING AND INHIBITING EFFECTS OF JOB CONTROL AND SOCIAL SUPPORTON STRESS OUTCOMES AND ROLE-BEHAVIOR - A CONTINGENCY-MODEL

High levels of job control and social support are often related to eff ective job performance and coping with work stressors. However, suppor t may have more positive effects on role behavior when job control is low. In addition, despite theoretical expectations, simple demands-con trol and demands-support interactions are infrequently found to predic t health and psychological strain outcomes. The 'demands-control-suppo rt' model (Johnson and Hall, 1988) of stress coping integrates these ' stress buffering' and 'decision latitude' models and observes more con sistent findings. This model posits that social support buffers the ad verse effects of high demand, low control jobs. However, explicit test s of the interaction of these variables suggest that control can have positive or negative effects on strain, depending on the level of soci al support. In this study, supervisor consideration was positively rel ated to subordinate job performance, extra-role behavior, and in-role prosocial behavior (conscientiousness) among subordinates perceiving l ow job control. The relationship between consideration and performance and extra-role behavior was negative among high control subordinates. The demands x control x support interaction predicted health symptoms , organizational commitment, supervisor satisfaction, and absence due to illness, but the interaction plots do not support the prevailing pe rspective that support buffers the effects of 'high strain' (i.e. low control, high demand) jobs. Patterns were similar for different demand s and different social support loci (i.e. supervisor, co-workers). An alternative theoretical process of the demands-control-support interac tion is proffered, and implications for organizational intervention ar e discussed. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.