IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i10p3346-d356939.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Antecedents of Psychological Well-Being among Swedish Audit Firm Employees

Author

Listed:
  • Pernilla Broberg

    (Department of Management and Engineering, Business Administration Division, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden)

  • Torbjörn Tagesson

    (Department of Management and Engineering, Business Administration Division, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden)

  • Timur Uman

    (Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, 55111 Jönköping, Sweden
    Department of Business, Kristianstad University, 29188 Kristianstad, Sweden)

Abstract

The attractiveness of audit firms as employers appears to have decreased in recent years and the audit profession is currently experiencing high employee turnover. A shortage of personnel increases the risk of long-term stress and illness. This paper therefore proposes audit firm employees’ well-being as an important research topic and explores the antecedents of well-being of Swedish audit firm employees in comparison with those of other business professionals. Based on a nationwide survey of members of the Swedish association of business professionals, with a focus on psychological well-being (measured through General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)), the study shows that the psychological well-being of the professionals in this study generally aligns with the results from similar studies in a Swedish context. However, the findings indicate that audit industry respondents have the lowest psychological well-being and that employer change, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction were the strongest antecedents of their psychological well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Timur Uman, 2020. "Antecedents of Psychological Well-Being among Swedish Audit Firm Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:10:p:3346-:d:356939
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3346/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3346/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lazear, Edward P & Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(5), pages 841-864, October.
    2. Nellie Gertsson & Johanna Sylvander & Pernilla Broberg & Josefine Friberg, 2017. "Exploring audit assistants’ decision to leave the audit profession," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(9), pages 879-898, October.
    3. Mcdaniel, Ls, 1990. "The Effects Of Time Pressure And Audit Program Structure On Audit Performance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 267-285.
    4. William E. Shafer, 2009. "Ethical climate, organizational‐professional conflict and organizational commitment," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(7), pages 1087-1110, September.
    5. Alexander Styhre, 2013. "Professionals Making Judgments," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-36957-4, October.
    6. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 695-704, August.
    7. Olivier Herrbach, 2001. "Audit quality, auditor behaviour and the psychological contract," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 787-802.
    8. B. Pierce & B. Sweeney, 2004. "Cost-quality conflict in audit firms: an empirical investigation," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 415-441.
    9. Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Daniela Argento & Niclas Gyllengahm & Ola Mårtensson, 2017. "Explaining the influence of time budget pressure on audit quality in Sweden," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 331-350, June.
    10. Broberg, Pernilla & Umans, Timurs & Gerlofstig, Carl, 2013. "Balance between auditing and marketing: An explorative study," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 57-70.
    11. Kahn, Charles & Huberman, Gur, 1988. "Two-sided Uncertainty and "Up-or-Out" Contracts," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(4), pages 423-444, October.
    12. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Horacio Molina-Sánchez & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Mar Ortiz-Gómez & Antonio Leal-Rodríguez, 2019. "The Subjective Well-Being Challenge in the Accounting Profession: The Role of Job Resources," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Rogelio Oliva & John D. Sterman, 2001. "Cutting Corners and Working Overtime: Quality Erosion in the Service Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(7), pages 894-914, July.
    15. Pernilla Broberg & Timurs Umans & Peter Skog & Emily Theodorsson, 2018. "Auditors’ professional and organizational identities and commercialization in audit firms," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(2), pages 374-399, February.
    16. Grey, C., 1998. "On being a professional in a "Big Six" firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 569-587.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hye-Ryoung Kim & Hwa-Mi Yang, 2021. "The Mediating Effect of Life Satisfaction on Relation between Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Health-Promoting Lifestyle in Korean Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-10, July.
    2. Chang-Lan Xia & Tung-Ju Wu & An-Pin Wei & Pei-Guan Wu, 2020. "Are Chinese Entrepreneurs Happier than Employees? Evidence Based on a National Workforce Survey in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Daniela Argento & Niclas Gyllengahm & Ola Mårtensson, 2017. "Explaining the influence of time budget pressure on audit quality in Sweden," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(2), pages 331-350, June.
    2. Chantal Mangion & Norbert Tabone & Peter J. Baldacchino & Simon Grima, 2021. "Audit Quality and Resilience beyond the Role Stress Model: A Maltese Perspective," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 11(3), pages 37-56.
    3. Amondarain, Josune & Aldazabal, M. Edurne & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2023. "Gender differences in the auditing stereotype and their influence on the intention to enter the profession," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    4. José-Joaquín del-Pozo-Antúnez & Horacio Molina-Sánchez & Francisco Fernández-Navarro & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2021. "Accountancy as a Meaningful Work. Main Determinants from a Job Quality and Optimization Algorithm Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Daniela Argento & Timurs Umans & Patricia Håkansson & Annika Johansson, 2018. "Reliance on the internal auditors’ work: experiences of Swedish external auditors," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 295-325, December.
    6. Daoust, Laurence & Malsch, Bertrand, 2019. "How ex-auditors remember their past: The transformation of audit experience into cultural memory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Donna Bobek & Amy Hageman & Robin Radtke, 2015. "The Influence of Roles and Organizational Fit on Accounting Professionals’ Perceptions of their Firms’ Ethical Environment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 125-141, January.
    8. Edward P. Lazear, 1995. "Personnel Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121883, April.
    9. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 2001. "The Firm as a Dedicated Hierarchy: A Theory of the Origins and Growth of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 805-851.
    10. Ian Gregory-Smith & Peter W Wright, 2019. "Winners and losers of corporate tournaments," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(1), pages 250-268.
    11. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2373-2437 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Guillermina Tormo-Carbó & Zeena Mardawi & Elies Seguí-Mas, 2024. "Should I Stay or Should I Go? Auditor Ethical Conflict and Turnover Intention," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 335-350, October.
    13. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Friebel, Guido & von Bieberstein, Frauke, 2016. "The firm as the locus of social comparisons: Standard promotion practices versus up-or-out," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 41-59.
    14. Hall, Matthew, 2011. "Do comprehensive performance measurement systems help or hinder managers' mental model development?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 36703, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Paul Oyer & Scott Schaefer, 2012. "Firm/Employee Matching: An Industry Study of American Lawyers," NBER Working Papers 18620, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Radoslawa Nikolowa & Daniel Ferreira, 2018. "How to Sell Jobs," Working Papers 846, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    17. Jed DeVaro & Suman Ghosh & Cindy Zoghi, 2018. "Job Characteristics and Labor Market Discrimination in Promotions," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 389-434, July.
    18. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2291-2372 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Xin Jin, 2014. "The Signaling Role of Not Being Promoted: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers 0314, University of South Florida, Department of Economics.
    20. José Joaquín Del Pozo-Antúnez & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Francisco Fernández-Navarro & Horacio Molina-Sánchez, 2018. "Effect of a Job Demand-Control-Social Support Model on Accounting Professionals’ Health Perception," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, November.
    21. Nouri, Hossein & Parker, Robert J., 2013. "Career growth opportunities and employee turnover intentions in public accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-148.
    22. Prasad, Suraj & Tran, Hien, 2013. "Work practices, incentives for skills, and training," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 66-76.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:10:p:3346-:d:356939. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.