A Two-Wave Study of the Impact of Job Characteristics and Motivators on Perceived Stress among Information Technology (IT) Consultants

The aim of this two-wave study was to test whether job characteristics (job demand, job control), with ‘motivators’ (e.g., recognition, achievement, possibility for growth) as the mediating variable, can predict perceived stress (e.g., stressed, tense). These relationships were tested simultaneously using structural equation modeling analyses. A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 320 information technology (IT) consultants in Sweden. Data were collected at two time points, over a six-month follow-up period. Cross-sectional studies have been presented earlier but one of the contributions of this study is that it is a two-wave data set. The present two-wave study uses a model which covers more information than a cross-sectional design and the results add another aspect to existing work motivation and stress research, by using a longitudinal data set, and relating job characteristics to perceived stress directly and indirect. These findings emphasize the importance of job demand and illuminate the role of motivators in the experience of job stress among IT consultants. The presented model can be used to examine potential causes of job stress among IT consultants and may generate important lessons for managing the general workforce of tomorrow.