oa De invloed van organisatiekenmerken op werkdruk in organisaties

The influence of organizational characteristics on work pressure in organizations

The effects of work related stress and work pressure are a topic of research, however, very little research focuses on the causes of work pressure. In this article we examine some possible causes of work pressure in organizations. In research on work pressure, usually the perspective of the employee on work pressure is used. In this research we used the perspective of the employer. Data are gathered in 2001 amongst 3199 employers in the Netherlands.

Multivariate regression analyses showed that part of the work pressure in companies can be explained by the complexity and instability of the environment. The analyses also showed that work pressure is higher in organizations with flexible contracts and where process renewal recently had taken place. The most important factor in explaining work pressure, was the nature of the work in the organization. Work pressure increases as the percentage of people with unattractive tasks (heavy work, monotonous work) increases.