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How Stress Hinders Health among Chinese Public Sector Employees: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion and the Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support

Author

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  • Yuanjie Bao

    (School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Wei Zhong

    (School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the detrimental effect of hindrance stressors on self-rated health among a sample of Chinese public sector employees. Analysis of survey data based on 404 MPA students from a leading Chinese university who are working in various public organizations across China suggested that hindrance stressors were negatively related to both physical and mental health ( β = −0.11, p < 0.01 and β = −0.38, p < 0.001, respectively), and emotional exhaustion mediated those relationships (95% bias-corrected confidence intervals for the indirect effects on physical and mental health based on 5000 bootstrapped samples were −1.64 to −0.35 and −3.51 to −1.81, respectively, excluding 0). Furthermore, perceived organizational support moderated the effect of hindrance stressors on emotional exhaustion ( β = −0.10, p < 0.05), and moderated the indirect effects of hindrance stressors on physical and mental health via emotional exhaustion (index of moderated mediation was 0.116 with bootstrapped confidence interval of 0.018–0.296 for physical health, and 0.317 with bootstrapped confidence interval of 0.008–0.663 for mental health). The effects of hindrance stressors were weaker when perceived organizational support was high, suggesting a moderating effect. Our findings not only provide important theoretical contributions to the literature on public employees’ work-related stress and associated health outcomes, but also offer practical implications to those who are interested in stress intervention to improve the wellbeing of public employees and general society.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuanjie Bao & Wei Zhong, 2019. "How Stress Hinders Health among Chinese Public Sector Employees: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion and the Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:22:p:4408-:d:285731
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yong Li & Fengyin Yang & Wei Zhang & Zhao Zhang, 2023. "The mediating role of job satisfaction in the stressor–strain relationship among Chinese government employees," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Tung-Ju Wu & Lian-Yi Wang & Jia-Ying Gao & An-Pin Wei, 2020. "Social Support and Well-Being of Chinese Special Education Teachers—An Emotional Labor Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Chunyu Zhang & Liping Liu, 2022. "The Influence of Health-Promoting Leadership on Employees’ Positive Workplace Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Employability and the Moderating Role of Workplace Civility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.

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