| 1. |
- Björk, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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I shouldn't have to do this : Illegitimate tasks as a stressor in relation to organizational control and resource deficits
- 2013
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Ingår i: Work & Stress. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0267-8373 .- 1464-5335. ; 27:3, s. 262-277
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The performance of tasks that are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable - illegitimate tasks - represents a new stressor concept that refers to assignments that violate the norms associated with the role requirements of professional work. Research has shown that illegitimate tasks are associated with stress and counterproductive work behaviour. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the contribution of characteristics of the organization on the prevalence of illegitimate tasks in the work of frontline and middle managers. Using the Bern Illegitimate Task Scale (BITS) in a sample of 440 local government operations managers in 28 different organizations in Sweden, this study supports the theoretical assumptions that illegitimate tasks are positively related to stress and negatively related to satisfaction with work performance. Results further show that 10% of the variance in illegitimate tasks can be attributed to the organization where the managers work. Multilevel referential analysis showed that the more the organization was characterized by competition for resources between units, unfair and arbitrary resource allocation and obscure decisional structure, the more illegitimate tasks managers reported. These results should be valuable for strategic-level management since they indicate that illegitimate tasks can be counteracted by means of the organization of work.
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| 2. |
- Björk, Lisa, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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I shouldn’t have to do this: Illegitimate tasks as a stressor in relation to organizational control and resource deficits
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Work & Stress. - 0267-8373. ; 27:3, s. 262-277
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Illegitimate tasks represent a new stressor concept that refers to assignments that violate the norms associated with the role requirements of professional work. Research has shown that Illegitimate tasks are associated with stress and counterproductive work behaviour. The purpose of the present study is to provide insight into the contribution of organizational properties on the prevalence of Illegitimate tasks in operative managerial work. Using the Bern Illegitimate Task Scale (BITS) in a sample of 440 operational local government managers in 28 different organizations, this study supports the theoretical assumptions that Illegitimate tasks are positively related to stress and negatively related to satisfaction with work performance. Results further show that 10% of the variance in Illegitimate tasks can be attributed to the organization where managers work. Multilevel referential analysis shows that the more the organization is characterized by competition for resources between units, unfair and arbitrary resource allocation and obscure decisional structure, the more Illegitimate tasks managers report. These results should be valuable for strategic-level management since they indicate that Illegitimate tasks can be counteracted by means of organization.
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| 3. |
- Jacobshagen, Nicola, et al.
(författare)
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Illegitimate tasks : a meaningful stressor across countries
- 2013
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Ingår i: Imagine the future world. - : Münstersche Informations- und Archivsystem multimedialer Inhalte. ; , s. 100-101, s. 101-101
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Purpose: Task characteristics have been a focus of occupational stress research for many years. Workload and conflicting expectations have been especially prominent in this research. Recently, an additional feature of tasks as a source of stress has been suggested: Their perceived lack of legitimacy. We consider tasks to be illegitimate to the extent that it is perceived as improper to expect employees to do them. For example, tasks can fall outside of the range of one’s occupation or role differences within a profession, such as when employees are assigned tasks that do not match their levels of experience.Design/Methodology: We discuss our research with the Bern Illegitimate Tasks Scale in different countries - Switzerland (French and German part), Sweden, and Germany - analyzing scale properties (measurement models) and associations of illegitimate tasks with strain (six data sets, N=2498).Results: The Bern Illegitimate Tasks Scale was shown to be a sound measure, and it explained variance in several strain parameters, above and beyond the effects of other important predictors (stressors and resources).Limitations: All studies were questionnaire studies.Research/Practical Implications: Illegitimate tasks need more attention from supervisors; they should be part of management training. Research should be extended to other designs (e.g., diary studies) and to investigating moderators of the effect of illegitimate tasks (e.g., breadth of role definition).Originality/Value: Our studies show that not just work demands or resources count with regard to stress, but also the perceived legitimacy of demands.
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