Stress and the Industrial Relations Process: Development of the Industrial Relations Event Scale

Abstract

Although organizational stress has been the focus of much attention, there is a paucity of research on the stress associated with involvement in industrial relations. This article outlines the development of the Industrial Relations Event Scale (IRES), a measure designed to assess stressful events associated with the practice of industrial relations. The format of the IRES allows for the measurement of the occurrence, desirability, and perceived impact of each item. Testretest reliability and internal consistency are satisfactory. The IRES also shows acceptable concurrent and known-group difference validity. A 20-item short form of the IRES was developed, with similar psychometric properties to the 63-item IRES. Future research priorities for the IRES and industrial relations stress in general are identified.Hoewel baie aandag reeds bestee is aan organisatoriese stres, is daar min navorsing gedoen oor stres wat gepaard gaan met betrokkenheid by nywerheidsbetrekkinge. Hierdie artikel beskryf in bree trekke die ontwikkeling van die 'Industrial Relations Event Scale (IRES)', 'n instrument wat ontwerp is om stresinsidente in die beoefening van nywerheidsbetrekkinge te meet. Die formaat van die IRES stel mens in staat om die voorkoms, wenslikheid, en waargenome uitwerking van elke item te meet. Die toetshertoetsbetroubaarheid en die interne konsekwentheid is bevredigend. Die IRES toon ook 'n aanvaarbare saamvallende geldigheid en bekendegroepverskilgeldigheid. 'n Twintig-item beknopte weergawe van die IRES is ontwikkel wat soortgelyke psigometriese eienskappe het as die 63-item IRES. Prioriteite vir toekomstige navorsing in verband met die IRES en stres in nywerheidsbetrekkinge in die algemeen, word ge'identifiseer.

Township unrest: Development of the Township Life Events Scale

“…In four items, the word 'Britain' was changed to 'South Africa'. IR stress was assessed using the negative impact scale of the the Industrial Relations Event Scale-Short Form (IRES-S) (Bluen, 1986;Bluen & Barling, 1987). The IRES-S assesses stressful events associated with the practice of IR.…”

“…Similarly, in the present study, suitable levels of reliability were found (see Table 2). Also, except for the ROCI-I, the scales have been used previously with comparable samples (see Bluen & Barling, 1987;Bluen & Donald, 1987;Cook et al, 1981;Fullagar, 1986).…”

“…Significant correlations were found between life satisfaction and the occurrence and impact scores of the TLES, respectively (see Table 2). A randomly selected sub-sample (n = 103; Mage = 37,16 years, SD = 8,32; 88,3% males; 67% union members) completed both the IRES-S (Bluen & Barling, 1987) and the TLES. Significant correlations between the IRES-S and both the occurrence and impact scales, respectively, were recorded (see Table 2).…”

“…2. The distinction between stressors and their perceived negative impact is conceptually (Cobb, 1974;Pratt & Barling, 1987) and empirically (Bluen & Barling, 1987;Vinokur & Selzer, 1975) important. Furthermore, researchers may wish to study both environmental stressors and subjectively perceived forms of stress.…”

“…In the life event approach, it is assumed that (a) life events represent discrete changes in an individual's life; (b) events are independent and additive in their effect; and (c) they can be reliably quantified and assessed in self-report questionnaires (Monroe, 1982). The life event format has been successfully applied in organizational settings (Bluen, 1986;Bluen & Barling, 1987;Sarason & Johnson, 1979), and in the South African context (Bluen, 1986;Bluen & Barling, 1987;Chalmers, 1981). Thus the life event approach seems well suited to the measurement of township life experiences.…”