This study of two different samples (245 bank employees and 362 teachers) tested
a theoretically derived pattern of specific relationships between work stressors and
outcome variables. The research model proposes four central domains of the work
situation: work content, working conditions, social and labour relations, and
conditions of employment. In addition, the research model proposes three
important outcome variables: intrinsic work motivation, emotional exhaustion,
and turnover intention. More specifically, it was hypothesized that: (1) intrinsic
work motivation is primarily predicted by task characteristics; (2) emotional
exhaustion is primarily predicted by both workload and lack of social support; (3)
turnover intention is primarily predicted by unmet career expectations; and (4) the
proposed pattern of relationships holds over different groups. In order to test these
hypotheses, a multi-sample analysis was performed using structural equation
modelling. The results showed that the proposed pattern of relationships was
largely supported by the data and that it was invariant across two samples.
Furthermore, several additional relationships were found in each sample, one of
which was common for both samples. Several explanations regarding these
findings are discussed.