FEAR OF WORKLOAD, JOB AUTONOMY, AND WORK-RELATED STRESS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF WORK-HOME INTERFERENCE

The study examines the mediating role of work-home interference (WHI) in the relation between job demands/resources and psycho-physic strain which, in its turn, predicts sickness absences. To do so we carried out a multi-method study in a public administration office (N = 409). Workload, job autonomy, and WHI were revealed through a self-report instrument at the beginning of 2010. Workers then underwent the annual medical check-up, in which the occupational physician revealed psycho-physic strain. Lastly, the medically certified sickness absences (MCSA) relative to 2010 were collected from the company database. A positive association emerged between workload and WHI, while there was no association between job autonomy and WHI. Moreover, a positive association emerged between WHI and psycho- physic strain. Finally, psycho-physic strain predicts MCSA. Overall, WHI mediates the relation between workload and psycho-physic strain which, in turn, mediates the relation between WHI and MCSA.