ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Job stress, fatigue, and job dissatisfaction in Dutch lorry drivers: towards an occupation specific model of job demands and control

E M de Croon¹, R W B Blonk², B C H de Zwart¹, M H W Frings-Dresen¹, J P J Broersen^1,3

¹ Coronel Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
² TNO Work and employment, Hoofddorp, the Netherlands
³ SKB Center of expertise on health and work

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Drs E M de Croon, Coronel Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health, Academic Medical Center / University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
e.m.decroon{at}amc.uva.nl

Objectives: Building on Karasek's model of job demands and control (JD-C model), this study examined the effects of job control, quantitative workload, and two occupation specific job demands (physical demands and supervisor demands) on fatigue and job dissatisfaction in Dutch lorry drivers.

Methods: From 1181 lorry drivers (adjusted response 63%) self reported information was gathered by questionnaire on the independent variables (job control, quantitative workload, physical demands, and supervisor demands) and the dependent variables (fatigue and job dissatisfaction). Stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the main effects of job demands and job control and the interaction effect between job control and job demands on fatigue and job dissatisfaction.

Results: The inclusion of physical and supervisor demands in the JD-C model explained a significant amount of variance in fatigue (3%) and job dissatisfaction (7%) over and above job control and quantitative workload. Moreover, in accordance with Karasek's interaction hypothesis, job control buffered the positive relation between quantitative workload and job dissatisfaction.

Conclusions: Despite methodological limitations, the results suggest that the inclusion of (occupation) specific job control and job demand measures is a fruitful elaboration of the JD-C model. The occupation specific JD-C model gives occupational stress researchers better insight into the relation between the psychosocial work environment and wellbeing. Moreover, the occupation specific JD-C model may give practitioners more concrete and useful information about risk factors in the psychosocial work environment. Therefore, this model may provide points of departure for effective stress reducing interventions at work.

Keywords: job stress; model of job demands and control; occupation specific

Abbreviations: JD-C model, model of job demands and control; JD-CS model, model of job demands, control, and support; VBBA, Dutch questionnaire on the experience and assessment of work

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