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This paper discusses the effect of occupational hassles on negative mood and effort exertion. Expert ratings were used to measure the predictor variables, assignment complexity and hassles severity, whereas the dependent variables were measured with validated self-report scales. Using pooled-time series analysis on daily records of a sample of military jump masters (parachute trainers), it was shown that hassles severity predicted end-of-day mood, fatigue and subjective workload. This indicates that, despite their transient nature, daily hassles at work constitute a significant factor whose effect has been overlooked by available methods of occupational stress. Furthermore, the interaction between assignment complexity and hassles severity suggests that other variables, such as coping options for dealing with hassles, moderate the effect of hassles on behavioural and emotional outcomes. Since this effect can be explained by means of different theoretical constructs (i.e. effort exertion, cognitive appraisal and rate of progress) this poses a challenge for future research, both theoretical and applied.
This paper examines the effect of externally induced obstacles which disrupt goal-directed behaviour (see review of goal constructs by Austin & Vancouver, 1996). In the context of work, such obstacles may be: equipment malfunction, unscheduled change of task assignments, information difficulties or inappropriate behaviour of co-workers. Studies of people in various occupations have indicated that such obstacles are encountered daily (Johansson & Aronsson, 1984; Minzberg, 1975; Zohar, 1997). In the stress research literature they are identified as hassles, or annoying episodes in which daily tasks become more difficult or demanding than anticipated, i.e. when negative feedback is encountered (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer & Lazarus, 1981). Despite the fact that hassles' level predicts stress symptoms better than most other predictor variables (Kanner et al., 1981; Kohn, Lafrenier & Gurevich, 1990; Lazarus, 1990; Stone & Neale, 1982; Zohar, 1997), current models of occupational stress typically ignore obstacles or hassles as a source of stress. Instead, these models employ person-environment discrepancy as the core construct, using high-order meta-goals as person variables (e.g. maintaining self-esteem, satisfying need of achievement), and global job attributes as environment variables (e.g. role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload and limited decision latitude; see French, Caplan & Harrison, 1982; Kahn & Byosiere, 1991; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). This means that, while the major models are variants of cybernetic control...