Overview

In our 12th volume of Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, we offer eight chapters that examine the role of demographics in occupational stress and well being. The first two chapters consider the influences of minority status on employee stress and well-being, with a focus on developing frameworks that explain how and why minorities experience a unique form of stress in organizations. In our lead chapter, Gerald R. Ferris, Shanna R. Daniels, and Jennifer C. Sexton develop an integrative conceptualization that describes the relationship between race and work stress, with a focus on understanding intermediary processes. In the second chapter, Thomas Köllen develops an integrative model that explains how individuals who are minorities may experience stress due to innate characteristics of organizational processes (e.g., hierarchization, marginalization, and discrimination).

The next section of volume 12 focuses on the relationship between employee age and work stress. The third chapter, by Hannes Zacher, Daniel C. Feldman, and Heiko Schulz, draws from person-environment fit theory to develop a model that explains the relationship between age and employee stress. Specifically, this chapter presents a conceptual model that explains relationships among age, person-environment fit, and occupational strain and well-being. The fourth chapter, by Rachel King and Steve Jex, outlines the importance of considering age in well-being and resilience research. More specifically, the authors draw from the organizational psychological and developmental psychology literatures to develop models that explain how age impacts resilience, well-being, and positive work outcomes.

The final section of this volume focuses on chapters that discuss religion, gender, and sexual orientation. The fifth chapter, by Christopher J. L. Cunningham, explores religion and spirituality as a demographic difference that is relevant to occupational stress and well-being. In this chapter, the author reviews religion and spirituality concepts, integrates these into common occupational stress theories, and identifies directions for future research in this domain. In the sixth chapter, Isaac Sabat, Alex Lindsey, and Eden King identify the mechanisms that explain stress experienced by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees, with a focus on identifying theoretically relevant antecedents, outcomes, and prevention and coping strategies for LGB-workplace stress. The seventh chapter, by Shannon L. Rawski, Emilija Djurdjevic, and Leah D. Sheppard, considers the relationship between biological stress and job stress. In this chapter, the authors develop theory to explain the effects of sex and gender-based role conflict on work stress outcomes (e.g., stress, burnout, and well-being). In the eighth chapter, Louis Tay, Vincent Ng, Lauren Kuykendall, and Ed Diener utilize large, representative samples to examine how age, gender, and race/ethnicity relate to worker well-being. Though many of the observed relationships in this study were complex, and difficult to interpret, the results confirmed that demographic differences influence worker well-being and additional theoretical and empirical work is necessary to understand these relationships.

Together, these chapters offer insight into the role of demographics in occupational stress research. These chapters challenge our traditional thinking and offer several exciting directions for future research. We hope you enjoy volume 12 of Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being.

Pamela L. Perrewé

Christopher C. Rosen

Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben

Editors