Autonomie in het werk: hulpbron of bron van stress?

Work autonomy is mostly associated with positive work outcomes such as job satisfaction, internal motivation and increased work performance. However, recent research shows that autonomy may also be related to negative outcomes such as work stress. This study examines whether work autonomy is positively or negatively correlated with work stress and attempts to explain earlier contradictory findings on this relation by investigating the change orientation of employees. This is done utilizing the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ) of Schwartz as found in the European Social Survey (2010), focusing specifically on the openness to change. Results show that both work autonomy and openness to change are negatively related to work stress. But openness to change does not seem to affect the relationship between autonomy and work stress. The expectation that a change-orientation would strengthen a negative relationship between work autonomy and work stress could not be confirmed.