In it together? Investigating the impact of organizational identification on chronic stress during change uncertainty

Abstract

Does perceived change uncertainty in the workplace affect employees' chronic stress levels, and does Organizational Identication (OI)-or: employees' psychological ties to their organization-buffer or exacerbate this biological response to change uncertainty? This study contributes theoretically to the literature on the psychological properties of workplace change by considering chronic stress. Empirically, it introduces hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) as a physiological marker of stress, coupling these to survey data on experienced change uncertainty and OI among employees in local governments in Flanders (Belgium). Compared to traditionally used self-report survey measures of stress, HCC offers an objective, biological indicator of stress exposure over a prolonged period of several months. While short-term stints of acute stress are considered harmless, prolonged exposure to high stress levels is linked to negative effects on health and wellbeing. The results show that high levels of perceived change uncertainty significantly elevate levels of chronic stress. OI serves as a buffer of this reaction and can limit employee stress in situations of high change uncertainty.