Job stress and interpersonal relationships cross country evidence from the EU15: a correlation analysis

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study is to analyse the association between job stress and interpersonal relationships on and outside of the job in Europe. The main assumption of the paper is that since social relations at various levels enhance individual well-being, they may counteract stress created by an unfavourable work environment. METHODS: The econometric analysis, based on a standard ordered probit model, employs data taken from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey carried out in 2015 and released in 2017. RESULTS: The results show significant correlations between interpersonal contacts on and outside of the job and job stress. Help and support provided by one’s manager decreases the probability of being stressed at work, while receiving help and support from co-workers is likely to increase the probability of job stress occurrence. However, maintaining cooperation and getting on well with colleagues decrease the probability of experiencing stress, confirming the positive and gratifying features of contact with co-workers reported by the literature. CONCLUSIONS: While we were not able to establish the direction of causality between job stress and interpersonal relationships (a limitation of this paper), the present work contributes new evidence to the literature on occupational stress. Our results show that interpersonal relationships on and outside of the job can be considered valuable resources that, when available to an individual, are useful for managing stress created by workplace stressors.