CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF WORK STRESS

This book examines the impact of foreign worker status on workplace stress. Over the last few years a considerable amount of public concern and empirical research has been devoted to the issue of job-related stress both within the United States and globally. Foreign employees with temporary visas are subject to considerable uncertainty about the length and conditions of their stay in the host country which is likely to contribute to stress. A model is proposed to represent the workplace experience of foreign employees in comparison to that of permanent residents and U.S. citizens. It is hypothesized that the effect of foreign status on stress is mediated by six factors: residential insecurity job insecurity local network ties level of empowerment role ambiguity and perceived discrimination. Stress in turn reduces job satisfaction increases negative feelings and produces physical illness symptoms. It is also proposed that foreign status intensifies these relationships and that collectivist values make foreign employees more subject to stress.