Job Scope and Stress: Can Job Scope Be Too High?

This study examined relationships among job scope, perceived fit between job demands and ability, and stress. Data on scope and stress were provided by 418 full-time employees. Ratings of job complexity from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and the Occupational Prestige Index (OP) also measured job scope. All three job scope measures had a U-shaped curvilinear relationship with emotional exhaustion. Anxiety had a negative association with incumbent-reported job scope but none with the DOT and OP measures. Perceived demands-ability fit moderated the relationship between the DOT and OP measures and stress. People with complex jobs who perceived fit experienced less exhaustion and anxiety than those perceiving misfit. In research on job design, leading thinkers have viewed high job scope as functional for organizations and their members. Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model (1976, 1980) exemplifies this view. Although the magnitude of the motivating potential inherent in job scope