Neutralizing Job Stressors: Political Skill as an Antidote to the Dysfunctional Consequences of Role Conflict.

We examined the neutralizing effects of political skill on perceived role conflict – strain relationships. Strain was operationalized as psychological anxiety, somatic complaints, and physiological strain (i.e., heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure). Results supported the moderating effects of political skill such that greater political skill reduced the negative effects of role conflict on all types of strain. We examined key contributions and limitations of the study, as well as directions for future research. Job stress continues to be a major problem today, costing organizations billions of dollars in employee disability claims, employee absenteeism, and lost productivity (e.g., Xie Schaubroeck, 2001). Because research has supported the deleterious effects of stressors on individuals ’ mental and physical health (e.g., Spector, Chen, OConnell, 2000), it is important to continue examining potential antidotes that can reduce strain and the related costs of strain to organizations. According to Lazarus ’ (1991) transactional theory, stress has been defined as a relationship between the person and the environment that is cognitively appraised (or evaluated) by the person as being relevant to his or her well being, and in which the person’s resources are