Title: Impact of recession-based workplace anxiety

Authors: Kenneth W. Green, Bobby Medlin

Addresses: Department of Management, Marketing, and Management Information Systems, College of Business, Southern Arkansas University, P.O. Box 9410, Magnolia, AR 71754, USA. ' College of Business, University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, Fort Smith, AR 72913-3649, USA

Abstract: The impact of recession-based workplace anxiety on employee engagement, organisational commitment and job satisfaction is investigated. Data collected from a sample of 304 full-time employees are analysed following a structural equation modelling methodology. Although recession-based workplace anxiety directly and negatively impacts employee engagement, organisational commitment and job satisfaction as hypothesised, the structural model does not fit the data well. A proposed alternate model with anxiety directly impacting engagement and indirectly impacting commitment and satisfaction through engagement better fits the data. Results indicate that workers experiencing anxiety related to recessions may experience reductions in engagement, commitment and satisfaction.

Keywords: enterprise development; recession; workplace anxiety; employee engagement; organisational commitment; job satisfaction; employee involvement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2010.037064

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2010 Vol.9 No.3, pp.213 - 232

Published online: 22 Nov 2010 *

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