Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty

Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) is a phenomenon characterized by real and/or perceived prohibitions against communicating with others about one’s organizational stressors. Given that CROS is marked by an inability to utilize social support, effects are often profoundly negati...

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Main Authors: Alice E. Veksler, Justin P. Boren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/9/299
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author Alice E. Veksler
Justin P. Boren
author_facet Alice E. Veksler
Justin P. Boren
author_sort Alice E. Veksler
collection DOAJ
description Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) is a phenomenon characterized by real and/or perceived prohibitions against communicating with others about one’s organizational stressors. Given that CROS is marked by an inability to utilize social support, effects are often profoundly negative for the organizational members. However, the extent to which CROS functions similarly across similar types of organizations is unknown. In this exploratory project, the effects of CROS are investigated in a small sample (<i>n</i> = 41) of predominantly white university faculty. Conceptualizations of CROS argue that it is dependent both on the existence of stress and the presence of close and potentially supportive relationships. Provided that academia is a high-stress environment characterized by a strong likelihood of the formation of Personal Workplace Relationships (PWRs), CROS should be prevalent for this population and should lead to negative effects. Results indicated that CROS exists for university faculty and that its prevalence correlated negatively with measures of social support. Furthermore, CROS-associated distress is positively associated with perceived stress, burnout, and overcommitment and negatively associated with work well-being and job satisfaction. Although objective physiological measures of health were collected, the data were not able to be analyzed. The discussion focuses on implications and directions for future research.
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spelling doaj.art-c1d6a98cdd2e4c3780d3b322696715eb2023-11-23T15:03:56ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2022-08-0112929910.3390/bs12090299Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University FacultyAlice E. Veksler0Justin P. Boren1Department of Communication, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA 23606, USADepartment of Communication, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USACommunicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) is a phenomenon characterized by real and/or perceived prohibitions against communicating with others about one’s organizational stressors. Given that CROS is marked by an inability to utilize social support, effects are often profoundly negative for the organizational members. However, the extent to which CROS functions similarly across similar types of organizations is unknown. In this exploratory project, the effects of CROS are investigated in a small sample (<i>n</i> = 41) of predominantly white university faculty. Conceptualizations of CROS argue that it is dependent both on the existence of stress and the presence of close and potentially supportive relationships. Provided that academia is a high-stress environment characterized by a strong likelihood of the formation of Personal Workplace Relationships (PWRs), CROS should be prevalent for this population and should lead to negative effects. Results indicated that CROS exists for university faculty and that its prevalence correlated negatively with measures of social support. Furthermore, CROS-associated distress is positively associated with perceived stress, burnout, and overcommitment and negatively associated with work well-being and job satisfaction. Although objective physiological measures of health were collected, the data were not able to be analyzed. The discussion focuses on implications and directions for future research.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/9/299organizational behaviorstressorganizational communicationinterpersonal communicationhuman healtheffort–reward imbalance
spellingShingle Alice E. Veksler
Justin P. Boren
Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
Behavioral Sciences
organizational behavior
stress
organizational communication
interpersonal communication
human health
effort–reward imbalance
title Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
title_full Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
title_fullStr Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
title_full_unstemmed Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
title_short Communicatively Restricted Organizational Stress (CROS) on Campus: An Exploratory Investigation of Stress and Support among Predominantly White University Faculty
title_sort communicatively restricted organizational stress cros on campus an exploratory investigation of stress and support among predominantly white university faculty
topic organizational behavior
stress
organizational communication
interpersonal communication
human health
effort–reward imbalance
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/12/9/299
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