Many workers experience ebbs and flows of workload in concert with busy seasons, changing project demands, and changes to the way tasks are completed. The present study examined how anticipating workload changes influences emotional strain resulting from current workload. We extend conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) by hypothesizing that anticipated changes in workload may be viewed as a future opportunity to recover from current workload (in the case of anticipated workload decrease) or as a threat of loss of resources (in the case of anticipated workload increase), and that anticipated changes in workload would moderate the current workload-emotional strain relationship. Using a sample of employees engaged in project-based work, we found that anticipation of a workload increase exacerbated the current workload-emotional strain relationship and anticipation of a workload decrease buffered this relationship. The results suggest that stressor-strain relations may be influenced by anticipated change in stressor conditions. In other words, employees are more likely to tolerate stressful circumstances if they see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel." Implications for occupational stress research and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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展望未来：预期的工作量变化如何影响当前的工作量-情绪紧张关系。

许多工人会随着旺季、不断变化的项目需求以及完成任务方式的变化而经历工作量的潮起潮落。本研究调查了预期工作量变化如何影响当前工作量导致的情绪紧张。我们扩展了资源保护理论 (Hobfoll, 1989)，假设工作量的预期变化可能被视为从当前工作量中恢复的未来机会（在预期工作量减少的情况下）或资源损失的威胁（在预期工作量增加的情况），并且工作量的预期变化将缓和当前的工作量-情绪紧张关系。使用从事基于项目的工作的员工样本，我们发现，对工作量增加的预期加剧了当前的工作量-情绪紧张关系，而对工作量减少的预期缓冲了这种关系。结果表明，压力源-应变关系可能会受到压力源条件的预期变化的影响。换句话说，如果员工看到了众所周知的“隧道尽头的曙光”，他们就更有可能忍受压力环境。讨论了对职业压力研究和实践的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。如果员工看到了众所周知的“隧道尽头的曙光”，他们就更有可能忍受压力环境。讨论了对职业压力研究和实践的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。如果员工看到了众所周知的“隧道尽头的曙光”，他们就更有可能忍受压力环境。讨论了对职业压力研究和实践的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。