View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UC Research Repository Loneliness in the Workplace ________________________________ A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at the University of Canterbury Sarah Louise Wright 2005 ii Abstract Loneliness in the workplace has received relatively little attention in the literature. The research surrounding loneliness tends to focus almost exclusively on personal characteristics as the primary determinant of the experience, and largely ignores the workplace as a potential trigger of loneliness. As such, personality tends to be overestimated as the reason for loneliness, whilst only modest emphasis is given to environmental factors, such as organisational environments. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis was to explore the notion of loneliness in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on examining the antecedents and outcomes of its development in work contexts. The first stage of the research included the development and empirical examination of a scale measuring work-related loneliness. A 16-item scale was constructed and tested for its reliability and factor structure on a sample of 514 employees from various organisations. Exploratory factor analysis indicated two factors best represent the data, namely Social Companionship and Emotional Deprivation at Work. For the main study, a theoretical model was constructed whereby various antecedents (personal characteristics, social support, job characteristics, and emotional climate) were hypothesised to influence the development of work-related loneliness, which in turn was thought to affect employee attitudes and wellbeing. Employees from various organisations were invited to participate in the online research via email, which generated 362 submissions from diverse occupational groups. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to assess the hypothesised model, which was evaluated against a number of fit criteria. The initial results provided limited support for the Loneliness at Work Model. Consequently, a number of adjustments were necessary to obtain sufficient fit. The modified model suggests that organisational climate (comprising climate of fear, community spirit at work, and organisational fit) serves to simultaneously predict the emotional deprivation factor of loneliness (made up of seven items) and employee attitude and wellbeing. The results indicate that environmental factors such as fear, lack of community spirit, and value congruence play a role in the experience of work- related loneliness and have an overall negative effect on employee withdrawal behaviours and job satisfaction. The findings from this study offer insight into possible areas for organisational intervention and future research. iii Acknowledgements Carrying out a doctoral degree can potentially be a lonely and isolating experience. Fortunately, I have the following people to thank for keeping loneliness and stress at bay during the past three years: First and foremost I would like to thank my husband John, as without his dedication, plentiful support and unwavering encouragement the completion of this research degree would not have been possible. Generous thanks go to Dr Chris Burt and Professor Ken Strongman for their joint supervision of this thesis, and for responding so readily and insightfully to requests for advice – irrespective of their own time constraints. Thanks go to Robyn Daly and John Barton in the Psychology Department for always being exceptionally helpful and infinitely resourceful. Thanks also to Averil Overton, who provided timely psychological insight regarding the thesis topic. This research was generously supported by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology by way of a Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship. I am exceptionally grateful to the Foundation for their provision of financial assistance and numerous professional developmental opportunities. A research grant and two conference grants were also provided by the University of Canterbury Psychology Department. Finally, I am thankful for the cooperation of the respondents who selflessly took the time to participate in the research. Various sections from Chapters Three and Four appear in the following book chapter: Wright, S. L. (2005). Organisational climate, social support and loneliness in the workplace. In N. Ashkanasy, C. Hartel and W. Zerbe (Eds.)., The effect of Affect in Organizational Settings - Research on Emotion in Organizations. Elsevier. iv CONTENTS Page Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... iii Chapter One ~ An Overview of the Research ................................................... 1 Background to the Study ........................................................................... 2 Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 3 Why Study Loneliness at Work? ............................................................... 4 Research Objectives and Purpose of the Study ......................................... 6 Chapter Two ~ The Concept of Loneliness .................................................... 8 A Brief History on the Study of Loneliness............................................... 9 Defining and Conceptualising Loneliness ................................................. 11 Distinguishing Loneliness from Similar Psychological Constructs .......... 16 Theories and Perspectives on Loneliness .................................................. 20 Empirical Studies on the Correlates of Loneliness ................................... 28 Factors Relating to the Person ................................................................... 29 Factors Relating to the Situation ............................................................... 35 An Interaction Approach to the Study of Loneliness ................................ 37 Coping with Loneliness ............................................................................. 38 Chapter Three ~ Loneliness in the Workplace ................................................. 41 Loneliness at Work ~ A Neglected Area of Research ............................... 44 General Literature on Loneliness in Relation to the Workplace ............... 45 Empirical Studies on Workplace Loneliness ............................................ 48 Related Areas of Research and Literature ................................................. 55 Towards a Conceptualisation and Definition of Workplace Loneliness ... 62 Chapter Four ~ Development of the Loneliness at Work Scale ...................... 68 Methodological Approaches to Assess Loneliness ................................... 68 Unidimensional and Multidimensional Measures of Loneliness .............. 70 v The Measurement of Emotional and Social Loneliness ............................ 75 The Measurement of Work-Related Loneliness ........................................ 77 Development of the Loneliness at Work Scale Items ............................... 77 Study One ~ Exploratory Factor Analysis and Reliability ........................ 82 Study Two ~ Confirmatory Factor Analysis ............................................. 87 Chapter Five ~ The Loneliness at Work Model: Conceptual and Theoretical Development .................................................................................... 98 Core Assumptions Underlying the Loneliness at Work Model ................ 100 Personal Characteristics ............................................................................ 103 Sources of Social Support ......................................................................... 106 Job Characteristics ..................................................................................... 110 Organisational Climate .............................................................................. 113 Employee Attitudes ................................................................................... 117 Wellbeing Outcomes ................................................................................. 119 Chapter Six ~ Evaluating the Loneliness at Work Model using Structural Equation Modelling Techniques ........................................................................ 124 Research Measures .................................................................................... 124 Piloting the Questionnaire ......................................................................... 131 Procedure and Sample ............................................................................... 132 Descriptive Statistics and Preliminary Analyses ....................................... 132 Correlations between the Research Variables ........................................... 135 Justification for Structural Equation Modelling ........................................ 138 Structural Equation Modelling Method ..................................................... 139 Model Refinement Process ........................................................................ 144 Results: Measurement Models .................................................................. 146 Results: Structural Model .......................................................................... 155 Summary 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