A meta-analysis on the relationships of agency and communion with job strain

Abstract

Strain is a common phenomenon experienced in the workplace that can induce serious negative consequences for those who let it go unchecked. Individual differences are known to play distinct roles in the severity of these outcomes, but the limited exploration of personality traits has yielded inconsistent findings. The current study helps close this knowledge gap by examining the relationship that the personality traits of agency and communion exhibit with job strain outcomes. Approximately 11,496 citations were screened, resulting in 290 unique independent samples, 563 unique effect sizes, and 67,564 participants. A random-effects, individual correction meta-analysis was conducted for both the agency-strain and communion-strain relationships. Continuous moderators were analyzed with mixed-effect meta-regressions and categorial moderators were analyzed with modified asymptotic confidence intervals. Both agency and communion had negative relationships with job strain outcomes, although agency’s relationship was stronger than communion’s. Occupational orientation and sample age did not appear to moderate these relationships. In sum, both agency and communion appear to mitigate job strain, yet agency seems to be more effective overall. Further research is needed to determine if methodological moderators such as strain and personality measure types influence these relationships.