Sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change: the moderating role of job embeddedness

Scholars interested in investigating individual-level concerns relevant to organisational change programmes have reported the importance of employees’ psychological processes and characteristics in understanding their reactions and attitudes towards change. The study explored the moderating role of job embeddedness in the association between experiences of sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample (N = 350) of employees undergoing change in the South African fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector (black African: 67%; males: 69%; 26-40 years: 67%). Correlations and hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that the participants’ experiences of job-related sources of stress and their cognitive receptivity to change were stronger when their job embeddedness was low. The findings may potentially inform the planning of change initiatives within organisations. The results of the study emphasise the importance of considering job-related sources of stress and employees’ job embeddedness in order to gain employee support for organisational change initiatives.