Prof. Peter Bamberger
MM held a Public Lecture on the topic "Help – This is Stressful! Help Seeking, Helping and Stressor-Strain Relations" presented by Prof. Peter Bamberger, Professor of Management and Organizations School of Business Administration, Tel Aviv University in M1603, Li Ka Shing Tower.
Abstract:
In this talk I will review a stream of research integrating stressor-strain relations and a dyadic perspective on peer helping processes in organizations. The talk will begin by reviewing the mixed findings regarding the so-called buffering effect of support received on recipient stressor-strain relations, and how, by considering generalized reciprocity, the inconsistencies in that body of research may be resolved. Based on this finding, I identify two new important directions for research on peer-based helping in organizations. Building on our finding that situations of over- and under-reciprocity (giving more than receiving, and vice-versa) can have ill effects on those engaged in helping relationships, I first discuss how helping can and probably should be examined from a more a dyadic perspective. In this regard, I will talk about the findings from a qualitative study demonstrating that recipient-provider relations are negotiated orders that can shift over time, with the degree and nature of such shifts having robust implications on helping outcomes. Then, drawing from the notion that over-reciprocity can exacerbate stressor-strain relations, I will discuss the benefits and liabilities to the help provider of helping others in the context of occupational stress. In this regard, I will present findings from a recently completed study of the buffering and reverse-buffering effects of helping on provider stressor-strain relations.
