Workplace Relationships, Stress, Depression and Anxiety in a Malaysian Sample

The purpose of this research was to develop the Work Relationships Scale (WRS) and examine its relationships with stress, depression and anxiety in workplace, and also to investigate the roles of demographical factors in these constructs. Participants were 199 employees from different workplaces in Penang, Malaysia. A demographic questionnaire and five self rating inventories were used in this study. Findings indicated that WRS is a multidimensional construct with four factors: Critical and procrustean, satisfactory, supportive and sympathic, and disciplinary. First factor was positive correlated with interpersonal sensitivity, demands and control subscales of work stress, depression and anxiety. Second factor was negative correlated with depression, work stress and its support subscale. Third factor was negative correlated with total work stress. Fourth factor was positive correlated with interpersonal sensitivity, work stress and its demands and control subscales. Results supported the effects of gender, marital status, level of education, and type and classification of job on the work relationships. The WRS and its satisfactory and disciplinary subscales altogether explained 30, 3 and 6 percents of work stress, depression, and anxiety variations respectively.