Women on the assembly line: A comparison of main and interactive explanations of job satisfaction, absence and mental health

Abstract

This paper examines the relative merits of main and interactive explanations of the effects of assembly‐line work on the job satisfaction, absence and mental health of a sample of women operators. In an empirical study, it was found that assembly‐line work had a direct effect on job satisfaction thus confirming previous findings for men. No effect was found for absence. There was an interaction effect of assembly‐line work on mental health. It occurred for those who felt their job denied them the opportunity to use their abilities, and who daydreamed for substantial periods of time. The role of daydreaming is interpreted as a personal predisposition to disengage cognitively. Social support was not found to have a moderating role for any of the dependent variables.