Perceived organizational support and well-being: a weekly study

Abstract

Purpose

Prior research has conceptualized perceived organizational support (POS) as a stable variable over time varying from one individual to another. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that POS fluctuates within the same person over the course of several weeks due to different experiences lived at work. The authors suggested in the present study that weekly POS is predictive of employees’ weekly subjective well-being at work (i.e. increased positive affect toward the organization, and decreased negative affect toward the organization and psychological strains at work). In addition, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role played by weekly work engagement in these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 20 employees completed a first general questionnaire and then completed an online questionnaire during 12 consecutive weeks.

Findings

Results of hierarchical linear models indicated that weekly POS positively predicts weekly employees’ work engagement which, in turn, positively predicts weekly employees’ well-being (i.e. increasing positive affect toward the organization and decreasing negative affect toward the organization and psychological strains at work).

Research limitations/implications

Overall, these findings contribute to the POS and work engagement literatures. It shows that POS fluctuates within person over the course of several weeks and is a predictor of weekly employees’ well-being through its effects on weekly work engagement.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine within-person weekly variations in POS as a predictor of employees’ weekly work engagement and its subsequent consequences.

Citation

Caesens, G., Stinglhamber, F. and Ohana, M. (2016), "Perceived organizational support and well-being: a weekly study", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 1214-1230. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-01-2016-0002