Search results

Of the various factors directly or indirectly influencing transfer of training, supervisor support as a work environment variable is found to have diverse relationships with transfer, further complicated with the perspective of time. The purpose of this paper is to bring together findings from past research to have a better insight on the impact of supervisor support on training transfer.

A qualitative approach has been adopted to review existing research on the selected constructs.

Literature reveals divergent influences of supervisor support on transfer: some researchers have established a direct-indirect relationship, some opine a positive-negative relationship and few show mixed results. Usually the relation is found to be indirect when trainee characteristics have been used as mediators. The authors may infer that the influence of supervisor support on transfer is contextual and nothing can be said affirmatively on their relation.

Supervisors can harness trainee characteristics by enhancing their motivation to learn and motivation to transfer. They can familiarize trainees with the programme, discuss how to apply newly learnt skills to jobs, set goals and provide timely feedback. Trainers should train supervisors about how to support trainees before, during and after training. Overall, organizations must structure the role of supervisors in a way that would ensure maximized training transfer and effective management of a training programme.

This study provides a better understanding of the association between supervisor support and training transfer, taking into consideration all dimensions, namely positive or negative, direct or indirect and even mixed.

Drawing on the self-consistency theory and temporal comparison theory, this study hypothesize that relative perceived supervisor support may positively affect voice behaviour and negatively affect relationship conflict with a supervisor. This relationship happens through the underlying process of supervisor-based self-esteem acts as an underlying mechanism. But, such a relationship would be constrained by the value of temporal perceived supervisor support with high temporal perceived supervisor support strengthen this relationship as compared to low temporal perceived supervisor support.

Dyad data from 338 samples of employees nested within 50 supervisor workgroups from non-profit firms operating in three different cities in Sindh Pakistan were taken.

Data analysis showed that employees with a high perception of relative perceived supervisor support engaged in voice behaviour and restrain themselves from the relationship conflict. The supervisor-based self-esteem derived from supervisor support played the role of mediating this relationship. Moreover, temporal perceived supervisor support not only moderated the path between relative perceived supervisor support and supervisor-based self-esteem also the mediational strength of supervisor-based self-esteem in relative perceived supervisor support and voice behaviour and relationship conflict.

It is crucial to integrate social comparison in organizational support theory to view the supervisor–subordinate relationship beyond dyad. Managers should understand social comparison processes in which employees engage in to know how it affects various work attitudes and behaviours.

Given the importance of supervisor–subordinate relationships, the authors extend and build on the concept of social and temporal organizational support to supervisor support. The study is novel in studying such relationship and contribute to the supervisory support relationship literature beyond dyadic level.

Drawing on self-determination theory and organizational support theory, the present study explored how two styles of supervisor monitoring, namely, interactional and observational, differently impact job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment of subordinates. In addition, the mediating roles of psychological need satisfaction from the supervisor and perceived supervisory support were also investigated.

Responses were collected from 183 full-time employees through a web-based survey, and data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Results indicate that interactional monitoring positively influences psychological need satisfaction from the supervisor and perceived supervisory support, while observational monitoring negatively influences psychological need satisfaction from the supervisor and perceived supervisory support. Psychological need satisfaction from the supervisor fully mediates the relationship between interactional monitoring and affective organizational commitment, while perceptions of supervisory support partially mediate the relationship between the two monitoring styles and job satisfaction.

The findings of the study need to be interpreted with caution as causality could not be inferred due to the cross-sectional nature of the study.

Supervisors are advised to adopt an interactional style of monitoring, as it favorably influences the work attitudes of subordinates.

The present study is one of the few works that have examined the differential impact of supervisor monitoring styles on subordinates' work outcomes.

Purpose – Past literature suggests that the performance and turnover of the subordinate are affected by the support, abuse, and feedback provided by the supervisor. In this study, we posit that support, abuse, and feedback in an accounting firm, are in turn, affected by the supervisor's personality, as defined by the Big Five personality factors.

Methodology/approach – We conducted a web-based study with 115 accountants from a top 100 US accounting firm. The accountants completed questionnaires related to the personality of their supervisors along with questionnaires related to the support, abuse, and feedback they received from their supervisors. We analyzed the data using factor analysis and multiple regression.

Findings – We hypothesize that Openness and Agreeableness increase support; Neuroticism increases abuse, but less so if the supervisor is an Extravert; and Extraversion and Conscientiousness increase feedback. Among the hypothesized relationships, all are supported except the relationship between Openness and support. Additional findings are that Extraversion and Conscientiousness increase support; Agreeableness and Conscientiousness decrease abuse; and Agreeableness increases feedback.

Research implications – Our study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relationship between the personality traits of supervisors and their behavior toward subordinates in an accounting setting. The results of our study can be used in identifying the supervisors who have the right personality for the position, which will likely improve the work environment and reduce turnover.

Hospitals within the United States consistently have injury rates that are over twice the national employee injury rate. Hospital safety studies typically investigate care providers rather than support service employees. Compounding the lack of evidence for this understudied population is the scant evidence that is available to examine the relationship of support service employees’ perceptions of safety and work-related injuries. To examine this phenomenon, the purpose of this study was to investigate support service employees’ perceptions of safety leadership and social support as well as the relationship of safety perception to levels of reported injuries.

A nonexperimental survey was conducted with the data collected from hospital support service employees (n=1,272) and examined: (1) relationships between safety leadership (supervisor and organization) and individual and unit safety perceptions; (2) the moderating effect of social support (supervisor and coworker) on individual and unit safety perceptions; and (3) the relationship of safety perception to reported injury rates. The survey items in this study were based on the items from the AHRQ Patient Safety Culture Survey and the U.S. National Health Care Surveys.

Safety leadership (supervisor and organization) was found to be positively related to individual safety perceptions and unit safety grade as was supervisor and coworker support. Coworker support was found to positively moderate the following relationships: supervisor safety leadership and safety perceptions, supervisor safety leadership and unit safety grade, and senior management safety leadership and safety perceptions. Positive employee safety perceptions were found to have a significant relationship with lower reported injury rates.

These findings suggest that safety leadership from supervisors and senior management as well as coworker support has positive implications for support service employees’ perceptions of safety, which, in turn, are negatively related to lower odds of reporting injuries.

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory and social exchange theory, this study aims to examine the underlying relationships linking work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE) to perceived supervisor support and ultimately, job satisfaction among social workers.

Data were collected from members of a social work professional body (n = 439) through an internet-based questionnaire and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

Perceived supervisor support mediated the relationships between work–family enrichment (specifically, WFE-Development, WFE-Affect and FWE-Efficiency) and job satisfaction.

Social workers who worked in a positive work environment that uplifts their moods and attitudes (WFE-Affect), have access to intellectual and personal development (WFE-Development) and felt supported by their supervisors reported higher levels of job satisfaction. Those who possessed enrichment resources were found to be more efficient (FWE-Efficiency) also perceived their supervisors to be supportive and experienced higher job satisfaction. Future studies should consider other professional groups and incorporate a longitudinal design.

Promoting work–family enrichment among social workers can contribute to positive work outcomes such as perceived supervisor support and job satisfaction. HR practitioners, supervisors and organisations can promote work–family enrichment among social workers through introduction of family-friendly policies (e.g. flexitime, compressed workweek schedules) and providing a supportive work–family friendly environment for social workers.

Although several work–family studies have linked work–family enrichment to job satisfaction, the present study shows how each dimension of WFE and FWE affects social workers' job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to augment knowledge of how work environment and personal characteristics affect intention to transfer in a work context. This study aims to investigate the factors that can influence intention to transfer training in a professional development training context. The study examined the predictive capacity of organizational support, supervisor support, training readiness and learning motivation on transfer intention among the study respondents.

Data were collected from teachers in secondary schools in the USA. The structural equation modeling method was adopted to analyze 216 responses using a self-report survey.

We found that (a) organizational support was directly associated with supervisor support for training, (b) supervisor support for training significantly influenced training readiness and motivation to learn, (c) training readiness positively affected motivation to learn, and (d) motivation to learn positively influenced intention to transfer. In addition, supervisor support mediated the relationships between organizational support and training readiness and between organizational support and motivation to learn. Training readiness linked intention to transfer and motivation to learn. Motivation to learn also played a mediating role in the relationship between supervisor support and intention to transfer.

Our findings add to the academic work on training transfer by empirically analyzing how both the environment (e.g. organizational support) and individual factors (e.g. learning motivation) influence employees’ intention to transfer. In particular, we investigated the potential impact of both organizational support and supervisory support on intentions to transfer, compared to previous studies emphasizing only supervisory support to improve training outcomes.

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are routinely offered in organizational policy, yet employee access to FWAs is highly dependent upon support from their immediate supervisor. There is little empirical research that specifically investigates the role of the human resource function (HR) in supporting managers to implement FWA policy. Through the lens of HR systems theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine how HR supports managers to implement FWAs.

Using a case study in the Australian Insurance industry, this paper analyzes corporate documents and interviews with 47 managers, supervisors and HR staff across four diverse business units.

This study identifies supervisors’ perceived ability to implement FWAs as a potential barrier to utilization. Five mechanisms of HR support to overcome perceived barriers are identified in the data. An HR system that enables managers to support FWAs requires alignment of HR policies; the provision of supportive technology; an HR structure that facilitates proactive advice and support; HR business partners with influence; and managerial training on FWAs.

This paper provides HR practitioners with insights into the mechanisms that can support managers to implement FWAs or other devolved HR policies.

Applying HR systems theory, this case study utilizes the perspectives of senior managers, supervisors and HR staff to explain how the HR function supports or constrains managers in the effective implementation of FWAs.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a research model in which work engagement (WE) mediates the influence of work social support on job satisfaction (JS), in-role performance (IRP), creative performance (CP) and extra-role performance (ERP).

Data were collected from cabin attendants via three surveys two weeks apart and their pursers. The aforesaid relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling.

In general, there is support for the preponderance of hypotheses. Specifically, WE completely mediates the impact of coworker support on JS and IRP, while the impact of supervisor support on CP is completely mediated by WE. WE partly mediates the effect of coworker support on CP and ERP. Furthermore, the effect of supervisor support on JS, IRP and ERP is partly mediated by WE.

Management should make sure that the work environment consists of supportive supervisors and coworkers who are trained on how they can enhance the cooperation and collaboration among employees. Management should also create an employee platform where cabin attendants can contribute to service delivery process by sharing their experiences arising from passenger requests and problems.

The study extends and contributes to the current service research by assessing the impact of WE simultaneously on three performance outcomes. The study adds to current knowledge by investigating the mediating mechanism linking work social support to the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The study also controls the threat of common method variance with at least two procedural remedies, which have been rarely used in the current service research.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of creative process engagement on employees’ in-role performance, and does so by considering the support that employees received from and given to their supervisors.

Using data from 540 questionnaires collected in China, this paper conducts a hierarchical regression analysis to test the proposed model.

Creative process engagement positively affects employees’ in-role performance. However, the moderating effect of receiving support on the above relationship is not significant. Instead, it is the interaction of receiving support from and giving it to supervisors that moderates the relationship between creative process engagement and in-role performance.

The study has some contributions to the conservation of resource (COR) theory. The authors find that acquiring new resources such as receiving support from supervisors is not always effective. The acquisition process of resources should be considered with the investment process of resources. According to the COR theory, people invest resources to gain resources and protect themselves from losing resources or to recover from resource loss (Halbesleben et al., 2014). The findings of the study show that employees investing resources is not just for gaining resources. Sometimes, they invest resources such as giving support to supervisors to remain a relatively balanced relationship.

Companies can encourage employees to place more attention on creative process engagement to improve in-role performance. In addition, when offering support to employees, managers should consider whether the employees are able to give it back in response to the received support, and distribute their support to employees accordingly.

This paper explored employee’s engagement at creative process in a more novel way and clarified the relative effect of creative process engagement on in-role performance. Also, this paper was the first to pay attention to the bidirectional nature of supervisor support.