Gaëtane Caesens

The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support and Affective Commitment: A Social Identity Perspective

The present research examines how the social identity perspective contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between perceived organizational support, affective commitment, and employees’ performance at work. Using a sample of 253 employees from an engineering company, Study 1 found that organizational identification partially mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and affective commitment. The results of Study 1 also indicated that the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational identification is moderated by organizational prestige. In Study 2, using a sample of 179 postal employees, the authors replicated the mediating role of organizational identification in the relationship between perceived organizational support and affective commitment and found that affective commitment mediates the relationship between organizational identification and supervisor’s ratings of extra-role performance.

The impact of work engagement and workaholism on well-being-the role of work-related social support

Originality/value – Because scholars argued that each type of work-related social support might have different consequences and might vary in terms of strength of associations with their outcomes, the study aimed to examine the concomitant effects of three forms of work-related social support on two types of working hard which, in turn, influence employees’ well-being.

The relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive behaviour directed towards the organization

Numerous studies have shown that perceived organizational support has positive consequences on both employees and organizations. However, no study has examined the causal relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive behaviour directed towards the organization and few studies have identified potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. We first investigated the direction of causality between perceived organizational support and proactive behaviour, and hypothesized that perceived organizational support leads to proactive behaviour directed towards the organization. Second, based on social exchange and motivational perspectives, we examined two potential mechanisms underlying this relationship, i.e., felt obligation and work engagement. Employees from a Belgian Federal Public Service were invited to take part in a three-wave longitudinal survey. Using a cross-lagged panel design, our results (N = 1963) revealed that Time 2 perceived organizational support was positively related to Time 3 proactive behaviour towards the organization, whereas the reverse was not true. Additionally, our results (N = 1293) showed that Time 2 felt obligation and Time 2 work engagement mediated the positive relationship between Time 1 perceived organizational support and Time 3 proactive behaviour directed towards the organization.

The influence of transformational leadership on followers’ affective commitment: The role of perceived organizational support and supervisor’s organizational embodiment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine why and when followers of transformational leaders exhibit increased affective organizational commitment. Particularly, the authors examined the role played by perceived organizational support (POS) and supervisor’s organizational embodiment (SOE), i.e. a perception concerning the extent to which employees identify their supervisor with the organization, in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 287 employees of a water producer organization responded to a questionnaire. Findings – The results show that, when employees strongly identify their supervisor with the organization, transformational leadership is positively related to POS, with positive consequences in terms of emotional attachment to this organization. In contrast, when the supervisor is not identified to the organization, his/her transformational leadership does not extend to POS and, finally, to affective organizational commitment. Practical implications – The findings sugg...

Perceived organizational support and employees’ well-being: the mediating role of organizational dehumanization

ABSTRACT Perceived organizational support (POS) has been found to predict important organizational outcomes such as increasing employees’ well-being. In this research, we examine a new underlying mechanism of the relationship between POS and employees’ well-being, that is, employees’ perceptions that their organization dehumanizes them. This proposition was tested across two studies. Using an experimental design manipulating POS in a laboratory setting, Study 1 indicated that in the high POS condition, the subsequent feelings of being dehumanized by the organization were lower than in the low POS condition. More importantly, organizational dehumanization perceptions were found to mediate the POS condition and satisfaction link. Furthermore, using a sample of 1209 employees, results of Study 2 indicated that organizational dehumanization mediates the relationship between POS and three indicators of employees’ well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and psychosomatic strains). Implications for research on both organizational support theory and dehumanization theory are discussed.

Perceived organizational support and well-being: a weekly study

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.