The role of social support in the relationship between job demands and employee attitudes in the public sector

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between employees’ perception of their jobs and attitudes by investigating the effect of job resources (i.e. social support) on the relationship between job demands (i.e. workload, role ambiguity) and job-related well-being (i.e. efficacy, job satisfaction) among government employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from federal government employees responding to the 2012 Federal Employees Viewpoint Survey (US Office of Personnel Management, 2012). To test the hypotheses, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted.

Findings

Results revealed that social support served to mitigate feelings of inefficacy and simultaneously enhanced job satisfaction among employees experiencing work overload or role ambiguity, which supports the buffer hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

Since this study analyzes data collected by OPM, some items could not be modified, and using a limited number of items could be a limitation of this paper. Given that there has been a research stream linking public service motivation to work attitudes in the field of public management, the current study suggests there may be additional factors (i.e. job demands and resources) to enhance public sector employees’ work attitudes.

Practical implications

This study suggests the importance of government agencies adopting management strategies that encourage higher levels of social support from supervisors or colleagues in order to increase employees’ positive attitudes toward organizations.

Originality/value

This study focuses specifically on public sector employees, a population that has received limited attention in this area.

Citation

Jong, J. (2018), "The role of social support in the relationship between job demands and employee attitudes in the public sector", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 672-688. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-09-2017-0244