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

• Date: 13 August 2018
• Published date: 13 August 2018
• Pages: 672-688
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-09-2017-0244
• Author: Jaehee Jong
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management

The role of social support in the

relationship between job demands

and employee attitudes in the

public sector

Jaehee Jong

School of Public & Global Affairs, Department of Public Administration,

Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA

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.

Keywords Employee motivation, Job demands, Social support, Federal government employee

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Stressful work situations such as those with high job demands can lead to feelings of

exhaustion and energy depletion which, in turn, can lead to negative attitudes toward work,

health problems, and resulting absenteeism and high tur nover rates (Bakker et al., 2005;

Crawford et al., 2010; Houkes et al., 2003; Jong and Ford, 2016; Lee and Ashforth, 1996; Maslach

et al., 2001). As a result, the literature on job stress has argued for the importance of individuals

knowing how to deal with unfavorable situations in the workplace in order to maintain their

well-being and personal performance (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007; Bakker et al., 2010).

The effects of stressful working conditions on employees’health and job attitudes have

been extensively examined in the context of specific occupations that involve interpersonal

relations (Cordes and Dougherty, 1993; Lee and Ashforth, 1996; Maslach et al., 2001).

However, the literature suggests that all occupations may have their own specific risk

factors that can lead to job stress or burnout (Bakker et al., 2005; Demerouti and Bakker,

2011), and stressors that are likely to lead to burnout in human services fields can be found

in a variety of occupational groups (Cordes and Dougherty, 1993; Demerouti et al., 2001).

Nevertheless, while some researchers (e.g. Im, 2009; Jin and Guy, 2009; Jong and Ford, 2016;

Kim and Wright, 2007; Noblet and Rodwell, 2009) have examined the effect of such stress

International Journal of Public

Sector Management

Vol. 31 No. 6, 2018

pp. 672-688

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-09-2017-0244

Received 19 September 2017

Revised 1 February 2018

13 May 2018

Accepted 15 May 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm

672

IJPSM

31,6

variables as role ambiguity or work overload on employees’behavioral and psychological

outcomes in the public sector context, job strategies to address such stressors in the

workplace have not been sufficiently addressed in the context of public organizations.

Public administration scholars have examined organizational goal clarity as an important

factor influencing individual and organizational performance (e.g. Chun and Rainey, 2005a, b;

Jung and Lee, 2013; Pandey and Rainey, 2006; Stazyk and Goerdel, 2011; Stazyk et al., 2011, 2012;

Wright, 2004). Stazyk et al. (2012) emphasize that clear organizational goals help define and set

expectations for employees and also lead individuals to have a greater sense of purpose and

direction of their job (Pandey and Rainey, 2006; Stazyk and Goerdel, 2011; Stazyk et al., 2011;

Wright, 2004). Stazyk et al. (2012) note that employees who perceive their organizational goals to

be clear are likely to connect their actions to an organizations’mission and be more motivated to

perform at their highest level; in contrast, those who perceive their organizational goals to be

vague or inconsistent are less likely to understand their individual roles and connect their

actions to an organization’s broader mission (Pandey and Rainey, 2006; Pandey and Wright,

2006; Stazyk et al., 2011, 2012), which, in turn, results in negative consequences of individual

perceptions such as goal setting and role ambiguity (Bronkhorst et al., 2015; Pandey and Rainey,

2006; Wright, 2004). These studies suggest that organizational goal ambiguity appears to be

linked to individual role ambiguity perception in public sector organizations, which results

in negative outcomes in public sector organizations such as decreased job satisfaction

(Hassan, 2013; Kim and Wright, 2007; Wright and Kim, 2004; Wright and Davis, 2003) and

increased turnover intention (Hassan, 2013; Jung, 2012; Kim and Wright, 2007). Thus, it is

especially important to consider role ambiguity in public sector organizations as one of stressors.

The present study aims to examine job stressors by examining job resources that are

likely to maintain employee well-being by reducing job strain in highly demanding job

situations in government agencies. Specifically, the main purpose of this study is to

investigate 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 federal government employees. In studying an occupational

sector (i.e. federal government employees) that has previously received limited attention

with regard to job demands, this paper expands our understanding of the relationship

between job demands and job-related well-being.

Literature and hypotheses

Job demands–resources ( JDR) model

Job-related well-being variables include job satisfaction, burnout and job-related

psychological well-being (e.g. occupational stress and worries, job-related mood and

attitudes) (Van der Doef and Maes, 1999). Recently, employees’job-related well-being has

been investigated using the JDR model, which proposes that individual and organizational

job resources buffer or reduce the dysfunctional effects of job demands on various job

outcomes (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007; Bakker et al., 2005). Job stress variables such as

work overload, time pressure and role stress have been found to be strongly and

consistently related to burnout (Bakker et al., 2003, 2005, 2004; Demerouti and Bakker, 2011;

Demerouti et al., 2001; Maslach et al., 2001; Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004), a term that has been

widely interpreted to describe a state of mental weariness (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004),

where one’s ability to cope with changing workplace conditions has been decreased

(Greenglass et al., 2003). Literature suggests that burnout occurs when certain important

resources are lacking and thus do not address current work demands, or do not yield the

anticipated returns (Lee and Ashforth, 1996). While research on job demands and burnout

has been rooted in a variety of care-giving and service occupations such as social work

(e.g. Kim and Stoner, 2008; Yürür and Sarikaya, 2012) or nursing (e.g. Elovainio and

Kivimäki, 2001; Tummers et al., 2002), where the emotional challenges of working

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Job demands

and employee

attitudes