Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Commitment: The Mediational Influence of Psychological Well-Being: [1]

Headnote

The relationship between individual and organization was explored by examining the influence of perceived organizational support (POS) and psychological well-being (PWB) on organizational commitment. 513 managers working in two large Indian manufacturing organizations were administered standardized measures of POS, PWB, and OC measuring affective commitment (NC), normative commitment (NC), high sacrifice (HiSac), and low alternatives (LoAlt). Regression analysis revealed that POS significantly influenced psychological well-being and all components of organizational commitment. PWB was found to have significant association with AC, NC, and LoAlt. Mediation analysis revealed partial mediation between POS and AC, and POS and NC, and full mediation between POS and LoAlt. A post hoc analysis was carried out to understand the impact of different dimensions of psychological well being on organizational commitment. The implications of the findings are discussed.

The relationship between employees and their organizations has been studied extensively in the organizational behavior literature (Fuller et al., 2006; Masterson & Stamper, 2003). Organizations help employees cope with social change and personal loss, provide defense against unconscious anxieties (Levinson, 1965), offer an entity that they can identify themselves with, and foster perceptions of comfort and competence (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Employees in turn, develop a sense of belongingness to the organization (Aslege & Eisenberger, 2003; Eisenberger et al., 1986) and internalize its norms and values (Weiner, 1982). As a result of various person and work related interactions with the organization, employees develop certain attitudes towards the organization which guide their behavior. Organizational support theory has found strong evidence of this reciprocal relationship (Eisenberger et al., 2001) where employees reciprocate organizational actions through commitment to the organization.

Extant research suggests that positive work experiences influence the psychological well-being of an individual (Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2002). The growing literature on positive psychology and/or positive organizational behavior (e.g. Luthans & Church, 2002) also supports the finding that positive psychological state of an individual favorably influences attitudes towards the organization. The present study examines the impact of psychological well-being on the interaction between organization and employees.

Psychological Weil-Being (PWB)

The concept of well-being has been variously interpreted by different researchers. The two dominant perspectives are the hedonic approach, which focuses on happiness and defines well-being in terms of pleasure attainment, pain...