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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Kyoung-Ok Park, The Health Promotion and Behavior, The University of Georgia, 300 River Road, Ramsey 216, Athens, GA 30602, 706-583-0692, kopark@arches.uga.edu, Mark G. Wilson, HSD, The Health Promotion and Behavior, The Univeristy of Georgia, 300 River Road, Ramsey 216, Athens, GA 30602, and Robert J. Vandenberg, PhD, Management, College of Business, University of Georgia, Brooks Hall, Athens, GA 30602.
It is well documented that social support at work has positive effects on work stress and related psychological symptoms. However, there have been few studies examining comprehensive effects of social support on a work stress process including organizational outcomes. This study examined how social support affected workers’ depression and related organizational outcomes. The subjects were 240 workers employed in a public hospital in Georgia. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to employees with their pay slips followed by three reminders over a 10-day period. The response rate was 31%. The questionnaires asked about job demands, job control, social support at work, depression, absenteeism, job performance, and demographics. The social support construct was measured by who supported at work and what kinds of support were provided. Statistical analyses were conducted using the structural equation modeling approach in LISREL version 8.5. Social support at work was directly related to employees’ high job control, low depression, and high job performance. However, social support did not buffer the negative effects of work factors on depression and related organizational outcomes. Among organization, supervisor, and coworker support, only organizational support was related to high job control. Workers’ depression and related outcomes were not different by what kinds of support they had at work. In summary, social support had positive effects on job control, depression, and job performance. Workers were concerned about who supported them rather than what kinds of support they had at work. Organizational support was a strong factor in improving psychosocial environments at work.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Worksite, Stress
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.