Perceived Organizational Support

Perceived organizational support (POS) represents the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares for their wellbeing (Eisenberger et al., 1986). It stems from organizational support theory (Blau, 1964), which posits that both parties in the employment relationship engage in various mutual exchanges that give rise to felt obligations. Such exchanges may take the form of rewards or other forms of recognition offered by the organization in return for high levels of employee commitment or performance. These exchanges give rise to performance-reward expectations, which when fulfilled in future exchanges improve the quality of the employment relationship. Various forms of support have been identified including participation in decision making, training and promotion opportunities, and job security. Supervisors are regarded as key agents in delivering the organization's side of the exchange, and offer various forms of discretionary support including mentoring and growth opportunities. POS has been positively associated with outcomes including organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance, and negatively associated with outcomes such as absenteeism and turnover intentions. Future research directions include longitudinal assessments of POS, broader exchange relationships (e.g., between coworkers and teams), and potentially negative influences on POS (e.g. work intensification). Keywords: perceived organizational support; perceived supervisor support; organizational support theory