How Employees Actually Want To Be Supported

BY MONICA RAGSDALE ? 6 MINUTE READ

An organization may be focusing on supporting their employees with material rewards such as raises and bonuses, but there is a disconnect from the support given and the support that their employees perceive. This is called perceived organizational support (POS), “the extent to which employees feel the organization values their work contributions and cares for their well-being” (1). Often, an organization and its leaders feel as if they are supporting their employees to the best of their ability, but neglect the influence and great impact that optimizing perceived organizational support has on employees and the work culture. So, here’s a breakdown of eight tactics for optimizing POS according to the SHRM-SIOP Science of HR Series by Robert Eisenberger, Glenn P. Malone and William D. Presson (1).?

Tactic 1: Discretion Matters

Research found that POS was six times stronger if employees believed the organization had high control over the favorable job conditions that they were experiencing (1). Likewise, when employees are facing unfavorable treatment, there is a small loss in POS if this treatment is perceived as outside of the organization’s discretion. For instance, successful companies offer a variety of benefits such as educational opportunities, retirement programs, and time to work on personal projects, which increase employees’ POS because these benefits are voluntary, and are up to the discretion of management. On the other hand, if employees believe they are receiving an increase in pay or benefits due to external pressures such as government regulations or the competitiveness of the job market, then the POS influence will be low. Communicating to employees which favorable job conditions are due to the discretion of the organization helps increase POS, and being transparent about which unfavorable job conditions are non-discretionary can reduce losses in POS. Implementing or upgrading employee assistance program services (EAP) such as professional counseling and behavior intervention programs can effectively contribute to POS because they are a voluntary service provided by organizations that focus on employee well-being. In short, the heart behind the action matters more than the action itself in regards to employee POS.

Tactic 2: Fairness and Equitability

Evidence shows that fair treatment is one of the strongest drivers of POS because it conveys concern for employee well-being, and because fair organizational procedures and policies are viewed as under the control of the organization. There are four types of fair treatment that are each equally influential to POS: procedural justice, distributive justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. Procedural justice involves how the distribution of pay, promotions, and job assignments are decided, and distributive justice is the fairness of those outcomes. Interpersonal justice is fairness in the treatment of employees and informational justice is provision of necessary job-related information. The following suggestions can help improve justice perceptions in the workplace:

1. Clearly communicate rationale for the way rewards and resources are distributed across employees, and they should be distributed fairly (1). Note that this does not mean every employee receives the same rewards, but distribution is based on their performance and other factors that are clearly written out and communicated.
2. Provide employees with the opportunity to be actively involved in the development and application of organizational procedures and policies (1).
3. Respect and sensitivity is the manner in which employees should be treated by their supervisors (1).

Tactic 3: Achievable Goals and Rewards

POS is increased when high performance is consistently rewarded and recognized appropriately, and the employees build an expectation to gain rewards for high performance. This increases POS because it communicates to employees that the organization values their contributions and wants to appreciate their achievements. However, it’s important that the high performance that employees are rewarded for are achievable and reasonable expectations given their current circumstances. When demands on what categorizes as high performance are unrealistic, employee stress is increased and their self-efficacy decreases, which results in lower POS. Also, there needs to be clear differentiation between high and low achievers so that employees can trust that the organization is being sincere when acknowledging superior performers. However, it can be detrimental to the POS of the remaining employees if the organization only rewards the top performers, so the perfect balance is to recognize and reward all employees for good performance, while higher achievers are given greater rewards and recognition (1). Furthermore, research shows that a combination of various rewards and recognition such as pay, performance feedback and social recognition is more effective than when used separately. Therefore, a more holistic approach of utilizing multiple reward mechanisms is recommended for higher employee engagement.

Tactic 4: Individualized Benefits

Employees feel more valued when benefits are tailored to them instead when given a ‘one size fits all’ benefit package, and an even higher POS when those benefits are used to help balance their work and family responsibilities. However, it is important to provide benefits that will meet the specific needs of a diverse amount of employees in the organization to avoid feelings of unfairness. Research shows that flexibility in benefits plans increases employee satisfaction with the system, and indicates the organization’s commitment to their well-being. Benefits that are not offered as frequently that may be good to consider include undergraduate educational assistance and companies financially matching the donations that their employees give to nonprofit organizations. Some organizations are even offering paid volunteer time-off to their employees, which is a benefit that not only inspires employees and shapes the workplace culture, but it touches the community as well.

Tactic 5: Support Supervisors

This one is as simple as it sounds. Supervisors play a key role in implementing the goals, objectives, and culture of higher management. When the supervisors are being supported, their POS increases– so they repay the organization by engaging in more organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), which are voluntary behaviors helpful to the organization. Most importantly, this behavior can trickle its way down to subordinates. Tactics to optimize POS in higher-level organizational representatives such as supervisors are similar to the tactics we listed for increasing POS in lower-level employees.

Tactic 6: Train Subordinates to be Supportive

Although supervisors have more power over subordinates than the other way around, the influence that subordinates as a group has over supervisors is usually neglected by leadership. Going along with the norm of reciprocity, a cycle of support between subordinates and supervisors help increase POS for both groups as they help each other. For example, supervisors who perceived their workgroup to be supportive, they treated them more favorably, and due to this the subordinates rated their supervisors higher in providing caring leadership (1).

Tactic 7: Social Networks

Work-life is made more pleasant when it provides friendships and interpersonal relationships that can provide information on how to become more successful in the organization, which is why supportive, workplace social networks contribute to POS. Research suggests that POS can be increased through programs such as mentoring, team projects and informal social gatherings because they promote workplace social networks (1).?

Tactic 8: Set the Standard Early

Perception is formed greatly by first impressions, so an organization setting the standard early for what level of support they offer is of utmost importance when it comes to POS. How an employee is treated by the organization before they start their position sets the tone of expectations for how they will be treated in the future, including the level of organizational support they will receive, or perceive they are receiving. Job applicants who anticipate receiving high organizational support continue to show high POS when they become employees and create more effective relationships within the organization because of it (1). A few ways to promote anticipated organizational support include favorable HR benefits such as flexible scheduling, as well as creating a supportive interview process through friendliness and respect. Also, interviewers can increase anticipated organizational support by displaying fairness, such as truly listening to what the interviewee says, as well as allowing them to have the opportunity to discuss any concerns or their strengths and to answer all their questions. Lastly, promptly responding to applicants shows the organization views them as important.?

Application

These eight HR tactics will help increase POS, and as a result, employees are more likely to display high emotional commitment to the organization, increased performance, as well as less absenteeism and turnover (1). Even more importantly, it will contribute to their psychological well-being. For assistance in practically applying these tactics to optimize employee POS in a way that is customized to your specific organization and needs, take a look at the business consulting and many other services offered by the experienced talent management and leadership development consultants at Catching Leadership. Contact Michael Leytem, CEO of Catching Leadership, at [email protected].?

References

1. Eisenberger, Robert, et al. Optimizing Perceived Organizational Support to Enhance Employee Engagement. Society for Human Resource Management and Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2016, https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-and-expert-views/Documents/SHRM-SIOP%20Perceived%20Organizational%20Support.pdf.??