Perceived Organizational Support

Book excerpt: Today's constantly changing work environment is fraught with job uncertainty, frequent mergers and acquisitions, and a general breakdown of trust between employer and employee. More than ever, it is critical for managers to proactively shift away from devaluing employees as marginal capital to empowering them as human capital. Perceived organizational support-employees' perception of how much an organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being-mutually benefits both employees and their organizations and is integral to sustainable employer–employee relationships. Using organizational support theory and evidence gathered from hundreds of studies, Eisenberger and Stinglhamber demonstrate how perceived organizational support affects employees' well-being, the positivity of their orientation toward the organization and work, and behavioral outcomes favorable to the organization. The authors illustrate these findings with employee experiences and strategic approaches of major organizations such as Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, Costco, and Google. Organizational psychologists, management consultants, managers, and graduate students will obtain a clear understanding of perceived organizational support and the practical knowledge needed to foster its development and positive outcomes.