While support is generally a helpful resource for employees, support can also serve as a job stressor. Unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS) is any action taken by a supervisor and/or colleague that is intended to benefit another worker but is perceived as unhelpful or harmful by the recipient. A series of three studies identified types of UWSS, developed a measure of UWSS, and established a nomological network of variables related to UWSS. In Study 1, critical incidents were collected from 116 employees, and a content analysis revealed 11 distinct categories of UWSS. A measure of UWSS was developed in Study 2, and a nomological network of variables related to the construct was examined using responses from 176 employees. Results demonstrate that UWSS is associated with higher negative affect, lower competence-based self-esteem, lower coworker satisfaction, higher work-related burnout, higher organizational frustration, and higher physical symptoms (e.g., headache, nausea, and fatigue) among recipients. Study 3 replicated the findings using data from 496 registered nurses to mitigate the chances of reporting Type 1 errors. Together, the studies demonstrate that unhelpful workplace social support is a meaningful job stressor worthy of further investigation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USF/oai:scholarcommons.usf.edu:etd-8707 |
| Date | 02 November 2018 |
| Creators | Gray, Cheryl E. |
| Publisher | Scholar Commons |
| Source Sets | University of South Flordia |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
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