An Examination of the Links Between Organizational Social Capital and Employee Well-Being: Focusing on the Mediating Role of Quality of Work Life

• DOI: 10.1177/0734371X19865996
• Author: Myeong Chul Ko
• Published date: 01 March 2021
• Date: 01 March 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X19865996

Review of Public Personnel Administration

2021, Vol. 41(1) 163 –193

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X19865996

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Article

An Examination of the Links

Between Organizational

Social Capital and Employee

Well-Being: Focusing on the

Mediating Role of Quality of

Work Life

Myeong Chul Ko1

Abstract

Although organizational social capital (OSC) is widely considered a potential

resource for improving organizational performance, extensive research has paid

limited attention to how employee well-being may be a positive outcome of OSC.

Drawing on social exchange theory, need satisfaction, and spillover approaches, this

study explores the effects of OSC on subjective well-being (SWB) through quality of

work life (QWL) and job-related outcomes, such as organizational commitment and

turnover intention. Using survey data obtained from public employees in South Korea,

the results show that QWL mediates not only the association between OSC and

organizational commitment but also the relationship between OSC and SWB. These

findings highlight the importance of OSC as an intangible asset that can generate both

organizational outcomes and employee well-being. In practice, these findings also

imply that organizational resources and work environments should favorably respond

to employees’ human needs to ensure improved employee well-being.

Keywords

organizational social capital (OSC), subjective well-being (SWB), quality of work life

(QWL), employee well-being, spillover approach

1Hanbat National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author:

Myeong Chul Ko, Department of Public Policy, Hanbat National University, 125, Dongseo-daero,

Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34158, Republic of Korea.

Email: goodkomc@gmail.com

865996ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X19865996Review of Public Personnel AdministrationKo

research-article2019

164 Review of Public Personnel Administration 41(1)

Introduction

Over the past two decades, social capital has received increasing attention in a wide

range of disciplines including economics, sociology, and political science (P. S. Adler

& Kwon, 2002). Although its conceptual origin is hotly debated (Farr, 2004), social

capital is widely regarded as an asset inherent in social relationships among individu-

als, networks, and communities, which can generate desirable organizational out-

comes (Bolino, Turnley, & Bloodgood, 2002; Leana & Van Buren, 1999; Nahapiet &

Ghoshal, 1998). For example, drawing on social exchange theory and the norm of reci-

procity, previous studies have highlighted the positive impacts of social capital on

organizational performance (Andrews, 2010; Andrews & Brewer, 2014; Leana & Pil,

2006), employee engagement (Andrews & Mostafa, 2019), and knowledge sharing

(García-Sánchez, Díaz-Díaz, & De Saá-Pérez, 2019; Kim, 2018).

However, the extant literature on social capital has paid limited attention to well-

being at work. It is commonly believed that “a happy employee is a productive

employee” and “a happy employee is a dedicated and loyal employee” (Sirgy, Efraty,

Siegel, & Lee, 2001, p. 242). Given the amount of time and energy people spend at the

workplace and the blurring boundaries between work and life, it is very important for

organizations to ensure that their employees are satisfied with their lives at work. In

accordance with the growing interest in and importance of the quality of work life

(QWL) and employee well-being, the extant literature on public administration has

paid attention to family-friendly policies and work–life balance (e.g., Feeney &

Stritch, 2017; S. Y. Lee & Hong, 2011; Saltzstein, Ting, & Saltzstein, 2001; Van De

Voorde, Paauwe, & Van Veldhoven, 2012). The understanding of the relationship

between social capital and employees’ well-being remains relatively fragmented.

An increasing number of studies have addressed the way in which social capital

within a workplace is associated with health outcomes, such as emotional exhaustion

(Boyas & Wind, 2010; Driller, Ommen, Kowalski, Ernstmann, & Pfaff, 2011), depres-

sion (Oksanen, Kouvonen, Vahtera, Virtanen, & Kivimäki, 2010), and distress

(Tsuboya, Tsutsumi, & Kawachi, 2015). These studies suggest that social capital at

work acts as a buffer against the effect of stress on employees’ health, which implies

that a positive perception on social capital within a workplace contributes to employ-

ees’ well-being. It seems theoretically and intuitively plausible that the psychosocial

environment in the workplace is influential for employees’ QWL and subjective well-

being (SWB). Nevertheless, little research on social capital has addressed the growing

interest in employee well-being in the public sector.

To address this research gap, the present study explores the structural relationship

between organizational social capital (OSC) and SWB by investigating the mediating

role of QWL and attitudinal outcomes. Because work occupies an important place in

individuals’ lives, their perceived QWL is likely to affect their overall SWB, as well as

organizational outcomes (Efraty & Sirgy, 1990; D. J. Lee, Singhapakdi, & Sirgy, 2007;

Requena, 2003). To better understand the impact of OSC within a workplace, this

study focused on not only employees’ attitudes toward their organization, such as

organizational commitment and turnover intention, but also employee well-being.