The Effect of Perceived Organizational and Supervisory Support on Employee Engagement During COVID-19 Crises: Mediating Effect of Work-Life Balance Policy

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00910260231171395
• Author: Sang Eun Lee,Geiguen Shin
• Date: 01 September 2023

https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260231171395

Public Personnel Management

2023, Vol. 52(3) 401 –428

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00910260231171395

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Article

The Effect of Perceived

Organizational and

Supervisory Support on

Employee Engagement

During COVID-19 Crises:

Mediating Effect of Work-Life

Balance Policy

Sang Eun Lee1 and Geiguen Shin2

Abstract

This article examines how organizational and supervisory supports, directly and

indirectly, impact employee engagement in U.S. federal agencies during the COVID-19

pandemic. This study applies two analysis models for two different sample groups:

federal workers who were required to be physically present at a worksite during the

pandemic and those who were not required to do so. Drawing from the sampling

frame comprised of “permanently employed, non-political, non-seasonal, full- or part-

time federal employees” in pay status as of October 2019, the findings from the

U.S. Federal Employment Viewpoint Survey 2020 indicate that organizational and

supervisory supports directly impact employee engagement regardless of employees’

work arrangements. However, work engagement is not increased by organizational

and supervisory supports that actively encourage employees to use conventional

incentives such as work–life balance policies. At the organizational level, this study

suggests the need to redesign strategies to motivate public agents to engage in

the agency’s mission because conventional and systemic employee support may be

ineffective as currently designed. Overall, this study sheds more light on existing

studies of public human resource management by examining employee engagement

according to work arrangements during the pandemic.

1Arizona State University, Hainan, China

2Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea

Corresponding Author:

Geiguen Shin, Department of Public Administration, Kookmin University, 77 Jeongneung-ro, Seongbuk-

gu, Seoul 02707, South Korea.

Email: geiguen@gmail.com

1171395PPMXXX10.1177/00910260231171395Public Personnel ManagementLee and Shin

research-article2023

402 Public Personnel Management 52(3)

Keywords

organizational support, supervisory support, employee engagement, work–life policy,

COVID-19

Introduction

Employee engagement contributes to individual and organizational outcomes.

Psychologically present employees are more attentive, focused on their work roles,

and satisfied with their jobs and organizations (Kahn, 1990). As for organizational

outcomes, employee engagement is associated with higher shareholder returns, profit-

ability, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Also, employee engagement is closely

associated with the belief that employees fulfill a role in the organization’s mission

and are supported by their supervisors (Saks & Gruman, 2014).

Recent employee engagement research, especially in the private sector, suggests an

increased need to study the potential effect of organizational and supervisory support

on employee engagement in the current labor market due to deepening employee dis-

engagement (Book et al., 2019; Nguyen & Tran, 2021). Based on the concepts of

perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS)

derived from the social exchange theory, employees increase work engagement due to

the comprehensive support of organizations and managers to employees. Despite the

similar decline in employee engagement in the public sector, scholars in public admin-

istration have paid little attention to the role of perceived organizational and supervi-

sory support on public employees’ engagement. Unlike the private sector, public

employees tend to have fewer performance-based incentives and stronger job protec-

tions. Thus, it remains a key issue for government organizations and supervisors to

increase public service motivation for their employees (Jin & McDonald, 2017).

Consequently, it is important to systematically investigate how the perceived meso-

level organizational and micro-level supervisory support helps public employees

maintain their engagement with their jobs and organizations.

Based on the understanding that greater employee work engagement leads to

increased organizational performance and satisfaction, organizations and supervisors

should provide practical benefits and support for their employees. A work–life balance

policy is one of the many policy tools used to encourage employees’ engagement in

work. It is formal and systemic support that helps employees balance their work and

personal life and is considered a critical managerial tool for improving employees’

well-being (McCarthy et al., 2013; Swody & Powell, 2007). Although work-life bal-

ance policies are available in organizations, the existing negative perception of this

type of policy may prevent employees from actively using it due to shared cultural

norms. However, when supportive organizational culture and leadership are available,

an employee’s use of a work–life balance policy would exceed work engagement in an

organization. Thus, work–life balance policy use mediates the relationship between

perceived organizational and supervisory support and employee engagement.

Despite the significance of employee engagement in the public sector, many stud-

ies have mostly focused on normal working conditions. However, the COVID-19