Perceived Organizational Support Scale

Abstract

The Perceived Organizational Support (POS) scale, developed by Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, and Sowa (1986), is a seminal measure in organizational psychology designed to assess employee perceptions regarding the extent to which their organization values their contributions and genuinely cares about their well-being. The full scale comprises 17 items, which capture two primary dimensions: eight items focusing on the organization’s valuation of the employee’s contribution, and nine items concerning actions the organization might take that affect employee well-being. An abbreviated, nine-item version, consisting of the highest factor-loading items from the original study, has also been widely adopted in subsequent research (Moorman, Blakely, & Niehoff, 1998; Wayne, Shore, & Liden, 1997).

Keywords

Perceived Organizational Support, POS, Organizational Behavior, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Employee Well-being, Work Attitudes, Psychometrics, Scale Development.

Authors

Robert Eisenberger, Rex Huntington, Steven Hutchinson, Donna Sowa

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Perceived Organizational Support scale is to quantify an employee’s global belief concerning the degree to which the organization values their work and cares for them. This measure is crucial for testing the tenets of Organizational Support Theory (OST), which posits that employees develop generalized beliefs regarding how much the organization supports them, often leading to a felt obligation to reciprocate with greater effort and commitment.

The scale serves as a predictive tool for various organizational outcomes, including reduced turnover intentions, improved job performance, and enhanced overall employee well-being. By assessing the perceived quality of the relationship between the employee and the organization, researchers and practitioners can identify organizational factors that foster positive work attitudes and behaviors.

Construct

The POS scale measures the construct of Perceived Organizational Support, a key concept within organizational psychology. This construct is based on the idea that employees anthropomorphize the organization, forming beliefs about its intentions and attitudes toward them. POS reflects the employee’s belief that the organization is supportive, fair, and concerned with their welfare.

The 17 items are designed to cover two facets of support: the extent to which the organization values the employee’s contributions, and the degree to which it cares about the employee’s well-being. High POS scores indicate that employees feel respected, recognized, and supported, which is theoretically linked to stronger affective commitment and reduced stress and withdrawal behaviors.

Validity

Extensive research has demonstrated the strong construct and criterion validity of the Perceived Organizational Support scale. POS consistently exhibits positive correlations with numerous desirable organizational outcomes, including overall job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job discretion, affective attachment to the organization, pay/promotion expectancies, approval/recognition expectancies, and favorable employee performance ratings (Cropanzano et al., 1997; Eisenberger et al., 1990; Moorman et al., 1998).

Conversely, POS demonstrates significant negative correlations with detrimental outcomes, such as perceived organizational politics, turnover intentions, days absent, role stress, and emotional exhaustion (Cropanzano et al., 1997; Lee & Ashforth, 1993). These patterns confirm that POS is a crucial predictor of employee retention and mental health in the workplace.

Reliability

The POS scale exhibits high internal consistency across diverse samples and studies. Reported Coefficient alpha values for the scale consistently fall within a robust range, spanning from .74 to .95. This reliability evidence confirms that the items within the scale measure the underlying construct of Perceived Organizational Support in a highly consistent manner (Cropanzano et al., 1997; Eisenberger et al., 1997; Lynch et al., 1999).

Factor Analysis

Multiple studies employing factor analytic techniques have confirmed the distinctiveness of the Perceived Organizational Support construct from related but separate psychological variables. Wayne, Shore, and Liden (1997) utilized factor analysis to demonstrate that POS is empirically separable from concepts such as developmental experiences, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), affective commitment, and intentions to quit. Furthermore, Eisenberger et al. (1997) conducted confirmatory factor analysis, which established that POS is empirically distinct from overall job satisfaction, reinforcing its status as a unique contribution to the study of organizational behavior.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychological scale

Format: 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree)

Language Available: Primarily English (with numerous translations available in subsequent research)

Population Group: Employees/Workers in organizational settings

Age Group: Adult (Working age population)

Population Details: Applicable across various industries and organizational structures.

Test Methodology: Paper-and-pencil or online administration.

Keywords

Organizational Support Theory, Employee Performance, Role Stress, Emotional Exhaustion, Leader-Member Exchange, Organizational Politics, Likert Scale, Reciprocity.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original scale was published in 1986. Items were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and are subject to the copyright held by the American Psychological Association (APA). Researchers should seek appropriate permissions for commercial or large-scale use, although the measure is often used in non-commercial academic research with citation.

Reference’s

• Cropanzano, R., Howes, J. C., Grandey, T., & Toth, P. (1997). The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors, attitudes, and stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18, 159–180.
• Eisenberger, R., Cummings, J., Armeli, S., & Lynch, P. (1997). Perceived organizational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 812–820.
• Eisenberger, R., Fasolo, P., & Davis-LaMastro, V. (1990). Perceived organizational support and employee diligence, commitment, and innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 51–59.
• Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchinson, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500-507.
• Hutchinson, S., Valentino, K., & Kirkner, S. L. (1998). The relationship of stress and perceived organizational support to employees’ propensity to leave. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(12), 1157–1173.
• Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1993). A longitudinal study of perceived organizational support and employee relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 230–237.
• Lynch, P. D., Eisenberger, R., & Armeli, S. (1999). Perceived organizational support: Inferior versus superior performance by organizational members. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 485–500.
• Moorman, R. H., Blakely, G., & Niehoff, B. P. (1998). Does perceived organizational support mediate the relationship between procedural justice and organizational commitment? Academy of Management Journal, 41(3), 351–357.
• Wayne, S. J., Shore, L. M., & Liden, R. C. (1997). Perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange: A social exchange perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 40(1), 82–111.

Items of the Perceived Organizational Support scale

Responses are obtained on a 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree.

Instructions:

Listed below is a series of statements that represent possible feelings that individuals might have about the company or organization for which they work. With respect to your own feelings about the particular organization for which you are now working-[name of organization]-please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each statement by checking one of the seven alternatives below each statement.

Items denoted with (S) are used in the shortened nine-item version of the measure. Items denoted with (R) are reverse scored.

1. The organization values my contribution to its well-being
2. If the organization could hire someone to replace me at a lower salary it would do so (R)
3. The organization fails to appreciate any extra effort from me (R)
4. The organization strongly considers my goals and values (S)
5. The organization would ignore any complaint from me (R)
6. The organization disregards my best interests when it makes decisions that affect me (R)
7. Help is available from the organization when I have a problem (S)
8. The organization really cares about my well-being (S)
9. The organization is willing to extend itself in order to help me perform my job to the best of my ability (S)
10. Even if I did the best job possible, the organization would fail to notice (R) (S)
11. The organization is willing to help me when I need a special favor
12. The organization cares about my general satisfaction at work (S)
13. If given the opportunity, the organization would take advantage of me (R)
14. The organization shows very little concern for me (R) (S)
15. The organization cares about my opinions (S)
16. The organization takes pride in my accomplishments at work (S)
17. The organization tries to make my job as interesting as possible