Soutien organisationnel perçu, perception de perte de ressources, et santé psychologique : l’effet modérateur de l’affectivité négative

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Cet article présente une étude empirique examinant les liens entre le soutien organisationnel perçu, la perception de perte anticipée et réelle de ressources ainsi que d’absence de gain de ressources, et trois indicateurs de détresse psychologique, soit la dépression, l’anxiété, et la fatigue. De plus, le trait d’affectivité négative est utilisé comme un modérateur des effets du soutien organisationnel perçu. Cette étude, conçue dans la perspective de la théorie de la conservation des ressources, a été menée auprès de 138 employés travaillant pour quatre entreprises canadiennes. Les analyses révèlent que le soutien organisationnel perçu agit comme un réducteur de la dépression, de l’anxiété et de la fatigue par l’intermédiaire d’une perception moindre de perte réelle de ressources. De plus, ces effets sont amplifiés parmi les individus possédant une forte affectivité négative. Les résultats de cette étude (a) contribuent à améliorer la compréhension de la dynamique entre les ressources personnelles et sociales, (b) mettent en évidence l’importance de la perception de perte réelle de ressources dans le processus de stress, et (c) permettent de clarifier le processus par lequel le soutien organisationnel perçu agit sur la santé psychologique des employés. Cette étude est aussi utile pour les praticiens car elle montre que les organisations peuvent réduire la détresse des employés soit en agissant sur les marques de soutien offert aux employés, soit en favorisant chez ces derniers une perception plus positive des ressources personnelles face au stress.

This article presents the results of an empirical study looking at the relationships among perceived organizational support, anticipated and actual resource loss perceptions, and three dimensions of psychological distress, i.e., depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Moreover, the trait of negative affectivity was used as a moderator of the effects of perceived organizational support. We used conservation of resources theory as a framework for the study. Essentially, conservation of resources theory states that individuals strive to retain resources so as to build their well-being and that stress symptoms appear when individuals perceive or anticipate resource loss and/or think they won’t be able to gain resources (Hobfoll, 2002). Our reasoning in this paper is that perceived organizational support reduces employees’ perception of resource loss and of being unable to gain resources, and through that psychological mechanism reduces psychological distress. We also theorized that these mechanisms would be stronger among individuals with high levels of negative affectivity, as these individuals may be more fragile and would particularly need to be supported in order for them to build their resilience. We conducted an empirical study testing the above predictions using a sample of 138 contact service employees from four Canadian organizations. Consistent with predictions, analyses revealed that perceived organizational support was negatively related to perceived actual resource loss (yet was unrelated to anticipated resource loss). Moreover, perceived organizational support acted as a reducer of depression, anxiety, and fatigue, through the mediation of a reduced perception of actual resource loss. Moreover, perceived organizational support’s effects were amplified under conditions of high trait negative affectivity. This study’s results (a) contribute to improve our understanding of the dynamics of personal and social resources in the workplace, (b) highlight the importance of resource loss perceptions in the stress process, and (c) clarify the process through which perceived organizational support influences employees’ psychological well-being. This study’s findings also have implications for practice as they suggest that organizations can reduce employee distress either by demonstrating indications of support to employees or by encouraging the development of more positive perceptions of personal resources. Finally, we also discuss the meaning of the present findings for how conservation of resources theory principles can be integrated within the theory of perceived organizational support.