Assessing the Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship Involving Part-Time Employees

Abstract

Many college students have part-time jobs for a variety of reasons, including finances, skill enhancement, networking, personal satisfaction, and confidence. Part-time employees often differ from full-time employees on their organizational knowledge, involvement, and satisfaction. This study explored communication between college student part-time employees and their supervisors through the use of leader-member exchange theory. According to this theory, there are many personal and professional benefits for employees when they have quality relationships with their supervisors. Participants included 210 undergraduate students from a large mid-Atlantic university. College student part-time employees’ leader-member exchange was significantly and positively related to their organizational assimilation, organizational identification, work motivation, and career relevancy.