Perceived Organizational Support: Reducing the Negative Influence of Coworker Withdrawal Behavior

Abstract

When employees' coworkers exhibit higher levels of withdrawal, individual employees are more likely to withdraw from their own work. The authors explored whether this relation would be curbed by a positive exchange relationship with one's organization, as suggested by organizational support theory (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). Among 23 work groups in a manufacturing organization (Study 1), high perceived organizational support (POS) eliminated the relation between work group and individual tardiness. Among 94 work groups in a retail sales organization (Study 2), POS reduced the relation between work group withdrawal and individual withdrawal.