Does Inconsistent Social Support Matter? The Effects of Social Support on Work Absorption Through Relaxation at Work

Shan Xu; Youxin Zhang; Bingran Zhang; Tao Qing; Jiafei Jin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555501

Does Inconsistent Social Support Matter? The Effects of Social Support on Work Absorption Through Relaxation at Work

Front Psychol. 2020 Dec 3:11:555501. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555501. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Shan Xu¹, Youxin Zhang¹, Bingran Zhang¹, Tao Qing¹, Jiafei Jin²

Affiliations

¹ School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China.
² School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.

Abstract

Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory and social exchange theory, we examined the effects of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) and family support (FS) on work absorption at the within- and between-person levels. A 10-day study of 91 workers using 710 observations was employed. At the within-person level, the results suggested that daily relaxation at work mediated the relationships between daily FS, daily shifts in FS, and daily work absorption. However, at the between-person level, the results revealed that chronic relaxation at work mediated the relation between the average level of FSSB/FS and chronic work absorption. We conclude that FSSB/FS plays a vital role in relaxation at work and work absorption at the within- and between-person levels.

Keywords: daily shift; family support; family-supportive supervisor behavior; relaxation at work; work absorption.