Perceived Organizational Support, Workplace Loneliness, and Creativity: Mediating Role of Workplace Loneliness, and Moderating Role of Proactive Personality

Abstract

Purpose:

Workplace loneliness is not something we often hear in organizations. Being a pervasive issue and having adverse effects, little attention has been devoted to understanding its relationships. To address the gap, the present study was employed to investigate perceived organization support as antecedent and creativity as a consequence outcome of workplace loneliness among managerial level employees. Proactive personality was used as a moderator to test workplace loneliness relationships with antecedent and outcome for significance.

Methodology:

The research was conducted by adopting a cross-sectional design, where data was collected in dyads by using two separate questionnaires for manager-subordinate relationships. The sample population (N=348) were individuals in a dyadic relationship working at managerial and subordination levels from the banking, education, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical sectors. By using CFA measurement model was accessed and hierarchical regression analysis was adopted to test the curvilinear relationship between perceived organizational support and workplace loneliness. Hays process macros were used for testing moderating effects.

Finding& Conclusion:

Results revealed a negative (-) relationship of workplace loneliness with its antecedent and outcome. This study also indicated that high proactive individuals are less likely to exhibit workplace loneliness when support is high. It also indicated that highly proactive individuals in the presence of workplace loneliness represent creative behavior as compared to low proactive individuals.