Supporting Employee Health at Work: How Perceptions Differ Across Wage Category

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Organizational Psychology
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Perceptions of organizational and supervisor support are crucial for employee health and well-being.
• Understanding the interplay between various stressors and perceived support is vital for targeted interventions.
• Socioeconomic factors, such as wage bands, may influence the experience and perception of support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between different sources of stress and employee perceptions of organizational and supervisor support.
• To investigate how these associations vary across different wage bands.
• To identify potential inequities in perceived support related to stress and socioeconomic status.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from a large mid-western U.S. university.
• Data included socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, chronic conditions, sources of stress, and perceptions of organizational and supervisor support from a sample of over 19,000 university employees.
• Multivariate linear regression models were employed, with analyses stratified by wage bands (low, middle, high).

Main Results:

• Workplace stressors, including problematic relationships and heavy job responsibilities, were negatively associated with perceived organizational and supervisor support across all employees.
• Home-based stressors showed varied associations: death of a loved one negatively impacted support for low-wage earners, personal illness/injury for middle-wage earners, and illness of a loved one positively associated with support for high-wage earners.
• Significant negative associations between workplace stressors and perceived support were consistent across all wage bands.

Conclusions:

• Stressful job responsibilities and interpersonal workplace issues are linked to diminished perceptions of support for health and well-being, irrespective of wage level.
• The positive association between perceived supervisor support and a specific personal stressor (illness of a loved one) observed only in high-wage earners suggests a potential inequity.
• There is a need to address disparities in perceived support for personal stressors among lower-wage employees to promote equitable health and well-being outcomes.