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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 9, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

Published on: November 19, 2015

Whose helping hurts? Source and construct differences in unhelpful workplace social support.

Anne Jeannette Ponsteen¹, Kristoffer Holm²

¹Department of Urban Studies, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 8, 2026

Summary

Unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS) and dysfunctional social support (DSS) are distinct, with DSS predicting more negative outcomes like turnover intentions. Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) partially mediates these effects, highlighting the impact of subtle negative interactions at work.

Keywords:

dysfunctional social support organizational-based self-esteem stress-as-offence to-self theory turnover intentions unhelpful workplace social support

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Last Updated: Jun 9, 2026

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Published on: November 19, 2015

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Published on: December 15, 2023

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Published on: August 25, 2023

Area of Science:

Organizational Psychology
Workplace Behavior
Social Support Dynamics

Background:

Workplace social support is generally beneficial but can be detrimental when perceived as unhelpful or devaluing.
Understanding the nuances of unhelpful social interactions is crucial for employee well-being and organizational outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

To empirically compare unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS) and dysfunctional social support (DSS).
To determine if UWSS differs based on the source (coworkers vs. supervisors).
To test organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a mediator linking unhelpful support to negative employee outcomes, including turnover intentions.

Main Methods:

Survey data collected from 157 working adults.
Factor analyses and mediation analyses were employed to examine the relationships between variables.

Main Results:

Dysfunctional social support (DSS) is empirically distinct from unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS).
DSS emerged as a stronger predictor of organizational frustration, counterproductive work behavior, and turnover intentions.
Indirect effects via OBSE were significant for supervisor UWSS and DSS concerning turnover intentions, with DSS showing more consistent direct relationships with negative outcomes.

Conclusions:

Subtle, normalized forms of unhelpful support in the workplace have a significant impact on organizations.
Distinguishing between different types of unhelpful social support is important for understanding their varied effects on employees.