Exploring the Role of Perceived Supervisor Support: A Serial Mediation of Approach Job Crafting and Thriving at Work in Enhancing Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The purposeof this study is to explore the underlying mechanism of approach job crafting and thriving at work that explain the relationship between perceived supervisor support and job satisfaction amongpublic sector employees. Drawing on job demand and resource model and organization support theory, the study aims to investigate the proposed serial mediation in public sector employees in Pakistan. By examining the sequential relationships among perceived supervisor support, approach job crafting, thriving at work, and ultimately job satisfaction, this research seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics within public sector organizations and offer insights for enhancing employee satisfaction. Based on cross sectional data from 369 public sector employees,Smart PLS 4andstructural equation modeling (SEM) wereemployedto analyze the data and study the serial mediation effect. Strong empirical evidence was found for all the proposed hypotheses. The findings indicated that stronger perceptions of supervisor support are associated with higher levels of job satisfaction among employees. Furthermore, approach job crafting and thriving at work mediate this relationship, highlighting theemployee behavior to actively shape theirroles and experiences at work. The findings show a path for public sector employees to capitalize on the antecedents to employee job satisfaction. Furthermore, it is suggested that public sector organizations should encourage active supervisor support to promote employee job satisfaction. In doing so, it is important to ensure that the employees are provided a workplace that pursues and encourages approach job crafting for enhanced levels of job satisfaction through thriving at work. This study expands theresearch on approach job crafting and sheds light on important conditions under which perceived supervisor support promotes job satisfaction in public sector employees in Pakistan. The study holds importance for public sector employees, supervisors and the public sector departments at large.