Impact of Perceived Supervisor Support and Self-Efficacy on Work Engagement

Abstract

With the increased challenges faced by the organizations, world over due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations in the world as well as in Sri Lanka are focusing on increasing organizational performance through increased employee engagement. Given this situation, this study investigates how employee engagement can be increased in the selected cohort or organizations. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of perceived supervisor support and self-efficacy on work engagement of employees in selected glove manufacturing organizations. Thus, perceived supervisor support is the independent variable, whereas employee work engagement is the dependent variable, and self-efficacy is the mediating variable The research was carried out as a quantitative, cross-sectional, survey using a sample of 121 executive and above employees in selected glove manufacturing organizations in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected using a structured online questionnaire developed using well accepted standard measures from a convenience sample. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Upon completing the data screening and preliminary analyses, descriptive statistics were calculated. Data were analyzed using simple linear regression analysis to test the direct effects between variables. Results indicated perceived supervisor support has a positive impact on employee work engagement, as well as on self-efficacy of employees. There is a positive (relatively weak) impact of self-efficacy of employees on work engagement. Finally, it was found that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement. This study's findings provide better guidance for the management of the glove industry on increasing employee work engagement.