Support, job characteristics, and work engagement: The mediating role of employee resilience

Support, Job Characteristics, and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Employee Resilience The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between support (i.e., supervisor support and co-worker support), job characteristics (job autonomy, job complexity, and skill variety), and work engagement. In addition, the mediating role of employee resilience among the stated variables was investigated. Data was collected from 400 employees working in various organizations in the private sector in Uganda. However, after sorting through the collected questionnaires, 324 were used for the data analysis. Structural equation modelling and bootstrapping procedures were used to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings revealed that social support, i.e., supervisor support and coworker support are significantly and positively related to work engagement. Also, a positive and significant connection between job characteristics, i.e., "job autonomy, job complexity, skill variety", and work engagement, was established. Further, the results also showed that supervisor support, job autonomy, job complexity, and skill variety have a positive and significant connection with employee resilience. However, the findings show that coworker support has a positive but non-significant impact on employee resilience. Moreover, the findings also indicate that employee resilience has a significant and positive direct impact on work engagement. The study also revealed that supervisor support, job autonomy, job complexity, and skill variety were found to foster work engagement through employee resilience. Yet, co-worker support was found not to have an indirect impact on work engagement through employee resilience. Since this study was conducted using a cross-sectional research design makes it hard to draw causal inferences. The findings in this study have significant implications for human resource practitioners, business owners, and employees in organizations. The study results are indicative that support from superiors and colleagues is a crucial resource in work settings that cannot be overlooked as it is likely to influence engagement levels in one's work. Additionally, the results also show that how jobs are designed, i.e., job characteristics impose an immense effect on work engagement levels. The results of this study contribute to the existing body of literature on work engagement and job characteristics and also add to the growing body of research on employee resilience. Keywords: Supervisor support, co-worker support, job characteristics, work engagement, employee resilience, Uganda.