Organizational politics and job-related enthusiasm and anxiety : the moderating role of supervisor support and job autonomy

This study, conducted among 117 employees of an Australian Government Business Enterprise, examined how supervisor support and job autonomy moderate the effect of organizational politics on employee enthusiasm and anxiety. Results indicated that supervisor support predicted employee enthusiasm, but had a reverse buffering effect on the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and anxiety. In other words, in conditions where perceptions of politics were high, lower levels of supervisor support appeared to provide a protective effect against job-related anxiety. Job autonomy was found to moderate the relationship between perception of politics and enthusiasm. In conditions of high perceptions of politics, less job autonomy led to reduced employee enthusiasm. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for job design, training and development of supervisors, employee well-being and performance.