Perceived organizational support (POS) scale and meaning

Perceived organizational support is employees' general belief about how much the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger et al., 1986). According to social exchange theory, when employees feel supported by the organization, they reciprocate with commitment, effort and a lower intention to quit. In Vietnam, the concept is often an independent or mediating variable in studies on organizational commitment, engagement, turnover intention and organizational citizenship behavior.

Comparing the scales

Items of each scale

Original English wording from the published source. Replace placeholders such as [system] or [brand] with what your study is about, and pilot the questionnaire with 20 to 30 respondents first.

Perceived Organizational Support (POS) · Perceived organizational support

Code	Item
POS1	The organization values my contribution to its well-being.
POS2 (R)	If the organization could hire someone to replace me at a lower salary it would do so.
POS3 (R)	The organization fails to appreciate any extra effort from me.
POS4	The organization strongly considers my goals and values.
POS5 (R)	The organization would ignore any complaint from me.
POS6 (R)	The organization disregards my best interests when it makes decisions that affect me.
POS7	Help is available from the organization when I have a problem.
POS8	The organization really cares about my well-being.
POS9 (R)	Even if I did the best job possible, the organization would fail to notice.
POS10	The organization is willing to help me when I need a special favor.
POS11	The organization cares about my general satisfaction at work.
POS12 (R)	If given the opportunity, the organization would take advantage of me.
POS13 (R)	The organization shows very little concern for me.
POS14	The organization cares about my opinions.
POS15	The organization takes pride in my accomplishments at work.
POS16	The organization tries to make my job as interesting as possible.

Source: Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison & Sowa (1986). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Perceived organizational support.

Use in the survey kit

(R): reverse-coded item; recode before analysis. Perceived organizational support: 1–7 scale: new score = 1 + 7 − score = 8 − score; 1–5 scale: new score = 1 + 5 − score = 6 − score.

Tips

• The scale has 7 reverse-coded items; recode them before computing Cronbach's alpha, otherwise alpha will be very low.
• 16 items is fairly long; if your questionnaire already has many constructs, consider a shorter version, but cite the source of that short version.
• Distinguish support from the organization and support from the direct supervisor: the two concepts correlate but have different targets.
• The original scale uses 7 points; if you change to 5 points, state it in chapter 3.

Once you have a scale, put the concept in the research model drawer to state your hypotheses, work out the minimum sample size, and after data collection check reliability with the Cronbach's alpha calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How does perceived organizational support differ from supervisor support?

Organizational support is the perception of the company in general; supervisor support is the perception of the direct manager. Many studies measure both and let supervisor support affect organizational support.

Where does POS usually sit in a model?

Usually as an independent variable affecting organizational commitment, work engagement or turnover intention, or as a mediator between HR policies and those outcomes.

Do I need to use all 16 items?

Not required if there is a source for a short form, but keeping all 16 items makes comparison with earlier studies easier. If you drop items, state which ones and why.

References

• Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500