Cultural and Organizational Perceptions of Support Towards Mental Health Outcomes: A Study of Maori Employees

Abstract

The present study tests a culturally specific dimension of perceived organizational support (POS) based on support for Maori culture in the workplace. Meta­analyses of POS have shown it to be a strong predictor of many employee outcomes, and we extend the literature by testing perceived organizational support for culture (POSC) on a group of 345 employed Maori. The present study suggests that indigenous employees will perceive greater support from their organizations when their cultural values and beliefs are upheld and supported, which should lead to beneficial effects. Due to the high prevalence amongst Maori, we test this towards mental health outcomes. Data was collected in two time periods, with POS and POSC collected at time one and mental health outcome at time two (two weeks later). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the study measures and the measurement model met all the minimal requirements. In particular, POSC and POS were found to be distinct constructs and both correlated significantly and negatively with mental health outcomes. POSC was found to be positively related to POS and negatively related to anxiety, depression and insomnia. An additional mediation model was run, where POS was tested as mediating the effects of POSC towards outcomes and this was fully supported. Overall, POSC predicted POS and in turn, POS predicted all mental health outcomes in the expected direction. The present study suggests that support for indigenous employee’s cultural beliefs is likely to have positive indirect effects towards mental health, working through employee perceptions of support.