Perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study Alexandra Panaccio * , Christian Vandenberghe HEC Montréal, 3000, Chemin de la Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Que., Canada H3T 2A7 article info Article history: Received 1 December 2008 Available online 11 June 2009 Keywords: Psychological well-being Organizational commitment Perceived organizational support Role stressors Social exchange theory Conservation of resources theory abstract Using longitudinal data (N = 220), we examined the contribution of perceived organiza- tional support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, per- ceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment independently from workplace stressors, we controlled for the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Analyses showed affective organizational commitment to mediate a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and well-being. In addition, perceived organizational support negatively related to perceived lack of employment alternatives which, in turn, was negatively related to well-being. Normative commitment and perceived sacrifice associated with leaving were unrelated to well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed under the lenses of social exchange and conservation of resources theories. Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In recent years, workplace well-being has received increasing amounts of attention from researchers and practitioners. Research has highlighted the detrimental effects of stress and psychological distress on individuals and organizations, which include poor physical health, reduced performance, absenteeism, and turnover (e.g., Beehr, Jex, Stacy, & Murray, 2000; Danna & Griffin, 1999; de Croon, Sluiter, Blonk, Broersen, & Frings-Dresen, 2004; Hardy, Woods, & Wall, 2003). As prior research has focused on the causes and consequences of ill-health, less attention has been paid to positive employee well-being (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999; Schaufeli, 2004; Wright & Cropanzano, 2000). Well-being is worth investigating, however, not only because understanding employees’ ‘‘optimal functioning” is likely beneficial to organizations, but because fostering employees’ health, happiness and betterment are legitimate goals and ends in themselves (Schaufeli, 2004; Wright, 2003). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships of perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational commitment with employee psychological well-being. Recent research on stress and well-being has been largely based on the job demands-resources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) but has neglected the possibility that relationships and exchanges with the organization may explain employee well-being, inde- pendently from the influence of role/job stressors. Previous research has demonstrated that POS, i.e., employees’ ‘‘global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being” (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986, p.501), relates positively to various facets of well-being (e.g., Dupre & Day, 2007; Jones, Smith, & Johnston, 2005; Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002; Stamper & Johlke, 2003). In parallel, we know from research that organizational commitment relates to employee well-being (e.g., Cropanzano, Rupp, & Byrne, 2003; Irving & Coleman, 2003; Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky, 2002; Zickar, Gibby, & Jenny, 2004). We intend to extend that 0001-8791/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.06.002 * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 514 340 6834. E-mail address: alexandra-joelle.panaccio@hec.ca (A. Panaccio). Journal of Vocational Behavior 75 (2009) 224–236 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Vocational Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb