Journal of Organizational Behavior J. Organiz. Behav. 22, 537±550 2001) DOI: 10.1002/job.101 Job satisfaction and teamwork: the role of supervisor support MARK A. GRIFFIN 1 *,MALCOLMG.PATTERSON 2 AND MICHAEL A. WEST 3 1 Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia 2 The University of Shef®eld, Shef®eld, U.K. 3 The University of Aston, Aston, U.K. Summary The link between teamwork and job satisfaction was investigated in a sample of 48 manufac- turing companies comprising 4708 employees. Two separate research questions were addressed. First, it was proposed that supervisor support would be a weaker source of job satisfaction in companies with higher levels of teamworking. Multilevel analysis indicated that the extent of teamwork at the company level of analysis moderated the relationship between individual perceptions of supervisor support and job satisfaction. Second, it was pro- posed that the extent of teamwork would be positively related to perceptions of job autonomy but negatively related to perceptions of supervisor support. Further, it was proposed that the link between teamwork and job autonomy would be explained by job enrichment practices associated with teamwork. Analyses of aggregated company data supported these proposi- tions and provided evidence for a complex mediational path between teamwork and job satis- faction. Implications for implementing teamwork in organizations are discussed. Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Introduction Teamwork typically involves groups of interdependent employees who work cooperatively to achieve group outcomes Parker and Wall, 1998). Effective team implementation can enhance the motivational properties of work and increase job satisfaction. However, the job satisfaction of team members is determined by multiple factors such as the composition of the team, group processes within the team, and the nature of the work itself Campion etal., 1993; Gladstein, 1984). Because these factors operate in combination, there is no simple process through which teamwork in¯uences job satisfaction. Despite the potential advantages of teamwork, the introduction of teams sometimes fails to result in expected outcomes for individuals and organizations Hackman, 1990). This paper explores ways in which changes in leadership roles in¯uence overall job satisfaction in teams. Within the broad ®eld of leadership, we focus on employee experiences of supervisor support: the extent to which supervisors provide encouragement and support to employees within their work Received 5 June 1999 Accepted 6 November 2000 Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published online 26 June 2001 *Correspondence to: Mark A. Grif®n, School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4001, Australia. E-mail: m.grif®n@qut.edu.au