Perceived Supervisor Support Scale

What it measures

Measures employees' global beliefs about the extent to which their direct supervisor values their contributions and cares about their wellbeing. Supervisor support is theoretically and empirically distinct from organisational support — employees treat supervisors as agents of the organisation, meaning high supervisor support contributes to perceived organisational support, but the two constructs have independent effects on outcomes. PSS predicts job satisfaction, commitment, emotional wellbeing, reduced strain, and lower turnover intention above and beyond POS. In service marketing research, PSS is a critical determinant of frontline employee service quality — employees whose supervisors value and support them provide higher quality, more emotionally committed customer service.

Representative items

• My supervisor values my contribution to the organisation.
• My supervisor fails to appreciate any extra effort from me. (R)
• My supervisor cares about my general satisfaction at work.
• My supervisor strongly considers my goals and values.
• My supervisor would ignore any complaint from me. (R)

Citation

Eisenberger, R., Stinglhamber, F., Vandenberghe, C., Sucharski, I.L., & Rhoades, L. (2002). Perceived supervisor support: Contributions to perceived organizational support and employee retention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 565–573.