Jia Rung Wu1, Kanako Iwanaga2, Fong Chan3, Beatrice Lee4, Xiangli Chen5, Robert Walker6, Karen L Fortuna7, Jessica M Brooks8. 1. Department of Counselor Education, Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 North St. Louis Ave, 60625, Chicago, IL, USA. jrwu11@neiu.edu. 2. Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia Commonwealth University, 900 East Leigh Street, 23298, Richmond, VG, USA. 3. Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1000 Bascom Hall, 53706, Madison, WI, USA. 4. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, 460 Erickson Hall, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA. 5. Center for Employment and Disability Research, Kessler Foundation and Rutgers University, 120 Eagle Rock Avenue, 07936, East Hanover, NJ, USA. 6. Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, 25 Staniford St, 02114, Boston, MA, USA. 7. Geisel School of Medicine, Department of Mental Health, Dartmouth College, 03766, Lebanon, NH, USA. 8. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of peer support specialists in helping people with severe mental illness increase community tenure, decrease hospitalization, boost treatment satisfaction, improve social functioning, and increase quality of life. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate positive organizational psychology constructs as serial multiple mediators of the relationships between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction among peer support specialists. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-one peer support specialists from the Texas statewide peer certification training programs and the National Association of Peer Supporters participated in the present study. These peer support specialists completed an online survey composed of self-report measures related to perceived organizational support, positive organizational psychology factors, and job satisfaction. A serial multiple mediation (SMMA) analysis was conducted to evaluate autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment as mediators of the relationship between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. RESULTS: The SMMA model accounted for 49% of the variation in job satisfaction scores (R2 =. 49, f2 = 0.96 [> 0.35], a large effect size). Autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment were significantly associated with job satisfaction after controlling for the effect of perceived organizational support. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived organizational support increased autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Peer support specialists are integral members of the interdisciplinary mental health treatment team. Leaders of community-based mental health and rehabilitation agencies who are committed to hire and retain peer support specialists must provide strong organizational support and develop interventions to increase peer support specialists' autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment as a job retention and career development strategy.
BACKGROUND: Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of peer support specialists in helping people with severe mental illness increase community tenure, decrease hospitalization, boost treatment satisfaction, improve social functioning, and increase quality of life. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate positive organizational psychology constructs as serial multiple mediators of the relationships between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction among peer support specialists. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-one peer support specialists from the Texas statewide peer certification training programs and the National Association of Peer Supporters participated in the present study. These peer support specialists completed an online survey composed of self-report measures related to perceived organizational support, positive organizational psychology factors, and job satisfaction. A serial multiple mediation (SMMA) analysis was conducted to evaluate autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment as mediators of the relationship between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. RESULTS: The SMMA model accounted for 49% of the variation in job satisfaction scores (R2 =. 49, f2 = 0.96 [> 0.35], a large effect size). Autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment were significantly associated with job satisfaction after controlling for the effect of perceived organizational support. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived organizational support increased autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Peer support specialists are integral members of the interdisciplinary mental health treatment team. Leaders of community-based mental health and rehabilitation agencies who are committed to hire and retain peer support specialists must provide strong organizational support and develop interventions to increase peer support specialists' autonomous motivation to work, work engagement, and organizational commitment as a job retention and career development strategy.