Social Support
Providing social support for your subordinates is an extremely important part of being a leader. Social support can mean a number of things. Mostly, though, providing social support means that you help your subordinates and that your relationship with them is of a good quality.1
Instrumental Social Support (Cooperation Over Work) – If you provide your subordinates with instrumental social support, it means that you are helping them with the actual work that they have to do. Perhaps they have questions as to how it should be done, or they are lacking the resources they need in order to do it. By providing them with instrumental social support, you are answering their questions so they can do their work, or giving them the tools they need in order to do it.2
Emotional Social Support (Social Activity) – If you provide your subordinates with emotional social support, it means that you are there for them in more of a friendly capacity. If they need to discuss some problems, you listen and help them to feel better about those problems. You might do this by letting them know that they are not alone - perhaps you experience similar problems. You also might do this by encouraging them and letting them know that you believe in them.2
The kind of support you use will depend how intimate of a relationship you have with a subordinate. If you have a very intimate relationship, you may use a more intimate type of support. However, if your relationship is not very intimate, you may want to use a more formal type of support.2
The kind of support you use will also depend on the kind of stress your subordinate is experiencing.
Instrumental - If they have too much work or work that they are unable to do on their own, instrumental support is more effective. Instrumental social support is effective anytime your subordinate could use hands on help.
Emotional - Although it is used in many situations, emotional support is most useful when the subordinate does not need hands on help with their work, but does need to talk about what is going on in their life and at work, with someone who cares.
Leading Others – Social support is highly related to many of the Leading Others competencies. To have a good quality relationship with your subordinates you need to be comfortable interacting and working with them (Social Orientation). In order to really help your subordinates, you have to be aware of and understand how and why they react to you and their work the way that they do (Social Perceptiveness). By actively seeking out ways to assist your subordinates in their duties (Service Orientation), you are providing social support. Finally, by providing social support, you will encourage positive and cooperative working relationships with your subordinates (Nurturing Relationships).
Social Responsibility – Some of the Social Responsibility competencies are related to social support also. By letting subordinates who are upset to voice their displeasures without repercussions (Open-Door Policy) you are, in effect, promoting a climate of openness and trust, and providing them with social support. You can also provide support by being attentive to their needs, empathizing with their concerns, and serving their best interests (Servant Leadership).
Social support is a useful tool for helping alleviate stress. After looking at many studies about social support, researchers have concluded that social support can be instrumental in preventing the negative effects of stress. People who receive a lot of social support actually experience few illnesses, are happier with their jobs and life in general, have fewer psychological problems, and don’t experience the feeling of burnout as much as other people with the same amount of stress, but very little social support. Although providing social support cannot completely eliminate the negative effects of stress, it does help to manage them.1
It is important to remember that all of your subordinates will need social support at certain times. Some research has shown that people who are good at giving social support are more likely to receive it. This may be true for your group as well. If one of your subordinates is very socially adept and they provide their coworkers and even you with social support, you may tend to want to give that person more support than the others. However, don’t forget to tend to the others’ needs as well.3
Social support might be a preference. One thing to consider is whether or not your subordinates even want social support from you. Some people may need social support more than others do. You should always try to give your subordinates what they need, but not more than what they need.
Social support is beneficial when there is a lot of stress. Pay attention to what your employees’ stress level is like. They might be experiencing stress at work, or at home. If you notice an employees’ stress level seems higher than usual, or higher than their coworkers’ stress levels, try to find ways to support them.1
Providing social support to people from different cultures, and also when you are in a different culture yourself, will differ depending on location. Some research has been completed that might help clear this up. The following information highlights differences in the amount of social support given and received across cultures. So, when working in another country, or with employees from different cultures, it might be beneficial to inquire about the level of social support that is desired from your subordinates. Remember, though, not to assume someone likes or dislikes social support just because of where they are from. Always tailor the type and amount of social support you give to the individual.
Ø Japanese employees tend to receive more support from leaders than American employees do. This might be because of a specific preference for leader support, or it might mean that we need to pay more attention to providing social support in our leadership roles here.4
Ø Dutch employees report a much lower level of social support from leaders than American employees. Once again, this could be because of preference.5
Ø Hispanic employees have been shown to perceive more discrimination than white employees. Also, when someone does not receive much social support, ill health results from discrimination. For this reason, it is important to consider that you provide people with social support regardless of their ethnicity. Special attention may also be needed to ensure proper social support is provided to ethnic groups who experience a lot of discrimination in the workplace.6
Ø In South Africa, black employees were more likely to receive social support from their peers while white employees were more likely to receive social support from leaders.7 This finding might indicate that special attention needs to be paid to the amount of social support you give to subordinates of different racial groups. It has also been shown that the amount of social support for leaders in South Africa is less what Americans receive. This could mean that they prefer it that way, or it could mean that they need to improve on this.5
Relevant Competencies
Social Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Nurturing Relationships, Open-Door Policy, Servant Leadership
References
1Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I., & Fisher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the
process of work stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54,
314-334.
2Henderson, M., & Argyle, M. (1985). Social support by four categories of work colleagues: Relationships between activities, stress and satisfaction. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 6(3), 229-239.
3Bowling, N. A., Beehr, T. A., Johnson, A. L., Semmer, N. K., Hendricks, E. A., &
Webster, H. A. (2004). Explaining potential antecedents of workplace social
support: Reciprocity or attractiveness? Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, 9(4), 339-350.
4DeFrank, R. S., Ivancevich, J. M., & Schweiger, D. M. (1988). Job stress and mental
well-being: Similarities and differences among American, Japanese, and Indian
managers. Behavioral Medicine, 14(4), 160-170.
5Strumpfer, D. J. W. (1989). Do white south African managers suffer from exceptional levels of job stress? South African Journal of Psychology, 19(3), 130-137.
6Gutierres, S. E., Saenz, D. S., & Green, B. L. (1994). Job stress and health outcomes
Among white and Hispanic person-environment fit model. In G. P. Keita, & J. J.
Hurrell Jr. (Eds.), Job Stress in a Changing Workforce: Investigating Gender,
Diversity, and Family Issues (pp. 107-125). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
7Orpen, C. (1982). The effect of social support on reactions to role ambiguity and
conflict: A study among white and black clerks in South Africa. Journal of Cross-
Cultural
Psychology, 13(3), 375-384.
~ Contributed by Sara Langford