Information About Assessing Perceived Organizational Support
Consistent with the view that employees form a general belief regarding the organization’s commitment to them, Eisenberger et al. (1986) reported that employees showed a consistent pattern of agreement with statements concerning whether the organization appreciated their contributions and would treat them favorably or unfavorably in differing circumstances. Subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with employees from diverse occupations and organizations provide evidence for the high internal reliability and unidimensionality of Eisenberger et al.’s scale (Survey of Perceived Organizational Support; SPOS), both in its original, 36-item form and subsequent, shorter versions (e.g.,Armeli, Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Lynch, 1998; Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990; Lynch, Eisenberger, & Armeli, 1999; Shore & Tetrick, 1991; Shore & Wayne, 1993). Employees evidently believe that the organization has a general positive or negative orientation toward them that encompasses both their contributions and their welfare.
POS has been found to be related to yet distinct from affective organizational commitment (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Settoon, Bennett, & Liden, 1996; Rhoades, Eisenberger, & Armeli, 2001; Shore & Tetrick, 1991), effort-reward expectancies (Eisenberger et al., 1990), continuance commitment (Shore & Tetrick, 1991), leader–member exchange (
The majority of studies on POS use a short form developed from the 17 highest loading items in the SPOS (Eisenberger et al., 1986). A link to the 36-item Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) is given below. The items indicated by an asterisk are a 17-item short form. The reference for the scale is:
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500-507.
If a still shorter 8-item version of the scale is needed, the following scale selected from high loading items from the original SPOS may be used:
1. The organization values my contribution to its well-being.
3. The organization fails to appreciate any extra effort from me. (R)
7. The organization would ignore any complaint from me. (R)
9. The organization really cares about my well-being.
17. Even if I did the best job possible, the organization would fail to notice. (R)
21. The organization cares about my general satisfaction at work.
23. The organization shows very little concern for me. (R)
27. The organization takes pride in my accomplishments at work.
This 8-item scale follows the recommendation of Rhoades and Eisenberger (2002, p. 699) that “Because the original scale is unidimensional and has high internal reliability, the use of shorter versions does not appear problematic. Prudence nevertheless dictates that both facets of the definition of POS (valuation of employees’ contribution and care about employees’ well-being) be represented in short versions of the questionnaire.”
The above 1986 article should be referenced if you are going to use the 8-item version. Item numbers refer to the 1986 article.
17 item and 36 item questionnaires.