Staying grounded to thrive: how job insecurity transforms managerial support and organizational job embeddedness for technology professionals

Purpose Grounded in conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study investigates the impact of managerial support on thriving at work through the mediating role of organizational job embeddedness. It further examines the moderating effect of job insecurity on the relationship between managerial support and organizational job embeddedness, as well as its influence on the mediated relationship between managerial support and thriving at work. Design/methodology/approach Two-wave data (N = 247) were collected from professionals working in information technology (IT) firms in Pakistan. Findings The path analysis results (AMOS 24) revealed that managerial support is positively associated with both organizational job embeddedness and thriving at work. Furthermore, managerial support exerts an indirect effect on thriving at work through organizational job embeddedness. In addition, job insecurity negatively moderates the relationship between managerial support and organizational job embeddedness, as well as the mediated relationship between managerial support and thriving at work. Originality/value This study extends the literature by uncovering organizational job embeddedness as a key mechanism linking managerial support to thriving at work and by identifying job insecurity as a boundary condition that constrains this relationship. Practically, the findings highlight the need for IT firms to strengthen managerial support while addressing job insecurity to foster employee thriving at work.