The Social support divide: the unequal distribution of the benefits of social support among Chinese government employees

Social support can reduce the level of burnout and lower the influence of job stressor on burnout. However, these benefits may be unequally distributed between groups of different socioeconomic statuses (SES). Drawing upon the main effect model and the stress-buffering model of social support, the present study proposed a new concept—social support divide, meaning that high-SES groups should be more confident in support mobilization and enjoy more stress-buffering benefits of social support. A paper-pencil survey was conducted with 2801 employees in a municipal government in China. High-ranked government employees reported higher levels of perceived social support, which negatively predicted burnout, compared to their low-ranked counterparts. Additionally, perceived social support reduced the relationship between job stressor and burnout only among high-ranked government employees. These findings develop the scholarship on social support by suggesting that social support exchanges may be intertwined with power.