Sensory-friendly work environments and job satisfaction: The roles of perceived organizational support and managerial neurodiversity awareness

Drawing on Person–Environment Fit Theory and Social Exchange Theory, this study tested four hypotheses: that a sensory-friendly work environment (SFWE) is positively associated with JS (H1) and with perceived organizational support (POS) (H2); that POS mediates the SFWE–JS association (H3); and that managerial neurodiversity awareness (MNA) moderates it (H4). Although physical work environments are known to shape employee attitudes, the psychological mechanisms linking sensory-specific workplace design to job satisfaction (JS) remain unmapped, particularly in sub-Saharan African institutions. A cross-sectional survey of 312 administrative and academic staff at Valley View University, a private university in Ghana, was analyzed using structural equation modeling with bootstrapped indirect effects. SFWE was positively associated with JS (β = 0.35, p < .001) and POS (β = 0.52, p < .001); POS partially mediated the SFWE–JS association (indirect β = 0.41, 95% CI [0.25, 0.60]), accounting for approximately 54% of the total effect. MNA did not moderate the association but independently predicted JS (β = 0.40, p < .001). The study offers the first joint test of the SFWE–POS–JS pathway and the first evidence from a sub-Saharan African higher-education workforce, indicating that even low-cost sensory improvements, when visibly communicated as organizational care, may strengthen support perceptions and satisfaction among administrative and academic staff alike.