The moderating role of gender in the mediation of job satisfaction on the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement

BackgroundSupervisor support is an important job resource associated with positive employee outcomes, including job satisfaction and work engagement. However, the mechanisms linking perceived supervisor support to work engagement and the role of gender in this relationship require further clarification.ObjectiveThis study examined whether job satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement, and whether gender moderates this mediation model among employees in Türkiye.MethodsData were obtained from the 2015 Turkish sample of the 6th European Working Conditions Survey, including 1150 employed respondents. Perceived supervisor support, job satisfaction, and work engagement were measured using multi-item scales. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes' PROCESS Macro Models 4 and 59 with 5000 bootstrap resamples, controlling for age.ResultsPerceived supervisor support was positively associated with job satisfaction and work engagement. Job satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement. Gender did not moderate either the indirect effect through job satisfaction or the direct relationship between perceived supervisor support and work engagement.ConclusionsJob satisfaction is a key mechanism linking perceived supervisor support to work engagement. The findings suggest that the mediation pathway operates similarly across genders.