A Virtuous Cycle: Reciprocal Relations Between Work Flexibilization and Perceived Organizational Support

Organizational support theory suggests that human resource practices are important antecedents of perceived organizational support which, in turn, influences employees’ orientation toward their organization and their work behavior, including further engagement with human resource practices. Based on organizational support theory and social exchange theory, we hypothesized positive and reciprocal within-person relations between work flexibilization and perceived organizational support. We tested these hypotheses using 30 waves of longitudinal data collected between July 2020 and December 2022 from n = 1,000 full-time employees in Germany. Using an autoregressive latent trajectory model with structured residuals (ALT-SR), results suggest that higher levels of work flexibilization are associated with subsequently higher levels of perceived organizational support, and vice versa. These results suggest a dynamic and reciprocal within- person process wherein positive deviations from one’s average trajectory of work flexibilization (perceived organizational support) are subsequently related to higher levels of perceived organizational support (work flexibilization). These findings imply a virtuous cycle where work flexibilization leads to more favorable perceptions of organizational support which, in turn, leads to an increase in employees’ use of work flexibilization. However, such positive effects may be short-lived (i.e., lasting between approximately 15- and 20-months), likely diminishing in strength over time.