A Structural Model of Relationships Between Employee Characteristics, Supervisory Mentoring Behaviors and Job Satisfaction

<p>Organizational researchers have consistently found that developmental mentoring has a positive effect on employees professional and career success. Some of the benefits that have been cited include increased job satisfaction, increased organizational commitment, and increased self-esteem among mentored employees. In addition to these short-term benefits, developmental mentoring has also been found to positively impact long-term career outcomes in the form of increased compensation and career mobility for mentored employees as compared to non-mentored employees. Traditionally, mentors have been described as influential senior members of an organization who provide career support and developmental opportunities to less experienced employees, who are referred to as protégés. In recent years, researchers have suggested that immediate supervisors may serve as mentors to their subordinates. In this capacity, a supervisor goes beyond the formal boss-subordinate relationship, serving as a role model to the subordinate and providing the subordinate with coaching, support, and career-related counseling. The purpose of the present study was to extend our understanding of developmental mentoring within supervisory relationships by testing a structural model of relationships between employee characteristics, supervisory mentoring behaviors, and facets of employee job satisfaction. The model was tested using data from 327 employees of a large Southeastern city government who provided information about their personal characteristics, job satisfaction, and supervisory mentoring experiences. The results indicated that employees' core self-evaluations impact the extent to which supervisory mentoring is received and the extent to which employees are satisfied with the supervisor, the advancement opportunities, and the opportunities for growth and development on the job. Similar findings were obtained for racial and gender similarity with the supervisor. However, the relationships between demographic similarity and supervisory mentoring were mediated by interpersonal comfort with the supervisor. Limitations of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2006

Author dc:creator

• Jinadu, Florence R.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Terry L. Dickinson
• Diane Catanzaro
• Donald D. Davis
• Janis Sanchez-Hucles

• Employee
• Human resource development
• Job satisfaction
• Mentoring
• Supervisory
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• <p>In Copyright. URI: <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).</p>

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_etds/130

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:psychology_etds-1130