Intraorganizational communication, perceived organizational support, and gender

Gender differences in the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee perceptions of their communication with top management, immediate supervisors, and coworkers are investigated in a university and in two engineering firms. Respondents were predominantly Caucasian Americans. Gender moderated the relationship between perceived organizational support and two communication variables (coworker communication relationship and coworker information quality). Males reporting a positive coworker communication relationship also indicated higher perceived organizational support. This pattern did not emerge for females. Males who perceived receiving higher quality information from coworkers reported higher perceived organizational support. While a similar pattern emerged for females, the relationship was weaker.