Effets du soutien organisationnel perçu et des caractéristiques de l’emploi sur l’anxiété au travail et l’épuisement professionnel : le rôle médiateur de la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques.

Résumé L’objectif de cette étude était de démontrer le rôle médiateur de la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques d’autonomie, de compétence et d’affiliation dans les relations entre, d’une part, le soutien organisationnel perçu et trois caractéristiques motivationnelles dans la sphère professionnelle (i.e., l’identité de la tâche, l’importance de la tâche et l’autonomie dans la planification du travail), et d’autre part, l’anxiété au travail et l’épuisement professionnel. Quatre cent cinquante-sept salariés (216 hommes et 241 femmes) travaillant dans différents secteurs d’activité (ex., industrie, commerce, artisanat) ont participé à cette recherche. Les résultats ont révélé que le soutien organisationnel perçu et les caractéristiques de l’emploi étaient positivement reliés à la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques. En outre, la satisfaction de ces trois besoins était négativement associée à l’anxiété au travail et à l’épuisement professionnel. Les implications de ce travail et les perspectives de recherche ultérieure sont discutées. Based on organizational support theory, job characteristics model, and self-determination theory, we examined the mechanisms that underlie the relations between organizational factors and ill-being. Specifically, the main purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the mediating role of the psychological needs for autonomy (i.e., the need for individuals to feel volitional and responsible for their own behavior), competence (i.e., the need for individuals to interact effectively with their environment), and relatedness (i.e., the need for individuals to feel connected and accepted by others), in the relationships of perceived organizational support (i.e., the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being) and three motivational job characteristics (i.e., task identity, task significance, and work scheduling autonomy) to job anxiety and burnout. This is the first research, to the best of our knowledge, to test for the joint effects of perceived organizational support and motivational job characteristics on job anxiety and burnout through psychological need satisfaction. Four hundred and fifty-seven employees (216 men and 241 women) from different sectors (i.e., industry, trade, crafts) took part in the study. Fifty-seven participants worked in companies with less than 10 employees, 105 in companies with 11–49 employees, 138 in companies with 50–249 employees, 33 in companies with 250–499 employees, and 124 in companies with more than 500 employees. The hypothesized model was tested with structural equation modeling analyses. Results provided support for our hypotheses and revealed that all hypothesized paths were significant. Specifically, our results showed that perceived organizational support and job characteristics were positively related to psychological need satisfaction. In addition, satisfaction of these psychological needs was negatively associated with job anxiety and burnout. Therefore, feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness play a central role in the development or reduction of well- and ill-being at work. These results are consistent with previous research in the work context, which has shown that social factors (e.g., autonomy-supportive behaviors) have significant effects on workplace mental health through their influence on psychological need satisfaction. Practical and research implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]