Social Support and Organizational Commitment: Testing a Mediating Effect of Career Aspiration

Background / Purpose: South Korea has consistently recorded the lowest fertility rate in the world, with persistent gender inequities in the workplace contributing to this crisis. The country ranks 99th out of 146 in the Global Gender Gap Index, reflecting significant disparities in pay, career advancement, and workplace discrimination. A recent report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI, 2023) found that women’s employment disadvantages due to childbirth account for approximately 40% of the nation’s declining fertility rate. Career disruption after childbirth is a major barrier to women’s labor force participation and advancement. While the gender ratio is similar at entry-level positions, women remain severely underrepresented in executive and leadership roles, indicating structural barriers in the workplace. Prior research suggests that social support is a key factor for women’s employment and retention. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) and the Social Support Theory of Goal Setting (Locke, 1968), this study explores the relationships between different types of social support and organizational commitment and the mediating role of career aspiration in these relationships among women.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 7th Korean Women Manager Panel Survey collected in 2018. This national sample consisted of 2,202 women in managerial positions across various industries. The dependent variable, organizational commitment, measured individuals’ dedication to their current workplace, using six items adapted from Allen and Meyer’s (1991) organizational commitment scale. The independent variables included three indicators of social support: (1) supervisor support (having a supervisor with gender fairness and emotional support), (2) mentor support (receiving career-related support from a mentor), and (3) family support (receiving family support for their work). The mediating variable, career aspirations, was measured by a single question assessing the extent to which participants aspired to advance to their desired position rank within their current occupation (0= low aspiration to 3=high aspiration). Control variables included demographic factors (age, education, marital status, and gender) and workplace environments (position rank, CEO's gender equity awareness, organizational culture, presence of employee assistance programs, and flexible work arrangements). This study conducted a mediation analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0, applying the Sobel test and bootstrapping methods.

Results: Organizational commitment was directly and positively associated with supervisor support (b=.22, p<.001), mentor support (b=.18, p<.001), and family support (b=.22, p<.001). Controlling for other characteristics, career aspirations partially mediated the relationships between supervisor support and organizational commitment (b=.21, p<.001), as well as between family support and organizational commitment (b=.22, p<.001).

Discussion and Implication: The findings underscore the significant roles of social support and the mediating mechanism through career aspirations in shaping women's organizational commitment. This study will discuss pivotal roles of social workers and policymakers and the need for targeted policy and interventions, including mentoring programs through professional networks, work-family balance policies, and gender equality awareness programs to address structural biases in organizational culture. Ultimately, improving organizational conditions for women may contribute to broader social solutions, including efforts to alleviate the ongoing low fertility crisis in South Korea.