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Does Employee Recognition Affect Positive Psychological Functioning and Well-Being?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2015

Mª Dolores Merino  and
Jesús Privado
Mª Dolores Merino*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Jesús Privado
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mª Dolores Merino. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Facultad de Psicología. Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológico II (Ps. Diferencial y del Trabajo). Campus de Somosaguas, 28223. Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid (Spain). Phone: +34–913943174. Fax: +34–913942820. E-mail: lolamerino@psi.ucm.es; jesus.privado@pdi.ucm.es
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Abstract

Employee recognition is one of the typical characteristics of healthy organizations. The majority of research on recognition has studied the consequences of this variable on workers. But few investigations have focused on understanding what mechanisms mediate between recognition and its consequences. This work aims to understand whether the relationship between employee recognition and well-being, psychological resources mediate. To answer this question a sample of 1831 workers was used. The variables measured were: employee recognition, subjective well-being and positive psychological functioning (PPF), which consists of 11 psychological resources. In the analysis of data, structural equation models were applied. The results confirmed our hypothesis and showed that PPF mediate the relationship between recognition and well-being. The effect of recognition over PPF is two times greater (.39) with peer-recognition than with supervisor-recognition (.20), and, the effect of PPF over well-being is .59. This study highlights the importance of promoting employee recognition policies in organizations for the impact it has, not only on well-being, but also on the positive psychological functioning of the workers.

Keywords

employee recognitionpsychological resourceswell-beinghealthy organizations
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 18 , 2015 , E64
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2015 

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