CONTRIBUTIONS OF DEEP-LEVEL SIMILARITY AND INFORMAL INTERACTION FREQUENCY WITH SUPERVISOR ON WORK ENGAGEMENT

Based on social psychological research involving interpersonal relationships, I hypothesize that deep-level similarity exerts its influence on engagement through its effect on perceived supervisor support. Also the strength of the relationship between deep-level similarity and perceived supervisor support is contingent on the informal interaction frequency with the supervisor. Data from 2,382 employees (Study 1) were used to test the relationships between deep-level similarity and work engagement as well as the moderating role of informal interaction frequency. To alleviate concerns about inferences of causality, longitudinal data from 91 employees (Study 2) were used to replicate the findings. Results showed consistent support for the positive effects of deep-level similarity on engagement and the positive influence of interaction frequency on perceived supervisor support. The mediation hypothesis that deep-level similarity related to engagement through perceived supervisor support was also supported. Informal interaction frequency’s effects on deep-level similarity and perceived supervisor support relationship were mixed.