ABSTRACT
Work organizations vary in the degree to which their members get along well or poorly. These variations are probably related to the structure of the organizations, and also to the organizational culture and existing ethics. For an organization to function well, it is very important that each member be willing to do something for another. We call this social support—a concept that signifies the fact that one human being recognizes the other person’s identity, values that person, and sometimes actually helps him or her. If an organizational member (employee) lacks adequate social support under conditions of high stress, there is a strong chance that he or she will suffer from strain (Winnubst, Buunk, & Marcelissen, 1988). Stress and strain develop in a sequential process (Marcelissen, 1987), and one of the outcomes is burnout (Gaines & Jermier, 1983).
