More Than Stress: How Supervisor Support Shapes the Effects of Workplace Harassment on Employee Satisfaction

Abstract

This study examines the effect of workplace sexual harassment on job satisfaction by investigating the mediating role of job stress and the moderating role of supervisory support. Using data from the Sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey, the study employs the PROCESS macro to estimate mediation, moderation, and conditional process models. The results indicate that workplace sexual harassment increases job stress and decreases job satisfaction. Contrary to expectations, however, job stress does not mediate the relationship between workplace sexual harassment and job satisfaction. Instead, in the full model controlling for organizational and demographic characteristics, job stress exhibits a small but statistically significant positive association with job satisfaction, suggesting that employees’ responses to workplace sexual harassment involve more complex psychological and organizational processes than previously assumed. Supervisory support significantly influences both relationships. Although greater supervisory support reduces job stress, its positive effect on job satisfaction diminishes as the frequency of workplace sexual harassment increases. In addition, private-sector employees reported higher levels of job stress and lower levels of job satisfaction overall, whereas public-sector employees reported a slightly higher frequency of workplace sexual harassment. These findings suggest that preventing workplace sexual harassment and promoting employee well-being require managerial approaches that simultaneously consider supervisory practices, sectoral organizational characteristics, and demographic differences.