The Relationship Between Feedback Quality, Perceived Organizational Support, and Sense of Belongingness Among Conscientious Teleworkers

The belongingness literature has largely examined the antecedents of non-teleworkers’ sense of belongingness, but little attention has been paid to what job-related factors could affect teleworkers’ sense of belongingness. Grounded in organizational support theory, our research focuses on why feedback quality from the direct leader brings sense of belongingness and considers how conscientiousness of teleworkers shapes this effect. Based on data from 329 participants obtained at three different time points from one technology service organization in China, our results indicated that teleworkers’ perceived organizational support serves as an essential mediator of the positive relationship between feedback quality from the direct leader and sense of belongingness. Additionally, the teleworkers’ conscientiousness strengthened the positive direct effect of feedback quality on perceived organizational support and the indirect effect on sense of belongingness. The moderating role of conscientiousness in strengthening the link between feedback quality and perceived organizational support was significant for high levels of conscientiousness and not significant for low levels. Finally, we discussed theoretical and practical implications.

A Fitness App for Monitoring Walking Behavior and Perception (Runkeeper): Mixed Methods Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Physical activity has a strong positive impact on both physical and mental health, and public health interventions often encourage walking as a means to promote physical activity. Social connectivity, such as that among spouses, families, friends, and colleagues, highly influences physical activity. Although technology-based interventions have some influence on human behavior, they have not been fully implemented and evaluated for their influence on walking through social connectivity.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to pilot-test the organization of neighborhood walking clubs and use of a mobile app (Runkeeper) to encourage social connectedness and neighborhood cohesion, as well as to increase physical activity.

METHODS

We used a convenience sampling method to recruit 46 adults from an urban location in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. We assigned participants to teams based on their geographic location and neighborhood and required them to use the app (Runkeeper). Participants completed 2 self-administered web-based surveys before and after the intervention period. The surveys included standard measures to evaluate physical activity, social connectedness, perceived social support, and neighborhood cohesion (Buckner Neighborhood Cohesion Scale) before and after the intervention. Following the intervention, we randomly selected 14 participants to participate in postintervention, in-depth phone interviews to gain an understanding of their experiences.

RESULTS

This study was approved by the institutional review board in June 2018 and funded in January 2018. Recruitment started in May 2019 and lasted for 2 months. Data were collected from July 2019 to January 2020. In this study, Runkeeper was of limited feasibility as an app for measuring physical activity or promoting social connectedness. Data from the app recorded sparse and uneven walking behaviors among the participants. Qualitative interviews revealed that users experienced difficulties in using the settings and features of the app. In the questionnaire, there was no change between pre-post assessments in walking minutes (b=-.79; 95% CI -4.0 to 2.4; P=.63) or miles (b=-.07; 95% CI -0.15 to 0.01; P=.09). We observed a pre-post increase in social connectedness and a decrease in neighborhood cohesion. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicated that the psychosocial aspects of walking motivated the participants and helped them relieve stress. Interview results showed that participants felt a greater virtual connection in their assigned groups and enhanced connections with friends and family members.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study found that Runkeeper created a virtual connection among walking group members and its data sharing and ranking motivated walking. Participants felt that walking improved their mental health, helped to relieve stress, and made them feel more connected with friends or family members. In future studies, it will be important to use an app that integrates with a wearable physical activity device. There is also a need to develop and test intervention components that might be more effective in fostering neighborhood cohesion.