PERCEIVED RECIPROCITY, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND STRESS AT WORK - THE ROLE OF EXCHANGE AND COMMUNAL ORIENTATION

Perceived reciprocity regarding support in relationships at work was e xamined among employees of a psychiatric hospital (Study 1) and in a s tudy of employees of the Dutch National Railway Company (Study 2). Rel ationships with colleagues were more often perceived as reciprocal tha n relationships with superiors, and in relationships with superiors in dividuals more often fell overbenefited. Lack of reciprocity-being und erbenefited or being overbenefited-was in general associated with nega tive affect, and these effects were independent of the effect of perce ived job stress. In Study 2 it was also found that these effects were moderated by the individual-differences variables exchange orientation (the general expectation of immediate reciprocity) and communal orien tation (a positive regard for the needs and feelings of others).