P-174 Relationship Between Supervisors’ Work Engagement and Their Support to Subordinates: A Text Mining Analysis in a Japanese Manufacturing Company

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Introduction The aim of this study was to categorize the support provided by supervisors to their subordinates and ascertain the relationship between the degree of supervisors’ work engagement and the nature of their support. Methods We carried out a survey in a Japanese manufacturing company in 2022, utilizing open-ended questions regarding subordinates’ support. Text mining was employed to structure the responses into categories of supervisory support, which were subsequently contrasted based on different levels of supervisors’ work engagement. Results The study involved 729 participants, primarily male, in their 50s, employed in administrative roles, research and development, or production engineering. Supervisory support was structured into three categories (content of support, direction of support, and attitude toward support) and 11 subcategories. Frequently highlighted concepts included encouraging subordinates to take vacations and enhancing working conditions. Supervisors with high levels of work engagement showed a stronger focus on information retrieval, information transmission, and carefulness. Discussion Supervisors displaying high work engagement were found to engage in interactive communication and exhibit carefulness when providing support to their subordinates. Our findings elucidate the mechanisms of how work engagement contributes to supporting subordinates. However, due to the cross-sectional design and low response rate, these results should be generalized with caution. Conclusion Future studies are recommended to validate these findings across various industrial contexts and explore the causal links between supervisors’ work engagement and their support for subordinates.