Intangible rewards and the workplace well-being of civilian Department of National Defence employees

Introduction: Since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, individuals have had an opportunity to re-evaluate the role of work in their lives. Shifts in worker values offer employers the possibility of revisiting their offerings in ways that optimize employee experiences and well-being while also considering employee heterogeneity. These offerings typically include traditional compensation elements, as well as non-financial, or intangible, rewards. Positioning intangible rewards as job resources, the present study explored the moderating influences of employee characteristics on the relationships between these resources and workplace well-being among civilian employees of the Department of National Defence (DND). Methods: This study consisted of secondary analyses of the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey microdata, restricted to DND employees. Specifically, latent moderation analyses regressed emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction on employee characteristics (i.e., disability status, leader status, age), intangible rewards (e.g., support for flexible work arrangements [FWAs], a manageable workload), and their interactions. Results: Overall, higher levels of recognition were associated with reduced emotional exhaustion, and greater support for FWAs was related to increased job satisfaction. The remaining relationships were more nuanced. For instance, support for FWAs was a stronger protective factor of emotional exhaustion among persons with disabilities relative to persons without disabilities, and workload management was a stronger determinant of job satisfaction among leaders compared with non-leaders. Discussion: Notwithstanding its limitations, this study has preliminary implications for research and practice, especially with respect to the recruitment and retention of key workforce segments.