Relational Communication Messages and Employee Outcomes in Supervisor/Employee Relationships

Supervisors’ relational communication messages were used to predict specific employee outcomes. In the study, 307 participants working in various industries completed measures of relational communication about their direct supervisor along with measures of their job satisfaction, motivation, and organizational commitment. As predicted, intimacy, composure, and equality messages were positively related to job satisfaction, motivation, and organizational commitment. Dominance and formality messages were negatively related to job satisfaction, motivation, and organizational commitment. Regression analyses determined that affection/involvement, similarity/depth, and composure were the strongest predictors of employee outcomes.