Supportive Supervisor Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Work Engagement and Commitment of Young Social Workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong is an international city where the East meets the West and has a unique culture, attitude and inclusion towards social work. This paper will bring out the integration of such diversity inscribed in her historical background and the research findings will be able to harness the “Best of both Worlds” for social workers in other countries and cities to learn and develop cross-fertilization. The retirement of many experienced social workers is a pressing issue. The grooming of young social workers is crucial to provide better social services in the future. This study, conducted a cross-section research on the effects of supportive supervisor leadership, job satisfaction, and work engagement on the commitment and turnover intention of young social workers in HK. A questionnaire was developed and validated by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Structural Equation Modelling confirmed the proposed theoretical model of the relationships between the constructs. The findings, which supported the proposed model showed that supervisor supportive leadership has significant positive effects on all other variables. The findings underscore the need for further support to young social workers, particularly through enhancing supervisor supportive leadership and job satisfaction. This support is crucial to improving the social services provided in HK.