Social Support in the Times of Social Distancing: Learnings from the South Asian Context

ABSTRACT

This study will examine the relationship between social support from the work and family domains, referred to as multiple social network ties (MSNT), and employees' job and family-related performance outcomes during the COVID-19 crisis. The study also demonstrates the importance of employees' work-family balance (WFB) in moderating the association between MSNT and job and family-related performance. A two-wave design was used to collect data from 320 managerial level personnel in Pakistan's textile sector. The path analysis technique of structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses. In times of crisis, social support mechanisms could potentially replace organizational support mechanisms for employees dealing with work and family obligations, according to the study. The findings of this study show that work-family balance is a significant partial mediator between MSNT and employees' job and familyrelated outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a best-fit model. This research supports the pragmatic view of MSNT's action mechanism in generating jobs for employees and family-related results, especially in uncertain situations. According to the findings, employees who have a positive work-life balance are happier and more productive in both work and personal life. It has major implications for human resource management (HRM) research and practice.