Millennials in the workplace: perceived supervisor support, work–life balance and employee well–being

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived supervisor support (PSS), work–life balance (WLB) and employee well-being (EW) of millennial employees. More specifically, the study explores the mediation impact of WLB in the relationship between PSS and EW. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 235 full-time millennial employees working for the financial sector in Turkey. The aforesaid relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling and the bootstrapping procedure. Findings The results indicate that PSS positively influenced WLB which, in turn, impacted EW. Research limitations/implications Since this is a cross-sectional research study, causal inferences cannot be inferred from the research outcomes. Practical implications The findings show that supervisors play a critical role in enhancing employees’ ability to maintain a balance between work and personal obligations which improves their well-being. This implies that the supervisor’s actions impact the well-being of employees, which, in turn, influences how an employee perceives the organization. So employers need to formulate policies and programs that encourage work–life balance in the workplace so as to improve EW beyond the workplace, as improving EW and supporting employees can help create a healthy workforce helping organizations to avoid unnecessary health costs. Originality/value Only a few research efforts have been conducted toward exploring the mediation role of WLB between PSS and EW. The findings advance the understanding of how PSS could enhance EW in a mediation model.