The Relationship between Ethnocultural Empathy and Perceived Organizational Support among Employees in Sabah, Malaysia

This study examines the relationship between ethnocultural empathy and perceived organizational support (POS) among government employees in Sabah, Malaysia. As workplace becomes increasingly diverse, understanding the role of ethnocultural empathy in shaping employees’ perceptions of organizational support has become increasingly important. Drawing on Organizational Support Theory (OST), this study investigates the influence of four dimensions of ethnocultural empathy, empathic feeling and expression (EFE), empathic perspective taking (EPT), acceptance of cultural difference (ACD), and empathic awareness (EA) on employees perceived organizational support. Data was collected from 213 respondents representing diverse ethnic backgrounds using the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) and the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE). Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted using SPSS to examine the relationships between the variables and to identify the strongest predictors of POS. Results revealed that two dimensions of ethnocultural empathy (EPT and ACD) were positively correlated with POS, indicating that employees who exhibit higher ethnocultural empathy perceive greater support from their organizations. Meanwhile EA dimension was negatively correlated to POS indicating employees who were aware of discrimination and stereotyping other ethnicity would have lower level of POS. Only EFE did not show a significant correlation to POS. Multiple regression analysis further identified EA as the strongest predictor of POS, followed by EPT. These findings suggest that employees' ability to recognize and understand cultural differences plays a critical role in shaping their perceptions of organizational support. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on organizational behavior by highlighting the importance of ethnocultural empathy in fostering a supportive work environment. Practically, the findings suggest that organizations can enhance employees’ POS by fostering empathy, promoting cultural competence, and implementing inclusive workplace practices that strengthen social support and interethnic workplace relations.

ethnocultural empathy, perceived organizational support, multicultural workplace, employees

1. Arghode, V., Lathan, A., Alagaraja, M., Rajaram, K., & McLean, G. N. (2022). Empathic organizational culture and leadership: Conceptualizing the framework. European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 46, No. 1-2, 239–256. DOI: 10.1108/EJTD-09-2020-0139 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. d’Osia A. V., & Meier, L. L. (2024). Empathy in the workplace: Disentagling affective from cognitive empathy. Occupational Health Science, 8, 883 – 904. DOI: 10.1007/s41542-024-00197-9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Eisenberger, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 71, No. 3, 500 – 507. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Firmansyah, A., Junaedi, I.W.R., Kistyanto, A., & Azzuhri, M. (2022) The effect of perceived organizational support on organizational citizenship behavior and organizational commitment in public health center during COVID-19 pandemic. Front. Psychol. 13:938815. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.938815 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Fix, R. L. (2020). Justice is not blind: Preliminary evaluation of an implicit bias training for justice professionals. Race and Social Problems, 13, 362 – 374. DOI: 10.1007/s12552-020-09297-x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Fuller, M., Kamans, E., van Vuuren, M., Wolfensberger, M., & de Jong, M. D. T. (2021). Conceptualizing empathy competence: A professional communication perspective. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol. 35(3), 333–368. DOI: 10.1177/10506519211001125journals.sage.com/home/jbt [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Getrude, G.C (2024). Empati dari perspektif psikologi sosial. Kota Kinabalu:Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Sabah. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Hafenbrack, A. C., Cameron, L. D., Spreitzer, G. M., Zhang, C., Noval, L. J., & Shaffakat, S. (2020). Helping people by being in the present: Mindfulness increases prosocial behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Volume 159, 21 – 38. DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.08.005 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Holmgreen, L., Tirone, V., Gerhart, J., & Hobfoll, S. E. (2017). Conservation of Resources Theory. Resource caravans and passageways in health context. The Handbook of stress and health: A guide to research and practice, 443 – 457 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Kao, J. C., Cho, C. C., & Kao, R. H. (2023). Perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior-A study of the moderating effect of volunteer participation motivation, and cross-level effect of transformational leadership and organizational climate. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1082130. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1082130 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Kapikirin, N. A. (2023). Sources of ethnocultural empathy: Personality, intergroup relations, affects. Current Psychology 42(14), 11510 – 11528. DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02286-2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Klimecki, O. M. (2019). The role of empathy and compassion in conflict resolution. Emotion Review, Vol. 11, No. 4, 310– 325. DOI: 10.1177/1754073919838609 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Li, M., Ariff Jameel, Ma, Z., Sun, H., Abid Hussain, & Sidra Mubeen. (2022). Prism of employee performance through the means of internal support: A study of perceived organizational support. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 15, 965– 976. DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S346697 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Li, M., Chen, R., Liu, Q., Yang, M., Li, B., Li, H., Yan, Z., Wang, Q., Gao, R., & Gao, Q. (2026). The relationship between perceived organizational support and presenteeism among pediatric nurses in China: professional identity plays a mediating role. BMC Nursing, 25:311, 1 – 12. DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-04347-y [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Longmire, N. H., & Harrison, D. A. (2018). Seeing their side versus feeling their pain: Differential consequences of perspective-taking and empathy at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(8), 894 – 915. DOI: 10.1037/apl0000307 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Mathur, V. A., Harada, T., Lipke, T. & Chiao, J. Y. (2010). Neural basis of extraordinary empathy and altruistic motivation. Neurolmage, 51, 1468 – 1475. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.03.025 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Miceli, M. P., & Mulvey, P. W. (2000). Consequences of satisfaction with pay systems: Two field studies. Industrial Relations, 39, 62– 87. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Newman, D., Moreland, M. L., Mendez Serrano, K. N., & Yalch, M. M. (2023). Interpersonal valence of ethnocultural empathy. Cogent Psychology, 10:1,2262862, 1 – 11. DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2023.2262860 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Peifer, J. S., Lawrence, E. C., Williams, J. L., & Leyton-Armakan, J. (2016). The culture of mentoring: Ethnocultural empathy and ethnic identity in mentoring for minority girls. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 3, 440-446. DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000078 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Peña-Acuña, B., Toscano-Fuentes, C. M., & Flor- Arasil, P. (2025). Cultural openness and desire to learn in relation to ethnocultural empathy among university students in multilingual context. Front Psychology, 16, 1463349, 1– 10. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1463349 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Raosoft, Inc. (2004). Sample size calculator [Online calculator]. Retrieved from https://raosoftcalculator.net/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Sun, L. (2019). Perceived organizational support: A literature review. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Vol.9, No. 3, 155-175. DOI: 10.5296/ijhrs.v9i3.15102 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Taufik, T. (2019). Ethnocultural empathy in a pluralistic society: Inter-ethnic relationships of Javanese and Chinese children in Surakarta. The Open Psychology Journal, 12(1), 95 – 101. DOI: 10.2174/1874350101912010095 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. the Official Website of Sabah State Government. (2021). Retrieved from https://sabah.gov.my/introduction [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Wang, Y-W., Davidson, M. M., Yakushko, O. F., Savoy, H. B., Tan, J. A., & Bleier, J. K. (2003). The scale of ethnocultural empathy: Development validation and reliability. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 50, No. 2, 221-234. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.50.2.221 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Wang, Z., Liu, Z., & Lu, J. (2026). Perceived organizational support and change fatigue in nurses’ innovative behavior: a cross-sectional study in Sichuan, China. BMC Nursing, 25:278, 1 – 10. DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-04419-z [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Wei, R., Zhang, Q., Li, X., Liang, Z., Liu, J., & Ma, H. (2026). The relationships between clinical nurse leadership and emotional labor, psychological detachment, and perceived organizational support: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 25:341, 1 – 10. DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-04334-3 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• A Comparative Study of Adjustment Level, Parental Income and Academic Achievement of Adolescent Girls
• Increase in STIs among Adolescents in Masvingo District
• A Correlation between SDG 4 (Quality Education) and Emotional Disposition of Teacher Educators in Hyderabad District
• Ear Piercing Behaviour and Self-Esteem among Male University Students in Nigeria
• A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-Being