Organizational support practices and employee resilience in conflict-affected duty stations: a case of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) South Sudan

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between organizational support practices and employee resilience in conflict-affected duty stations, using the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) South Sudan as the case. The study was guided by three specific objectives: to establish the effect of psychosocial support services on employee resilience; to examine the effect of leadership and supervisory support on employee resilience; and to assess the effect of career development opportunities on employee resilience. The study was underpinned by Organizational Support Theory and adopted a cross-sectional research design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study population comprised 220 UNDP South Sudan personnel, from which a sample of 140 respondents was drawn using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table 132 selected through proportionate stratified random sampling for the questionnaire survey and 8 key informants selected purposively. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and an interview guide, and instrument reliability was confirmed with Cronbach alpha coefficients above 0.70 for all constructs. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that Psychosocial Support β = 0.298; Leadership Support β = 0.371; Career Development β = 0.194 and Collective variance explained = 55.1%. Collectively, the three practices explained per cent of the variation in employee resilience. The study concluded that resilience among personnel in conflict-affected duty stations was strongly shaped by deliberate organizational support. It recommended strengthening structured psychosocial care, capacity-building for supervisors in supportive leadership, and transparent career progression pathways for staff in hardship duty stations.