Caring for the carers: Organizational support,job crafting,and job satisfaction in a unionized worker cooperative

Abstract

This study examines how perceived organizational support (POS) and job crafting influence job satisfaction among home care workers in Cooperative Home Care Associates (CHCA), a unionized worker cooperative. Survey data from 314 workers and structural equation modeling indicate that the positive aspects of POS are the strongest predictor of satisfaction, with a modest indirect effect via cognitive job crafting. This suggests that, even in precarious care work, organizational support embedded in worker-led structures enhances satisfaction directly and by reshaping the meaning and value of work. This extends POS and job crafting theories to precarious labor and highlights worker-led organizations as viable institutional supports for care workers.