Well-being of migrant workers in Taiwan during COVID-19 pandemic: the role of perceived organisational support, employee resilience and ethical leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived organisational support (POS) enhances the well-being of migrant workers in Taiwan by strengthening their resilience. In addition, the moderating role of ethical leadership in this association was investigated based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory.Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered from migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines with structured questionnaires during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 420 samples were analysed by testing the mediation and moderation model.Findings The results showed a significant effect of POS on migrant workers' well-being in Taiwan through the mediating role of resilience. Moreover, ethical leadership moderated the effect of POS on employee resilience and work well-being.Research limitations/implications The sample was restricted to Southeast Asian migrant workers who were employed in industrial sectors in Taiwan. The study considered several demographic variables, including language proficiency, nationality and marital status, which could result in cultural and language biases. A cross-sectional design and self-reported data were utilised, which could potentially create common method variance biases and inflated correlations across the research variables.Practical implications The present study may be helpful to organisational leaders in the process of designing approaches for promoting a people-oriented and harmonious workplace. Employee well-being can be strengthened through employee resilience (individual factors), as well as POS and ethical leadership (organisational factors).Originality/value This study supports the use of COR theory in confirming POS as a resource that strengthens employees' resilience capabilities and work well-being. Employee resilience serves as a mediator of the relationship between POS and employee well-being. Ethical leadership serves as a moderator in strengthening the relationships between POS and employee resilience, as well as between POS and work well-being of migrant workers.