How Do National Values Contribute to Perceived Organizational Resilience and Employee Resilience in Times of Disaster?: An Example from the Philippines

The research sought to address gaps in resilience literature by examining the role of distal factors that shape resilience in organizations using Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory. Particularly, the study examined the role of national values as reflected in organizational values on the perceived organizational resilience and employee resilience in disaster contexts in the Philippines. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees and leaders from six organizations. Thematic analysis revealed four (4) national values relevant to disaster response and management efforts of organizations: Bayanihan, malasakit, pananagutan, and volunteerism. The Filipino National Values for Disaster scale was then constructed reflecting the four national values. The scale was used to empirically examine the relationship of these values with perceived organizational resilience and employee resilience in the hypothesized mediated model. In total, 221 employees from various industries participated in the survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Results showed a full mediation model wherein national values of Bayanihan, malasakit, and sense of volunteerism significantly predict employee resilience through the perceived organizational resilience in times of disaster. Except for pananagutan, findings also suggest a significant direct relationship between values and perceived organizational resilience. These findings illustrate that enhancing employee resilience may not only be through one’s personal resources, but may also be contingent to organizational and socio-cultural resources accessible to employees in times of disaster. Implications to resilience and disaster literature as well as resilience- building efforts of organizations are discussed