Social support at work comprises emotional support and
assistance by both colleagues and supervisors (Semmer and Udris 2007). This study does not distinguish between different
types of social support at work, that is, between the
social support at work provided by colleagues or supervisors.
A future study should differentiate between support
providers as findings by (Elfering et al. 2002) suggest that
provider-specific constellations of social support at work
may have either a positive or a negative influence on the
development of LBP. In addition to a direct protective
effect on the development of persistent LBP indicated by
the present study, social support at work may also have a
moderating effect, with its absence leading to a stronger
correlation between risk factors and the development of
persistent LBP (Semmer and Udris 2007).