This study examines why and when negative workplace gossip promotes self-serving behaviors by the employees being targeted. Using conservation of resources (COR) theory, we find that targets tend to increase their political acts as a result of ego depletion triggered by negative gossip. We also show that sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment and moral disengagement moderate this process. Specifically, we demonstrate that targets with high levels of sensitivity to interpersonal mistreatment are more likely to experience ego depletion, and that targets with high levels of moral disengagement will find it easier to persuade themselves to engage in political acts. We conducted a three-wave time-lagged survey of 265 employees in Guangdong, China, to test our hypotheses. The results support our theoretical model and indicate that COR theory can be used to explain the impacts of negative workplace gossip. Alongside our important and timely theoretical contributions, we provide new perspectives on how managers can avoid or mitigate these political acts.
To achieve sustainable development, research has indicated that organizations and individuals should be aware of the significance of sustainable human resource management (HRM) practices. However, relatively little research has investigated individual outcomes. This study links sustainable HRM practices with an important individual outcome: career growth. Using social cognitive career theory, this study investigated psychological capital and career growth as beneficial outcomes of sustainable HRM practices, proposing person–organization (P‐O) fit as a key boundary condition. Based on time‐lagged survey data collected from a Chinese company, the study found that sustainable HRM practices could significantly promote psychological capital and career growth. Moreover, P‐O fit magnified the beneficial impact of sustainable HRM practices on psychological capital while further moderating the mediating effect of psychological capital. When P‐O fit was high, the effects of sustainable HRM practices on psychological capital and career growth were stronger. In addition, we discussed theoretical contributions and practical implications.
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