Influences of Distributive Injustice and Job Insecurity Amid COVID-19 on Unethical Pro-Organisational Behaviour: Mediating Role of Employee Turnover Intention

Abstract

Drawn on Social Exchange Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, this study developed a research model to examine the direct influence of job insecurity and distributive injustice, which were common in many hotels amid COVID-19, on unethical pro-organisation behaviour (UPoB) among hotel employees. The study also examines the mediating role of turnover intention in the relationship between job insecurity, and distributive injustice, which was result of the COVID-19 pandemic on UPoB. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was self-dropped and collected through personal network to hotel employees in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The results of structural equation modelling using AMOS (version 23) supported all the study hypotheses. The results showed a significant positive influence of distributive injustice and job insecurity on UPoB among hotel employees. Moreover, turnover intention was found to have a partial mediation role in the relationship between job insecurity, distributive injustice and UPoB. The results extend our understanding of Social Exchange Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory that employees in hotels are more likely to protect themselves and their job by engaging in UPoB if they perceived their job at threat due to a crisis, i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic. The major conclusion of current research is that when hotels employees perceived job insecurity and distributive injustice because of the pandemic, they responded with high turnover intention and as a last choice engaging in UPoB to save their resources, in this case their jobs, since they have no other alternatives outside the organisations. However, this inappropriate antisocial behaviour could have a negative influence on both employees and organisation at the long term. The results of current research have several theoretical implications for tourism scholars and managerial implication for hoteliers.

The Impacts of Environmental Dynamism on Chinese Tour Guides’ Sustainable Performance: Factors Related to Vitality, Positive Stress Mindset and Supportive Policy

“…We identified the relationship between vitality and sustainable performance. Unlike most studies that paid attention to employees’ negative psychological state in the crisis [ 77 ], we noticed the role of vitality at work and explored its relationship with performance from a sustainable perspective. As we have mentioned before, some scholars hold the belief that vitality is an important aspect of employee sustainability [ 78 ]; in the current study, we proved vitality and sustainable performance are separate and vitality could affect it.…”

Do You Feel Safe Here? The Role of Psychological Safety in the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Turnover Intention Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Thus, the consideration offered by transformational leaders creates a solid foundation for the management and their employees to reduce employee intention to leave. Additionally, recent studies on hotel workers amid COVID-19 (Alyahya et al 2021;Aliedan et al 2022) showed that workers were negatively affected by inappropriate practices of their management and hence they have an intention to leave the job. Research on transformational leadership in the hotel context pre COVID-19 (Sobaih et al 2022) showed that transformational leadership significantly affects worker intention to stay.…”

“…These strategies included reducing and cutting operational costs, firing part-time and temporary workers, decreasing salaries or laying off a considerable percentage of their workers (Hall et al 2020). Past studies (e.g., Sverke and Hellgren 2002;Dubey et al 2020;Alyahya et al 2021;Aliedan et al 2022) have shown that crises usually have a negative psychological impact on hotel workers and ultimately on their attitudes and behaviors. Nonetheless, surviving employees, who had the opportunity to stay in the organization during the crises became more stressed, anxious, experienced panic and negative emotions, did not feel safe in their place, and were working under extreme pressures both physically and psychologically (Greenberg et al 2020;Howe et al 2020).…”

“…Nonetheless, surviving employees, who had the opportunity to stay in the organization during the crises became more stressed, anxious, experienced panic and negative emotions, did not feel safe in their place, and were working under extreme pressures both physically and psychologically (Greenberg et al 2020;Howe et al 2020). Recent research (Obeng et al 2020;Tu et al 2021;Alyahya et al 2021;Aliedan et al 2022) confirmed that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel employees became more stressed, felt insecure, worried about their continuity in the job, and thought about changing their career.…”

“…However, there is limited published research, to the best of the research team's knowledge, examining the relationship between transformational leadership and turnover intention amid COVID-19 on hotel workers through the effect of psychological safety. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had severe psychological influences on hotel workers (Alyahya et al 2021;Aliedan et al 2022), the role of psychological safety has not been fully addressed, especially in the link between transformational leadership and turnover intention of hotel workers amid COVID-19. Recent studies (e.g., Hebles et al 2022;Groh 2019;Winasis et al 2020) have found a significant relationship between transformational leadership, turnover intentions, and psychological capital.…”