Linking Cyberbullying to Job Strain: Roles of Ego Depletion and Self-Efficacy

Khan

et al. 2022

INTR

PurposeWhile the rapid adoption of information communication technologies (ICT) in organizations has been linked with a higher risk of cyberbullying, research on the influence of cyberbullying on interpersonal behaviors in the workplace remains limited. By drawing on the ego-depletion theory and the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, this research investigates how, why and when workplace cyberbullying may trigger interpersonal aggression through ICT.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 259 employees and 62 supervisors working in large ICT organizations in China through a multi-wave survey. The authors performed multilevel analysis and used hierarchical linear modeling to test the proposed moderated mediation model.FindingsThe results revealed that workplace cyberbullying has a significant and positive influence on interpersonal aggression in the workplace via ego depletion. The authors found that differentiation in LMX processes at group level moderates the indirect relationship between workplace cyberbullying and interpersonal aggression (via ego depletion). Furthermore, the positive indirect effect of workplace cyberbullying was found to be stronger in the presence of a high LMX differentiation condition in comparison to a low LMX differentiation condition.Research limitations/implicationsThe data were collected from Chinese ICT organizations, which may limit the generalization of this study’s findings to other cultural and sectoral contexts.Originality/valueThis paper provides the first step in understanding how, why and when workplace cyberbullying triggers interpersonal aggression by investigating the role of ego depletion as a mediator and LMX differentiation as a boundary condition. This is the first study to empirically examine the relationships between workplace cyberbullying, ego depletion, LMX differentiation and interpersonal aggression in ICT organizations using multi-level modeling.

“…, 2020). Furthermore, employees who experience workplace cyberbullying feel distressed, and their stress reduces performance and productivity at work (Zhang et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinning and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Underpinning and Hypotheses Development 21 Workp...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A contemporary view of interpersonal aggression and cyberbullying through ICT: multilevel insights from LMX differentiation

Khan

et al. 2022

INTR

“… Sun and Chen (2017) pointed out that political behavior consumes a finite pool of self-regulatory resources, thereby enhancing ego depletion. Ego depletion has been associated with interpersonal deviance ( Zhang et al, 2021 ). Political acts are self-serving in interactions with coworkers and cause changes in interpersonal relationships at work ( Gabriel et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Activities that create additional stress for actors deplete more additional self-control resources ( Prem et al, 2016 ). Job strain and moral self-efficacy are two critical personal characteristics which shape individuals’ psychological and behavioral responses when they are in ego depleted states ( Chen et al, 2018 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ). Accordingly, we extend our research by identifying individual factors, such as job strain and moral self-efficacy, which moderate the costs of political acts since they determine whether political acts cause additional stress in the present study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ego Depletion Perspective Linking Political Behavior to Interpersonal Deviance

Xin

Zheng

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

Self Cite

A political act is a typical self-serving behavior that works to promote or protect self-interest. However, limited research explores its relationship with daily downstream behavior. Based on the ego depletion theory, the present study attempts to clarify when and how daily political acts will be transformed into interpersonal deviance. We collected 760 cases nested in 152 full time workers in mainland China through the experience sampling method. Via a multilevel structural equation model and hierarchical linear model, we tested the mediated moderation model. The results showed that political acts correlated with interpersonal deviance on a daily basis. Moral self-efficacy buffers the relationship between political acts and interpersonal deviance, whereas chronic job strain amplifies the relationship. Furthermore, moral self-efficacy can mediate the moderating role of chronic job strain.

“…This means that helpers face a trade-off between completing their own tasks and helping others with their limited time. Thus, when residents consume time and other resources (e.g., cognitive and emotional resources) to help their neighbors, they are more likely to experience ego depletion (15), which is detrimental to their mental health (24).…”

Section: Incongruence In Receiving and Giving Neighboring Behavior An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Giving and Receiving Helping Behavior Fit Matter? The Role of Neighboring Behavior Fit in Working Residents' Mental Health

Xiu

Zhang

Fan

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

Ecological systems theory suggests that for individuals, the three domains of community, family, and work are connected and transfer resources among each other. In the community, residents receive and give helping behavior from and to their neighbors. Neighboring behavior underlies interactions among residents in the community, thereby influencing the work and family domains. Building on ecological systems theory, the authors propose that the compatibility of receiving and giving helping behavior among working residents is related to their mental health. Additionally, the authors propose that this congruence effect functions through work-family interference and meaning in life. Using a two-stage field questionnaire survey, this study collected data from 220 full-time Chinese working residents. Using polynomial regression and response surface analysis, receiving-giving neighboring behavior fit was found to be positively associated with mental health. Furthermore, receiving-giving neighboring behavior fit enhances mental health by decreasing work-family interference and promoting meaning in life. When giving and receiving neighboring behavior are imbalanced, working residents have higher levels of mental health when they received more neighboring behavior than they gave, in comparison to the condition when they gave more neighboring behavior than they received. Work-family interference represents inter-role conflict in which pressures from the family and work domains are mutually incompatible. Including both work to family interference and family to work interference, work-family interferences reflect the stress that working residents experience in their family and work domains. By exploring the mediating role of work-family interference, this study shows how the spillover of the benefits of neighboring behavior into the family and work domains enhances working residents' mental health. This study highlights the importance of balancing receiving and giving neighboring behavior for maintaining mental health, thus contributing both theoretically and practically to ecological systems theory.