Purpose: Drawing on the self-determination theory and the social role theory, the purpose of this study was to test the moderating role of gender and the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between workplace loneliness and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and more importantly, the integrated moderated mediation model. Methods: A total of 290 employees from various Chinese enterprises voluntarily participated in the two-wave surveys. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses based on Hayes' Process Model were conducted to test the hypotheses. Results: Results indicated that work engagement significantly mediates the association of workplace loneliness with OCBs. Gender serves as an important moderator in the relationship among workplace loneliness, work engagement, and OCBs that for female participants the indirect effect of work engagement linking workplace loneliness to OCBs was significant, but for male participants it was not. Conclusion:This study advances the current understandings of the moderated mediation mechanism among workplace loneliness, gender, work engagement, and OCBs. It is suggested that work engagement serves as a mediator linking workplace loneliness to OCBs, especially for the female employees.

This study investigated the mediating role of workplace loneliness relating perceived organizational support to job performance, as well as the moderating role of extraversion in such relationship. 332 full-time Chinese employees from various enterprises voluntarily participated in the two-wave surveys via either paper-and-pencil or online survey conducted at Credamo and Tencent Questionnaire website. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses were employed to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that workplace loneliness partially mediates the linkage between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion serves as a moderator in the relationship between workplace loneliness and job performance, as well as the mediating role of workplace loneliness linking perceived organizational support to job performance, such that the relationship is stronger when extraversion is high. Supplementary analyses revealed that social companionship, but not emotional deprivation, serves as a mediator in the relationship between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion enhanced the direct influence of social companionship on job performance, as well as the indirect influence of perceived organizational support on job performance via social companionship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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