Envy and Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Moderation Role of Leadership in Public and Private Organizations

Abstract

Envy is a frequent emotion in work contexts where there is strong competition for resources and the leader is the person who manages them. When employees feel envy, they are likely to use counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), but the use of these behaviors may differ depending on the organization’s ownership. The goal of this study is to develop and test a model for the moderating role of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) in the relationship between envy and CWB in public and private organizations. The study design was cross-sectional. Data were collected from 225 Spanish employees in public and private organizations and analyzed using Path Analysis techniques. Results showed that envy was positively related to CWB, and that LMX was a significant moderator in the relationship between envy and CWB in public organizations, but not in private ones. However, this relationship is positive with high LMX, but less than in subjects with low LMX. Findings provide empirical support for the hypothesized conceptual model. This study is one of the first to explore LMX as a moderator of the relationship between envy and CWB. Thus, this study adds value to previous social exchange studies on LMX by integrating emotion research into the context of an exchange-based relationship. Our findings lead to several practical implications for creating healthy organizations.

Workplace bullying and its impact on the quality of healthcare and patient safety

“…One of the possible reasons is that this category of practitioners could be more envied by their colleagues of the same career levels or by their management (downward or upward envy). Envy is a predictor of hostility, competition, or aggressive behaviors which are demonstrated in WPB, and associated with counterproductive work behavior as well [30].…”

Culture, Work, and Subjective Well-Being: The Role of LMX and Resilience in Spanish and Chinese Cultures

“…The extension of this research to additional individualistic and collectivistic countries is required before the results can be considered as widely applicable. On the other hand, González-Navarro, Olateju, Zurriaga, and Llinares-Insa [90] showed that LMX operated differently depending on the ownership of the company, and so future studies could analyze this as well. Finally, this study has not taken into account the nature of the professions in both cultures as a criterion for inclusion in the sample.…”

Leader- and Team-Member Exchanges and Their Relationships with Organizational and Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Moderation by Envy and Group Size in Israel and USA

“…Envy is considered to occur when two individuals are mutually comparable (see Schoeck, 1969) in a unit relationship (Heider, 1958). Since "the literature has traditionally focused on dispositional envy…" (González-Navarro et al, 2018, p. 1459 we focus on this aspect of envy, as well.…”

“…They also are more likely to engage in CWB-I behaviors (Cohen-Charash & Mueller, 2007), become more hostile, anxious, and tend to create a negative workplace environment (Cohen-Charash, 2009). Still, "the assessment of the social nature of envy has been underestimated, and little is known about its relationships with other social variables (e.g., LMX and ownership)" (González-Navarro et al, 2018, p. 1459.…”