ABSTRACT
Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of home-based teleworking globally. Coupled with this, there are rising concerns about workplace cyberbullying. However, less studies have explored workplace cyberbullying in non-western countries. The purpose of the current study is to examine whether workplace cyberbullying affects employees' intention to stay and to find out the mechanisms underlying the relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected among Indian home-based teleworkers. Data were analysed using SmartPLS and SPSS-PROCESS macro. Findings: Results show that workplace cyberbullying negatively impacts intention to stay and affective commitment acts as a mediator between this link. The results also reveal that workplace social capital moderates the negative effects of workplace cyberbullying on affective commitment. The results further confirm that workplace social capital moderated the indirect impact of workplace cyberbullying on intention to stay via affective commitment. Practical implications: This study highlights the potential of leveraging workplace social capital in order to reduce the negative effects of workplace cyberbullying. Originality/value: These findings can complement the previous studies on the impact of negative work events on affective commitment and intention to stay as well as extend researchers' understanding of the underlying mechanism between workplace cyberbullying and intention to stay. Furthermore, this research explains how employees can utilise social resources from workplace social capital to mitigate the negative outcomes of workplace cyberbullying. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, home-based teleworking has become the new normal. Researchers have suggested workplace isolation as the most frequently reported employee concern of teleworkers. Workplace isolation is reported to have many undesirable outcomes. However, limited studies have examined the influence of workplace isolation on mental health and its underlying mechanisms. Drawing from the emotion-centered model of occupational stress and conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between workplace isolation and mental ill-health with negative emotions as a mediator and psychological capital as a moderator. METHODS: The data was collected from 322 home-based teleworkers working in Information Technology companies in India using a survey method. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS, SPSS and PROCESS macro. RESULTS: The results suggest the following. First, workplace isolation was associated with mental ill-health and negative emotions mediated this relationship. Second, psychological capital was found to buffer the effects of workplace isolation on negative emotions. Third, the conditional indirect effect of workplace isolation on mental ill-health through negative emotions was weaker in the presence of high psychological capital. CONCLUSION: The current study is the first one to examine the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of psychological capital in the relationship between workplace isolation and mental ill-health among home-based teleworkers. This study demonstrates the importance of psychological capital as a personal resource that can help in coping with the negative effects of workplace isolation.