Reducing Hindering Job Demands: The Role of Belief in Life as a Zero-Sum Game and Workload

Marta Roczniewska and Bogdan Wojciszke
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Marta Roczniewska: Faculty in Sopot, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland
Bogdan Wojciszke: Faculty in Sopot, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: When individuals engage in job crafting by decreasing their job demands, the workload of their teammates rises. Pursuing self-interest at the expense of others requires holding a belief about the antagonistic nature of human relations. The present research demonstrates how belief in life as a zero-sum game (BZSG) shapes workplace behaviors. Our two studies—one cross-sectional and one time-lagged—support our predictions that a strong BZSG weakens proactivity and increases the tendency to decrease one’s job demands at the expense of others. We also observed a suppression effect: workload triggers a reduction in job demands indirectly by activating BZSG, while the direct link between workload and reducing hindering job demands is negative. The results are important for both theory and practice because they delineate the conditions that prompt the avoidance of job demands by the employees.

Keywords: belief in life as a zero-sum game; job crafting; workload; hindering demands; challenging demands; suppression effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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