When does job dissatisfaction lead to deviant behaviour? The critical roles of abusive supervision and adaptive humour

Dirk De Clercq, Inam Ul Haq and Muhammad Umer Azeem
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Dirk De Clercq: Goodman School of Business, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada
Inam Ul Haq: Lahore Business School, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Umer Azeem: School of Business and Economics, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

Australian Journal of Management, 2020, vol. 45, issue 2, 294-316

Abstract: With a basis in conservation of resources theory, this study investigates the relationship between employees’ sense of job dissatisfaction and their engagement in deviant behaviour, as well as the moderating roles that their exposure to abusive leadership and possession of adaptive humour skills can play in this process. Based on two-way survey data collected from employees in Pakistan, the findings show that employees’ unhappy feelings about their job situations enhance the likelihood that they undertake negative behaviours that can harm their organization, especially when they suffer from abusive leadership or lack adaptive humour skills. The buffering effect of their adaptive humour on the positive relationship between job dissatisfaction and deviant behaviour is also particularly salient in the presence of abusive leadership. JEL Classification: D23, D91, M50

Keywords: Abusive supervision; adaptive humour; conservation of resources theory; deviant behaviour; job dissatisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ausman:v:45:y:2020:i:2:p:294-316

DOI: 10.1177/0312896219877679

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