Death anxiety and extra-role performance in military and non-military employees: A predictive study

Abstract

Death awareness in the military context has received little research attention despite the high exposure of military employees to death. Drawing on Terror Management Theory (TMT), Meaning Management Theory (MMT), and Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), this study investigated the impact of death anxiety on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) through meaningful work (MW). It also investigated the moderating role of type of profession (military vs. non-military) and death reflection on the relationship between death anxiety, on one hand, and OCB and CWB, on the other hand. Data were collected through self-reports from 177 employees from an Air Force military organization (N = 81) as well as non-military professions (N = 96) using a time-lagged research design. The most obvious finding was the positive relationship between meaningful work and OCB. Our data did not provide empirical support for the other hypotheses developed. The implications of these findings are presented and future research directions are proposed.