Façade Creation and Workplace Bullying: A Mediated Moderation Model

Abstract

This study examines the buffering role of a psychological contract breach in the process leading from façade creation (i.e., suppressing one’s own values and pretending to hold organization values) to workplace bullying through leader–member exchange (LMX). This study predicts that façade creation, particularly when the level of psychological contract breach is high, produces high LMX, which reduces bullying in the workplace. In total, 302 employee–employer dyads (265 males, 37 females; average age 46.07 years) from a large bank in Taiwan were surveyed. Surveys were conducted at two time points for employees and at one time point for their employers who volunteered. The findings of this study found significant relationships between facades of conformity and workplace bullying. This study further found that LMX mediates the relationship between façade creation and workplace bullying and demonstrate that a perceived breach of psychological contract moderates this mediating pathway. Strong psychological contract breach increases the relationship between façade creation and LMX. A time-lag design of two time periods and two different sources (i.e., employers and employees) were utilized to diminish common method variables (CMV) in this study. Implications and directions for future study are discussed.