How can Employees Cope When They Perceive an Effort-Reward Imbalance in the Organization?

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Previous stress and coping literatures suggests that effective stress coping strategy, will not only decrease the negative impact of stress on individuals well-being but coping can be beneficial for the organization as well. This study examines the role of job crafting as a form of stress coping strategy when employees perceive an effort-reward imbalance in the organization. In addition, the moderating roles of perceived external employability and organization commitment on the effort reward imbalance/job crafting relationship were examined. Finally, this research also examined job crafting as a mediator between perceive effort-reward imbalance and counterproductive work behavior. Analysis of 203 working individuals from South Korea was conducted for this research. The results are as follows: firstly, perceived effort-reward imbalance has a positive effect on employee's job crafting behaviors. Namely, increasing structural job resources, increasing social job resources and increasing challenging demands. However, the relationship between perceived effort-reward imbalance and decreasing hindering job demands were negatively insignificant. Secondly, perceived external employability and organization commitment moderates the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and job crafting. The relationship between effort-reward imbalance and job crafting is stronger when employee's perceived external employability and organization commitment is high than low. Lastly, job crafting partially mediates the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and counterproductive work behavior. Theoretical and practical implications, limitation of the study and research direction was also suggested.