Linking Cyberbullying to Job Strain: Roles of Ego Depletion and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Workplace Cyberbullying plays a vital role in influencing employees’ mental health. This study explored the underlying mechanism with which cyberbullying influenced job strain in employees at the episode level within the framework of ego depletion theory. Using the experience sampling method, this study collected 750 matched data from 150 full-time workers in mainland China over five consecutive days. Via multilevel analysis, daily workplace cyberbullying was found to increase victims’ ego depletion and thus lead to increased job strain. Furthermore, the victims’ self-efficacy buffered the indirect relationship between daily cyberbullying and job strain through ego depletion. The indirect relationship was stronger when victims possessed low self-efficacy compared with high self-efficacy. This study provides episodic evidence for the negative influences of workplace cyberbullying on employees’ job strain.