Abstract
In this study, first we examined the effect of workplace romance on employee job performance, and the mediatory role of psychological wellbeing in the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance. Then we tested the moderating effects of gender and workplace romance type – lateral or hierarchical – on the indirect effect of workplace romance on employee performance. Based on a survey of 311 doctors from five government teaching hospitals in Pakistan, we used structural equation modeling and bootstrapping to test these relationships. This study reveals that psychological wellbeing significantly fully mediates the positive relationship between workplace romance and job performance. Moreover, multi-group analysis shows that gender moderates the indirect effect of workplace romance on employee performance, where the indirect effect of workplace romance on employee performance is stronger for male participants. This study carries important implications, particularly for the policy makers and managers of healthcare sector organizations.
Highlights
Workplace romance is understood as a mutually-welcomed (Pierce and Aguinis, 2003) and committed (Diamond et al, 1999) relationship between two members of an organization that may involve physical attraction and activities such as dating, hugging, kissing, touching, and sexual intercourse (Pierce et al, 1996; Mainiero and Jones, 2013)
Our model consisted of three latent constructs – workplace romance (WR), psychological wellbeing (PWB), and employee performance (JP) – and 19 observed
We examined the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance and tested and confirmed the mediating role of psychological wellbeing in the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance
Summary
Workplace romance is understood as a mutually-welcomed (Pierce and Aguinis, 2003) and committed (Diamond et al, 1999) relationship between two members of an organization that may involve physical attraction and activities such as dating, hugging, kissing, touching, and sexual intercourse (Pierce et al, 1996; Mainiero and Jones, 2013). Workplace romance affects a number of important employees’ work-related behaviors and attitudes such as work motivation, job satisfaction, commitment, work engagement and loyalty and performance outcomes (Quinn, 1977; Pierce and Aguinis, 2009). Workplace romance discourse is characterized by a lack of consensus on the nature of its effects on employee work-related behaviors and performance outcomes. Literature on this topic suggests that workplace romance can have both destructive and constructive effects on employee behavior and performance (Pierce and Aguinis, 2003; Wright and Cropanzano, 2007; Wilson, 2015; Baker, 2016).
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