Perceived organizational politics and quitting plans: an examination of the buffering roles of relational and organizational resources

Dirk De Clercq,Renato Pereira

doi:10.1108/md-07-2020-0900

Abstract

PurposeThe goal of this research is to examine the link between employees' beliefs that organizational decision-making processes are guided by self-serving behaviors and their own turnover intentions, as well as how this link may be buffered by four distinct resources, two that speak to the nature of peer exchanges (knowledge sharing and relationship informality) and two that capture critical aspects of the organizational environment (change climate and forgiveness climate).Design/methodology/approachQuantitative survey data were collected among 208 employees who work in the oil and gas sector in Mozambique.FindingsThe results indicate that employees' beliefs about dysfunctional political games stimulate their plans to quit. Yet this translation is less likely to occur to the extent that their peer relationships are marked by frequent and informal exchanges and that organizational leaders embrace change and forgiveness.Practical implicationsFor organizations, these findings offer pertinent insights into different circumstances in which decision-related frustrations are less likely to escalate into quitting plans. In particular, such escalation can be avoided to the extent that employees feel supported by the frequency and informal nature of their communication with colleagues, as well as the extent to which organizational leaders encourage change and practice forgiveness.Originality/valueThis study adds to extant research by explicating four unexplored buffers that diminish the risk that frustrations with politicized decision-making translate into enhanced turnover intentions.

Highlights

The procedures organizations apply to make decisions can determine the quality of employees’ day-to-day work functioning
The goal of this research is to examine the link between employees’ beliefs that organizational decision-making processes are guided by self-serving behaviors and their own turnover intentions, as well as how this link may be buffered by four distinct resources, two that speak to the nature of peer exchanges and two that capture critical aspects of the organizational environment
We investigate four specific resources—knowledge sharing, relationship informality, change climate, and forgiveness climate—that might diminish the danger that employees develop a desire to quit their jobs, even in the presence of self-serving organizational decision making

Summary

Introduction

The procedures organizations apply to make decisions can determine the quality of employees’ day-to-day work functioning. Adverse decision-making processes, perceived as disadvantageous or threatening, may especially undermine employees’ work motivation, job satisfaction, and, job performance (Hobfoll et al, 2018; Prem et al, 2016). Such organizational adversity is salient with respect to dysfunctional politics, which exist an when people in the organization exhibit a general tendency to engage in self-serving behaviors, focused on the pursuit of their own interests instead of those of the organizational collective (Bai ag et al, 2016; Hochwarter et al, 2003). There is a continued need to understand how employees who suffer from highly politicized decision making react, as well as what measures can be taken to avoid a negative spiral (De Clercq and Belausteguigoitia, 2017a; Yang, 2017)

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