Perceived Risk of Job Instability and Unethical Organizational Behaviour Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Family Financial Pressure and Distributive Injustice in the Tourism Industry.

Ibrahim A. Elshaer,Alaa M. S. Azazz,Marwa Ghanem,Samy Wageh Mahmoud

doi:10.3390/ijerph19052886

Abstract

The economic disaster precipitated by the pandemic of COVID-19 changed people’s perceptions of ordinary job stability and elevated it to an ultimate high level. To avoid being laid off, employees who are concerned about job stability may engage in unethical activities in the name of their employer. In this study, the influence of job instability on unethical organizational behaviour (UOB) was investigated through the mediating role of family financial pressure and distributive injustice. Perceptions of 830 employees working in hotels (5-star and 4-star) and travel agencies (Category A) were explored and further analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results asserted that family financial pressure and distributive injustice partially mediated the effects of job insecurity on UOB. Important insights on theoretical and practical implications were further deliberated towards the end of this study.

Highlights

Since the world’s COVID-19 outbreak, the hospitality and tourism industries have suffered a serious downturn [1–6]
The first hypothesis, which examined the influence of perceived job instability on unethical organizational behaviour (UOB) (H1), is supported (t-value = 5.421, p < 001)
Hypothesis three examined the effect of family financial pressure on UOB; the structural equation modelling (SEM) results revealed a positive and significant (t-value = 13.645, p < 0.001) relationship between the two dimensions with a path coefficient of 0.51, thereby asserting the third hypothesis (H3)

Summary

Introduction

Since the world’s COVID-19 outbreak, the hospitality and tourism industries have suffered a serious downturn [1–6]. The theory of insecurity of jobs defined job insecurity as “perceive powerlessness to maintain desired continuity in a threatened job situation” [11]. It argues that when people believe they have no authority to defend themselves against employment threats, they feel insecure. Work instability has similar consequences to job insecurity and is a major source of economic stress for employees. It has a substantial impact on their well-being, competitiveness, and mental health [13]. Job instability is caused by labour market turmoil [15], in which economic actors have reengineered the business sector to survive and maintain competitiveness and have regularly suffered from increased competition within the industry [16], along with social, economic, and/or health crises [17]

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion