Abstract
Forgiveness has received increasing attention in the work context. Although recent cross-sectional studies have found a positive link between forgiveness and work outcomes, further research examining the temporal dynamics between these variables is needed to establish causality. This preregistered panel study investigated the time-lagged relations between forgiveness and work outcomes, and specifically addressed the question whether forgiving a coworker benefits work outcomes. Longitudinal survey data were collected at four time points among 139 Chinese employees working at least 20 hours per week. Results from cross-lagged panel models revealed that forgiving an offending coworker with whom one has a relatively good work relationship predicted better work outcomes (i.e., higher job satisfaction, higher work engagement, and lower burnout) over time, while controlling for perceived severity of the offense. Evidence for the reverse effect (with work outcomes predicting forgiveness) was not found. Our findings thus suggest that forgiveness facilitates well-being-related work outcomes. Implications for a better understanding of forgiveness in work relationships are discussed.
Highlights
Interpersonal mistreatment is a common issue experienced by employees around the globe (Schilpzand et al, 2016)
We conducted four separate Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to ensure each survey item was loading appropriately on its respective factor. The results of these analyses revealed that the hypothesized two-factor second-order factor model provided adequate fit to the data at each time point
The model fit results were acceptable (χ2 = 91.18, df = 26; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.96; Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.94; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.13; SMRM = 0.08), while the results showed no significant associations between forgiveness (T1) and work outcomes (T4) (β = 0.06, SE = 0.04, p = 0.13)
Summary
Interpersonal mistreatment is a common issue experienced by employees around the globe (Schilpzand et al, 2016). Longitudinal and experimental studies in close relationships found forgiveness to be causally related to both intra-personal outcomes, such as enhanced psychological and physical well-being (McCullough et al, 2001; Bono et al, 2008; Seawell et al, 2014), as well as interpersonal outcomes, such as enhanced relationship satisfaction, commitment, and stability (Paleari et al, 2005; Tsang et al, 2006; Braithwaite et al, 2011). The present research used a longitudinal design to address the question whether forgiveness in high quality work relationships predicts better work outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, work engagement, and burnout). Measuring these variables over multiple time points enabled us to investigate the direction of potential causal effects between forgiveness and work outcomes. All data scripts and materials can be viewed at the Open Science Framework by following this link: bit.ly/3ps7KdJ
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