Work-family conflict and salespeople deviant behavior: the mediating role of job stress

Abstract

The salesperson is a job that is prone to deviant behavior. Prior studies addressed that deviant behavior is a behavioral stress response. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between job stress and deviant behavior, the clarity of the job stress mechanism remains limited. Drawing from coping theory, we proposed that job stress acts as a critical mechanism in linking the association between work-family conflict and salesperson deviant behavior. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, this study investigates the relationship between work-family conflict and job stress. Second, this study examines how job stress determines the likelihood of a salesperson engaging in deviant behavior. Last, this study investigates the mediating mechanism of work-family conflict and job stress. Using an online survey of salespeople in Indonesia, we received 321 data and employed a partial least square to test our proposed hypotheses. The results of this study confirm all hypotheses. The implications for managers regarding the result of this study is encouraging managers to establish and implement family-friendly policies which can diminish the level of stress and will decrease the likelihood of salespeople engaging in deviant behavior. Our study offers a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by clarifying the mediating role of job stress.