Abstract
Employees working across all domains of professions are exposed to workplace violence (WPV). Few researchers have investigated the effects of WPV on employee engagement (EE) and the impact of the work environment and organizational culture on their relationship. The aim of this research is to describe the effect of WPV on EE and clarify the relationship between WPV, work environment, organizational culture, and EE. A cross-sectional study was performed on the data, collected from 178 alumni of a university, currently employed in caring, customer care, managerial, and technology professions in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling (SEM), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey post hoc tests were employed for data analysis. The results showed that 88.7% of respondents had experienced WPV during the last 12 months. Significant differences existed in the work-related harassment and physical violence reported by occupational groupings. WPV had a significant direct negative effect on EE (β = −.556**), work environment (β = −.440) and organizational culture (β = −.758**). Furthermore, the work environment (β = −.123**) and organizational culture (β = −.157**) have a significant negative effect on EE, and both mediated the relationship between WPV and EE. The results show that employees working in caring and customer care are exposed to considerable risk of WPV. The findings underscore that a supportive work environment and positive organizational culture play a mediating role between WPV and EE among employees.
Highlights
Workplace violence (WPV) has been a critical problem for organizations across the globe (Johnson et al, 2018; Spector et al, 2014; Stutzenberger & Fisher, 2014)
In applying the construct of WPV to the EE domain, we propose that a supportive work environment and organizational culture reduce violence at the workplace and enhance the level of EE
This article aimed to describe the relationship between these variables: WPV, work environment, organizational culture, and EE, as well as to investigate WPV based on occupational groups
Summary
Workplace violence (WPV) has been a critical problem for organizations across the globe (Johnson et al, 2018; Spector et al, 2014; Stutzenberger & Fisher, 2014). Researchers have reported WPV as one of the significant reasons for employee dissatisfaction and reduction in employee performance (Chao et al, 2015). Managing the devastating impact of WPV on employee well-being, coworker relationship, and organization’s overall effectiveness has been a challenge for organizations. Employee engagement (EE) is “the amount of discretionary effort exhibited by employees in their jobs” It is described based on the nature of the relationship between an organization and its employees It is described based on the nature of the relationship between an organization and its employees (Groenewold et al, 2018; N. Li, Zhang, et al, 2019)
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