Organizational politics as a blindfold. Employee work engagement is negatively related to supervisor-rated work outcomes when organizational politics is high
| Pages | 784-798 |
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2017-0205 |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| Author | Yongxing Guo,Haiying Kang,Bo Shao,Beni Halvorsen |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Organizational politics
as a blindfold
Employee work engagement is negatively
related to supervisor-rated work outcomes
when organizational politics is high
Yongxing Guo
School of Economics and Management,
Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Haiying Kang
School of Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Bo Shao
Department of Management, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and
Beni Halvorsen
School of Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of organizational politics
on the relationships between work engagement, in-role performance and organization citizenship
behavior –organization (OCBO).
Design/methodology/approach –Theoretical hypotheses were tested using a sample of 107 supervisor-
subordinate dyads in China. Outcome variables, such as in-role performance and OCBO, were rated by supervisors.
Findings –Contrary to the established literature on positive work engagement-work outcomes relationships,
the findings supported the prediction that work engagement was negatively related to supervisor-rated in-
role performance and OCBO when the organizational is perceived as highly political.
Research limitations/implications –The sample size for this study is relatively small. In addition, the
authors measured organizational politics from employees’perspectives, which might not reflect reality objectively.
Furthermore,thedatawerecollectedatasingletimepoint, so causal relationships could not be validated.
Practical implications –When employees perceive the work environment as political, organizations need
to be aware of non-work factors that may influence supervisors’evaluation of employee performance to
ensure they do not demotivate and discourage highly engaged employees.
Originality/value –Considerable research has shown that work engagement is positively related to in-role
performance and OCBO. The present study, however, challenges and extends previous research by
suggesting that work engagement can lead to low supervisor evaluation of in-role performance and OCBO
when the organization is perceived to be political.
Keywords Quantitative, Organizational citizenship behaviour, Work engagement, Organizational politics,
In-role performance
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The importance of work engagement has been widely emphasized in practice (Bates, 2004;
Macey and Schneider, 2008; Weber, 2013). Highly e ngaged employees are expected to be more
productive and thus are considered essential assets for organizational success
(Macey et al., 2009). Research has provided considerable evidence that work engagement
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 3, 2019
pp. 784-798
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-07-2017-0205
Received 9 July 2017
Revised 2 December 2017
27 February 2018
21 June 2018
18 August 2018
Accepted 23 August 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
This work is supported by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Grant Nos 71702043 and 71602163) and The National Social Science Fund of China
(Grant No. G2018202059).
784
PR
48,3
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