Investigating the Effects of Workplace Bullying on Employee's Proactive Safety Behavior: Exploring the Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion

Abstract

Organizations today face several issues, including workplace bullying (WB) which not only affects individuals but also reduces organizational productivity. The present study examines the impact of WB, measured through social exclusion (SE), verbal harassment (VH), and toxic leadership (TL), on proactive safety behavior (PSB) among employees working in the aviation industry. Emotional exhaustion (EE) is also used in the study as a mediator between WB and PSB among employees. The study’s target population is the employees working in the aviation industry, and we collected cross-sectional data from 308 respondents who were employees at Jinnah International Airport (JIAP), Karachi. Data were collected during August and September 2023. SPSS-20 was used to conduct statistical analysis and estimate the aforementioned relationships. The empirical results reveal that all forms of WB have a significant and negative effect on PSB among employees. Moreover, the study also found a significant mediating relationship between WB and PSB among employees. Therefore, the findings suggest that the airline industry needs to establish a safe and bullying-free working environment for employees’ better physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, the study recommends the establishment of a confidential complaint management system to address WB-related issues. Lastly, it suggests setting up a psychological consultation department for employee counseling. However, it is important to note that the study's limited timeframe and focus on a single airport may limit the generalizability of the results.