Perceived threats of terrorism and helping behavior: the role of dispositional mindfulness in an ethical dilemma

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to curtail the negative effect of job stress on the female teachers’ helping behavior amidst terrorism threat through their dispositional mindfulness. Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative research design surveyed a self-administered questionnaire from the female teachers serving in the hard areas of Pakistan. To analyze the data, descriptive and interferential statistics were performed in SPSS (version 23) and SmartPLS3. Findings - The results revealed the significant positive relationship between teachers’ perceived threats of terrorism and their job stress. The findings also confirmed the significant negative relationship between teachers’ job stress and their helping behavior, and vice-versa. Further, the indirect effect of teachers’ perceived threats of terrorism on helping behavior through their job stress was confirmed. Finally, the moderating effect of dispositional mindfulness to weaken the negative relationship between teachers’ job stress and their helping behavior was also found significant. The results also showed that the job stress of female teachers accounted for 12.9% of variance in their helping behavior. Research limitations/implications - To address complex ethical issues, relying solely on a research method cannot provide deep insights. Hence, future scholars are directed to combine elements of quantitative and qualitative research methods to investigate female teachers’ helping behavior in grievous conditions. Notwithstanding, the present study revitalizes educational institutions through teachers’ helping behavior in the risky work environment. Originality/value - Since the past two decades, female education has witnessed exponential growth in terrorist attacks, but there is a scanty research on the vulnerability of female teachers in Pakistan. Nevertheless, the present study is limited yet of the highest importance to foster teachers’ helping behavior in the risky work environment.