Indirect effect of workplace bullying on emotional exhaustion through job insecurity among Malaysian workers

Purpose - Although workplace bullying has often been considered a significant source of health-related problems, only a handful of studies have deeply examined this relationship. This paper aims to fill this gap by inspecting the direct as well as indirect relationships between bullying and emotional exhaustion. This study also explores the buffering role of religion between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach - This correlational paper used the quantitative method of data collection (N= 102) from employees in Malaysia and used SmartPLS to analyze the data. To operationalize workplace bullying as the second-order factor, partial least squares was used to estimate the two-stage model through the repeated use of a manifest variable. Findings - The result of the current study showed that workplace bullying has a positive impact on job insecurity as well as emotional exhaustion while also having a positive indirect effect on emotional exhaustion through job insecurity. Moreover, the result of this study reveals that religion has a moderating (buffering) influence on the relationship between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion. Research limitations/implications - The study merely applied self-report measures, thus potentially involving the common method variance problems. Practical implications - Human resource professionals must be aware that employees who are exposed to bullying actions may consider emotional exhaustion and job security needs to be restored among targets. For instance, they need to ensure that no unwanted and illegitimate relocation or alternation of work task has occurred. Furthermore, it is significant to encourage employees to regularly attend religious services because religious involvement could foster mental health, in part by lowering the risk of exposure to stressful life events such as job insecurity. Originality/value - This study could be beneficial for organizations and researchers looking to address emotional exhaustion, security and bullying in a context broader than physical health and may further supplement the discussions around workplace bullying, mental health and religion.