Employer support may not appease ‘stuck’ workers who feel wronged: study

Birmingham, England — Workers who feel stuck in a job they want to leave are more likely to respond to perceived safety-related wrongdoing with retaliatory behavior – even when employers show support.

That’s one finding from a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Responsible Business and Pennsylvania State University.

The researchers surveyed 327 working adults in the United States. Respondents assessed the workers’ intention to leave their job, the potential ease of departure and the perceived support from their organization. They then evaluated one of three COVID-19-related conditions in which a business decision either protected worker safety, lowered worker safety or was out of the CEO’s hands.

The researchers concluded that although in general, a sense of support “buffered” negativity toward employer decisions that reduced worker safety, that wasn’t the case for stuck employees. These workers were more likely to respond to a perceived employer injustice by wasting time, deliberately disobeying employer instructions, damaging equipment and bad-mouthing the organization to outsiders, among other behaviors.

“A company being seen to care about well-being reflects the perception that an employer should look out for their employees’ best interests and safety at work,” study co-author Solon Magrizos, associate professor of marketing at the Birmingham Business School, said in a press release. “Our study has found that after an employer makes a decision that compromises employee safety, general positive organizational support perceptions can reduce retaliation intentions, but not among stuck employees.”

Magrizos and study co-author Caroline Moraes, professor of marketing at the Birmingham Business School, say employers should:

• Communicate clearly and honestly about what drives business decisions.
• Develop self- and career-development opportunities.
• Provide ways for workers to raise concerns, and ensure they’re heard and addressed.

The study was published online in the Journal of Business and Psychology.