Master’s Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject Leadership and Human Resources – Leadership, grade: 9, 5 (0, 7-0, 5), Maastricht University (School of Business and Economics), course: Master Thesis, language: English, abstract: When managers do not endorse their employees’ ideas, suggestions, or concerns about work-related issues, they may motivate neurotic employees to engage in counterproductive work behavior. The present study aims to explore the effects of employee neuroticism on counterproductive work behaviors following voice non-endorsement. Drawing on affective events theory, I propose that anger mediates the relationship between neuroticism and counterproductive work behaviors. I further argue that neuroticism has a stronger positive impact on counterproductive work behaviors via anger among employees who engage in surface acting. This study collected cross-sectional data on 212 participants. Hypotheses were tested using mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analyses.
The paper is structured as follows: First, I outline the principles of AET before introducing voice non-endorsement as an affective work event. Second, I explain the relationships between neuroticism, anger, counterproductive work behaviors, and surface acting, along with the resulting hypotheses. Third, I elaborate on the methodological approach used by this study and present the statistical results of my analyses. Finally, I discuss implications for theory and practice, followed by the study’s limitations and future research directions.