Subordinates’ silence: the consequence of bullying behaviour and psychological insecurity among policemen
ISSN: 2040-8269
Article publication date: 12 January 2023
Issue publication date: 17 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
There has been a growing concern about employee silence (ES) within an organization. ES is associated with low creativity and innovativeness, unethical organizational practices, avoidable errors and safety-related issues. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mediating role of psychological insecurity (PI) in the relationship between leaders’ bullying behaviour (LBB) on defensive (DES) and acquiescent employee silence (AES).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected among police personnel working in Plateau state Nigeria. In all, a total of 350 responses were found useable for further analysis, of the 398 copies of the questionnaire administered. A structural equation modelling technique was used via SMART-PLS version 3.3.3 to test the hypothesized relationship.
Findings
The findings of this study revealed that leaders’ bullying positively and significantly influences both AES and DES, and PI was found to mediate the relationship between LBB and AES and DES.
Originality/value
LBB among the police has been under-researched, even when there is clear evidence of its existence. PI explains the mechanism through which LBB influences officers' silence.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Mang Niri Job (PhD) for his professional contribution in the area of clinical psychological intervention for coping with bullying behaviour and employee silence. His professional contribution enriches the practical significance of the research. The authors are looking forward to collaborate with him in the nearest future.
The authors appreciate the Department of Business Administration, University of Jos for providing the platform that supports this research.
Citation
Vem, L.J., Peter, J.C., Tali, D.N., Ochigbo, A.D., Sambasivan, M. and Nmadu, T.M. (2023), "Subordinates’ silence: the consequence of bullying behaviour and psychological insecurity among policemen", Management Research Review, Vol. 46 No. 9, pp. 1242-1260. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2022-0518
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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