Workplace bullying, distrust in top management and diminished ethical voice behaviour: buffering effects of resilience and innovation propensity

Purpose This study aims to leverage conservation of resources theory to investigate how and when the experience of resource-depleting workplace bullying may turn employees away from ethical voice behaviour. It unpacks the bullying – ethical voice link by postulating a mediating role of distrust in top management and moderating roles of two complementary personal resources (resilience and innovation propensity). Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested with survey data collected from employees who work in the computer industry in Canada. Findings The empirical results reveal that a key mechanism that underpins the translation of repeated harassment at work into a refusal to speak up about ethical issues is that employees criticize top management for not being trustworthy. Employees’ ability to bounce back from adversity, as well as their intrinsic drive to generate novel ideas, buffers this harmful effect. Practical implications For employees who feel upset about being bullied, this study pinpoints a notable risk that might undermine their capability to address such behaviours; that is, they stop caring about the ethical performance of their employing organization. This risk can be averted, however, to the extent that they have a strong ability to recover from difficult situations or have an intrinsic motivation to find innovative solutions to such situations. Originality/value This research details the harmful effect of employees’ exposure to workplace bullying on their interest in sharing their opinions about ethical matters, as explained by their beliefs that organizational authorities cannot be trusted. It also explicates how this process can be mitigated if employees have access to valuable personal resources.