From Job Stress to Social Loafing: Can Job Instrumentality Exacerbate Employees’ Perceptions of Both Phenomena?

The literature has not sufficiently examined the effects of employees’ perceptions of economic inequality on organisational behaviour. This paper investigates the impact of economic inequality on organisational behaviour. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, we explore how job instrumentality influences employee social loafing in this study. We collected research data using a convenience sampling from 204 employees working in three- to five-star hotels in Kocaeli (Türkiye). Structural equation modelling revealed that job instrumentality increases job stress and leads to social loafing. Furthermore, job stress played a mediating role in the relationship between job instrumentality and social loafing. Findings show that employees’ perception of work solely as a means to gain profit increases job stress, which fuels social loafing. This process can negatively impact individual performance and team effectiveness. Therefore, organisations must develop strategies that enrich and diversify the meaning employees ascribe to work. This paper improves our understanding of job instrumentality by showing how job instrumentality indirectly affects social loafing through job stress in the hospitality industry.