Perceived coworker incompetence and the mediating role of psychological contract: Consequences for workplace attitudes, communication, and emotions

Organizations depend on members who demonstrate their competence. Incompetent coworkers present an emotional and psychological strain and can create obstacles to peak performance, drain organizational members’ cognitive and physical energy, and decrease organizational trust. Coworker incompetence is worth investigating because it comes at a cost to organizations and their members. This study applied affective events theory (AET) to examine the mediating role of psychological contract violation in the relationship between members’ perceptions of their coworkers’ incompetence and their attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational identification, cynicism, and turnover intentions), communication behaviors (cloak of incompetence, counterproductive work behaviors, coworker exchange), and emotions (stress, relational energy). Results from an online survey of 267 organizational members from a variety of job industries revealed support for the hypotheses. Members notice their coworkers’ incompetence, leading them to regain their autonomy by reducing their association to their organizations, behaving in ways that loosen their organizational membership, and feeling strain and decreased energy. Organizations must prioritize training and development, and members should focus on performing their roles and responsibilities.