Stop hazing me! Why workplace hazing hurts work engagement and how to mitigate it

Purpose Workplace hazing refers to coercive or demeaning initiation practices that impose psychological costs on employees, draining personal resources in ways that threaten their work engagement and, if left unchecked, may erode both individual wellbeing and organizational performance. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this article aims to examine why workplace hazing undermines work engagement and how this harmful organizational behavior can be mitigated. Design/methodology/approach Data from 1,217 young workers across industries in Malaysia were collected via a survey and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings Workplace hazing reduces work engagement (the “what” or main effect) under the influence of emotional exhaustion (the “why” or mediation effect), which, nonetheless, could be mitigated by the fear of negative evaluation (the “how” or moderation effect). Originality/value This article advances theoretical understanding by specifying an emotional resource-depletion mechanism (emotional exhaustion) and a qualifying boundary condition (fear of negative evaluation), thereby clarifying both the route through which workplace hazing harms work engagement and the circumstances under which that harm is less pronounced (greater fear of negative evaluation), with clear implications for managerial prevention and response.