Workplace bullying and employee taking charge: the role of organization-based self-esteem, affective commitment and locus of control

Workplace bullying is an increasingly serious organizational issue, yet limited research has examined how and when it influences employees’ taking charge. Drawing on belongingness theory, this study investigates the relationship between workplace bullying and employees’ taking charge, focusing on the sequential mediating roles of organization-based self-esteem and affective commitment, as well as the moderating role of locus of control. Data were collected from 356 Chinese employees using a four-wave, time-lagged survey with four-week intervals between waves. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess construct validity, and reliability analyses were carried out to evaluate internal consistency. Path analysis and the bootstrapping method were then employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results showed that workplace bullying was negatively related to employees’ taking charge. This relationship was sequentially mediated by organization-based self-esteem and affective commitment. Moreover, locus of control strengthened the negative relationship between workplace bullying and organization-based self-esteem, and amplified the indirect effect of workplace bullying on taking charge through organization-based self-esteem and affective commitment. The findings contribute to research on understanding the relationship between workplace bullying and employee taking charge and have practical managerial implications for organizations seeking to promote employee taking charge.