When reality becomes negotiable: Workplace gaslighting, epistemic resource depletion, and turnover intention in Indian private-sector organizations

Workplace gaslighting, a form of supervisory manipulation in which managers systematically distort subordinates’ perceptions of events and delegitimize their emotional responses, has attracted growing scholarly attention, yet its psychological mechanisms remain poorly understood outside Western contexts. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, this study proposes and tests a sequential mediation model in which workplace gaslighting is associated with reduced organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) through organizational cynicism, and in which reduced OBSE corresponds to higher turnover intention. Survey data were collected from 1,487 full-time employees across four private-sector industries in India, a high power-distance organizational context theorized to amplify the self-concept consequences of supervisory manipulation. Validated instruments included the Gaslighting at Work Questionnaire, an adapted OBSE scale, an organizational cynicism measure, and a turnover intention scale. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor measurement model (CFI = .94, TLI = .93, RMSEA = .053, SRMR = .061). Regression analyses showed that workplace gaslighting was negatively associated with OBSE and positively associated with organizational cynicism, while reduced OBSE was associated with higher turnover intention (all p < .001). Sequential mediation analysis confirmed a significant sequential indirect effect of workplace gaslighting on turnover intention through organizational cynicism and OBSE, with the relationship showing partial rather than full mediation.