People are scarier than ghosts? Workplace haters and knowledge sharing

Abstract

Objective.In the workplace, colleague relationship deeply affects employees’ work attitude and behavior, but it is rarely taken seriously. Based on the cognitive-affective personality system theory and social network theory, this study examined the influence of three common workplace haters (negative gossiper, two-faced person, and loafer) on employee well-being and knowledge sharing and explores the moderating effect of organizational social capital. Method.The study used longitudinal design, three-wave, and 409 valid supervisor–employee pairs (233 direct supervisors and 409 employees) from 10 companies in Taiwan to test these hypothetical relationships. Results. The findings of this study showed that: (1) workplace haters negatively affects employee well-being; (2) employee well-being positively affects knowledge sharing; (3) employee well-being mediates the relationship between workplace haters and knowledge sharing; and (4) organizational social capital moderates the relationship between workplace haters and employee well-being. Conclusion. The study has important contributions to the literature on workplace haters, coworker interaction, and social capital. Implications for behavioral researchers and human resource managers are discussed.