Workplace theft as a function of job stress and transformational leadership

Abstract

Background and objectives: The study focuses on the investigation of the relationship between the management style of the superior and the theft behaviour of subordinates based on the stress-source explanations of workplace theft and the transformational leadership theory. The research is mainly based on the theory of counterproductive workplace behaviours by Fox, Spector, and Miles (2001), and it identifies the characteristics of the transformational leadership style as a resource capable of neutralizing negative affects caused by workplace stressors. Method: The questionnaire package included a demographic questionnaire, the workplace stress presence questionnaire, the work-related affective well-being scale, certain statements of the multi-factor leadership questionnaire, and a questionnaire on workplace theft and time abuse. Convenience data was collected online, and the sample consisted of 168 people. Results: There was an indirect relationship between perceived work stress and workplace theft and time abuse by employees, and work-related negative affect fully mediated that relationship. Transformational leadership showed a moderately strong negative correlation with employees' theft activity. In addition, the transformational management style of the superior moderated the relationship between stress and theft: the high stress was connected less with theft when the superior had a transformational leadership style because that style can mitigate stress-caused negative affect. Conclusions: Stress at work is in a correlation with workplace theft, but by applying a transformational leadership style, managers are able to mitigate the negative impact of stressors on employees, curbing theft and misuse at work.