Volume 16, Issue 1
1.School of Management, Xihua University, Chengdu Sichuan, P.R.China
2.Research Institute of International Economics and Management, Xihua University, Chengdu Sichuan, P.R.China
3.International Business School, Chengdu International Studies University, Chengdu Sichuan, P.R.China
4.School of Business, Sichuan University, Chengdu Sichuan, P.R.China
Published：18 February 2025
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Hu Dongmei,Peng Yang,Chen Charles Weizheng.Does Bad News Always Bring Bad Results? Effects of Workplace Negative-Event Sharing on Employee Behaviour[J].Journal of Chinese Human Resources Management,2025,16(01):43-61.
Hu Dongmei,Peng Yang,Chen Charles Weizheng.Does Bad News Always Bring Bad Results? Effects of Workplace Negative-Event Sharing on Employee Behaviour[J].Journal of Chinese Human Resources Management,2025,16(01):43-61. DOI： 10.47297/wspchrmWSP2040-800503.20251601.
Given the prevalence of workplace personal negative-event sharing and its unknown cost to organizations
it is more pertinent than ever to analyse the effects on employee attitude and productivity exuded by the sharing behavior. This study provides an analysis of negative-event sharing between co-workers in a Chinese context
which we find as having psychological and physical effects in the workplace. We provide a responder-centric understanding of negative-event sharing and a dialectical perspective on how to effectively use this phenomenon to promote employee job involvement. We propose a dual-pathway model to examine differentiated employee behaviour from the perspective of two responses: reflection and complacency
and examine the moderating effect of perceived coworker competence in the two paths. Primary data using multi-source survey questionnaire were collected from 231 employees and their respective managers of nationwide cities in China
and additional data conducting a situational experiment collected from 316 students with work experience. Hayes' model 1 and model 7 have been used for the moderation and the moderated mediation analysis. The results imply that employee managers could effectively leverage workplace negative-event sharing to enhance employee productivity
reduce complacency
and promote healthy interactions and mutual growth among employees.
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