Impact of Workplace Bullying on Job Burnout with the Mediating Effect of Hardiness: A Study of Executive Level Employees in the Apparel Sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of workplace bullying on job burnout of employees along with the mediating effect of hardiness. The study was undertaken using a sample of executive level employees in the apparel industry of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the population of the study is all the executive level employees in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. Out of the several organizations in the apparel industry, sample was selected representing four leading apparel companies. Accordingly, four hypotheses were tested in this study using primary data collected from a sample 150 employees. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire developed using well accepted standard scales to measure the relevant variables. This is a quantitative study undertaken using the deductive approach deploying the survey strategy. The data were collected from a convenience sample using an online survey shared among these employees using personal contacts. Data were entered to and analysed using the SPSS Version 23 software. Direct relationships in the study were tested using simple regression analysis and the mediation hypothesis was not tested as the relationship between the independent variable and the mediating variable was not supported by the data. The results indicated a significant positive impact of workplace bullying on job burnout of employees and a significant negative impact of hardiness on job burnout. However, the results indicated an insignificant relationship between workplace bullying and hardiness. As the results of this study are only limited to the apparels industry, they cannot be generalized across industries. Thus, future researchers can minimize this limitation by using a larger sample representing several industries (e.g., apparel, food and beverage, pharmaceutical) in one sector (e.g., manufacturing).