Impact of Abusive Supervision on Counterproductive Work Behaviour: Study of Nurses in Public Sector

Abstract

With the covid-19 pandemic healthcare industry faced more difficulties than other industries in all over the world. Regular working patterns changed and suddenly working load was increased with the risk of covid – 19 spreading. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of abusive supervision on counterproductive work behaviour of public sector nurses in the Sri Lankan context. Also, to examine the moderating effect of organizational justice on the relationship between abusive supervision and counterproductive work behaviour of nurses. To achieve this objective data were collected from 405 nurses of public sector hospitals in the western province Sri Lanka. The sample was chosen using a convenience sampling procedure, and primary data were gathered using a standard questionnaire. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis, and correlation analysis. The test results revealed that there is a positive impact of abusive supervision on counterproductive work behaviour of public sector nurses. Also, organizational justice moderates the relationship between abusive supervision on counterproductive work behaviour. Furthermore, it is advised to conduct further studies considering private sector nurses and both sectors together among a larger sample in order to add more knowledge to the study's core findings.