Reactions to Negative Feedback: The Role of Resilience and Implications for Counterproductivity

The model of Organizational Frustration (Spector, 1978) suggests that individuals are more likely to engage in counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) after having had a negative experience at work due to the negative emotions brought on by such an experience. The King and Rothstein (2010) model of resilience suggests that the degree to which an individual self-regulates after an adverse workplace experience influences how they subsequently behave. Using vignettes, participants were told they received either positive or negative feedback regarding their job performance and were asked to fill out measures of resilience and intentions to engage in CWB. In a sample of 292, employed, male participants, it was found that behavioural self-regulation moderates the relationship between feedback type and CWB, as mediated by affect. This suggests that the more one engages in self-regulation, the less CWB they will likely engage in after having a negative reaction to an adverse workplace experience