The Effect of Social Undermining and Unethical Interactions in the Organization on Employee Procrastination: The Moderating Role of Positive Psychological Capital

Social undermining is a crime that is committed by a person to reduce the good reputation of others and prevents the establishment of positive relations with them in the organization. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of social undermining and unethical interactions in the organization on employee procrastination with regard to the moderating role of positive psychological capital in North Kerman Electric Power Company (NKEPC).

This research is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of the nature and form of implementation, it is descriptive of the correlation type. The statistical population of this research is 1384 employees of NKEPC in 2022, out of which a sample of 300 people was selected using Cochran's formula. The main data collection tool consisted of four questionnaires, including social impairment questionnaire, emotional fatigue questionnaire, work procrastination questionnaire and psychological capital questionnaire. Also, the analysis has been done using structural equation analysis, Sobel test, SPSS and AMOS software.  

The results showed that social undermining has a positive and significant effect on emotional exhaustion and procrastination. Emotional exhaustion has a positive and significant effect on procrastination. Also, the moderation of psychological capital was confirmed in the relationship between social undermining and emotional exhaustion, and social undermining and work procrastination. Also, the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between social impairment and procrastination was confirmed.

It is clear that social undermining both directly and indirectly contributes to the increase of employees' procrastinating behaviors. The findings of this study shed light on the organic mechanism that may encourage employees' procrastination behaviors, as perceived social undermining during the socialization process increases employees' emotional exhaustion.