Perceived organizational politics and undesirable work attitudes: do hostility and emotional intelligence matter?

The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions. Does hostility shape the undesirable attitudinal consequences of perceived organizational politics (POP)? If so, does emotional intelligence play a role in this context? To answer these questions, the author relies on the affective events theory to present and empirically investigate a moderated mediation model in which: hostility mediates the relationships between POP and both job tension and turnover intentions; and emotional intelligence moderates these relationships.

The moderated mediation model was tested among a sample of 408 employees. The data was collected in three waves.

The results revealed that hostility mediated the relationships between POP and the two undesirable attitudes explored. In addition, one of the emotional abilities included in emotional intelligence, namely, self-emotion appraisal, moderated these relationships.

Interventions designed to increase the emotional intelligence level of employees might reduce the hostility they experience in response to POP, and consequently, its harmful implications.

Among the four emotional abilities included in emotional intelligence, only self-emotional appraisal moderates the relationship between POP and hostility. Such findings imply that in some cases, a thorough understanding about one’s emotions is more effective in regulating the hostility experienced in response to organizational politics than other emotional abilities that seem more relevant in this context.