The Effects of Perceptions of Organizational Politics (POP) on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence.

Abstract

The current study is an inquiry into perceptions of telecom sector employee of Pakistan towards organizational politics and its impact on their attitudes and behaviors. The effects of three dimensions of Perceived Organizational Politics (POP), named as General Political Behavior (GPB), Go Along to Get Ahead (GAGA) and Pay and Promotion Policies (PPP), on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of employees was assessed in detail. The moderating role of Emotional Intelligence will be evaluated in afore-mentioned relationship. A well-structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 190 employees of five large multi-nationals currently operating in Pakistan. Several statistical tools such as one-way ANOVA, Hierarchical Moderated Regression, Correlations, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Graphical presentation of Interaction terms and simple slope tests were performed to analyze the data. The moderating role of Emotional Intelligence is proved between two of the POP dimensions (GPB and GAGA). The study findings also provide detailed understanding regarding distinguishing roles of three dimensions of organizational politics on employee attitudes and behaviors. The study provides clear guidelines for policy makers in telecom sector to devise such policies that may curb the negative impacts of politics and provide emotional training to employees in this regard. The study has also identified its limitations and prospects for future researchers are also discussed at length.