Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government

Abstract

Every organization has a dark side indeed and the present study aimed to explore dark side
behaviors in higher education institutes from the perspective of blame attribution, workplace
bullying, and turnover intention which needed to be recognized. These behaviors considered
being deviant behavior affects teachers both emotionally and physically. Current study aimed
to explore the concept of keeping intact the talented teacher through work engagement while
battling with dark behaviors. Study further analyzed the mediating role of work engagement
in the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention among teachers of
HEIs. Quantitative research with the use of survey design and self-administered questionnaire
was conducted among upon a sample of purposively selected teachers from Higher Education
Institutes (HEIs) in Sargodha, Pakistan, was carried out during March to July 2019. Utrecht
Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli, et al., 2002), Blame attribution scale (Gudjonsson &
Singh, 1989), Negative Act Questionnaire (Einarsen, Raknes & Helleosy, 1994), and
Turnover Intention scale (Mitchell, et al., 2001) were used to measure the constructs of study.
Regression analysis reveals work engagement was a significant predictor for blame
attribution, workplace bullying, and turnover intention. Findings also revealed that work
engagement was a key booster to keep talented employees on board while tackling workplace
bullying and turnover intention. Findings of the study were helpful for organizations to keep
their talented employees on board and for employees to cope with dark behaviors.