engleski

The role of fair treatment and work engagement in altering and hindering clients' (un)desirable behaviors: The academia context

Organizational scholars keep on highlighting the role of clients’ attitudes and behaviors in organizationally relevant outcomes. Noteworthy, the research often neglect these relations in academia context. Might students’ attitudes and behaviors be beneficial or harmful for the academia stakeholders: other students, teachers, and faculty as an organization? If we consider students as faculty clients, based on the research in the organizational context, it deems logical to expect an affirmative answer to the latter. This study aims to address the aforementioned interrogations, by extending the novel streamline of research, which are highlighting the role of clients in the organizational context, to an academia context. More specifically, this study explores the relationship between students’ perceived justice, their work engagement and their (un)desirable behaviors towards their colleagues, teachers, and faculty. The results of the structural equation modeling, performed on a sample of 1513 students confirmed our expectations. Student perceptions of fairness from their colleagues and teachers alter student work engagement—the positive, fulfilling emotional state characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. That altered work engagement further enhances desirable student behaviors—captured in student citizenship behaviors—voluntary, self-driven behaviors that are beneficial to their targets, while diminishing undesirable student behaviors — encapsulated in counterproductive student behaviors—intentional behaviors aimed to harm their colleagues, teachers, and/or faculty. That is, fairness from teachers and colleagues perceived by a student, enhances student desirable, and diminishes undesirable student behavior both directly, and indirectly, by altering student work engagement. The results of this research provide valuable insights and implications for both, science and practice, by highlighting the role of fair treatment and work engagement in altering and hindering students' (un)desirable behaviors.

students’ perceived justice ; students' work engagement ; students' (un)desirable behaviors

nije evidentirano