Suspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and work-related outcomes

Douglas, Karen M.; Leite, Ana C.

Abstract

Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread and has important consequences for political, health, and environmental behaviour. Little is known, however, about how conspiracy theorizing affects people's everyday working lives. In the present research, we predicted that belief in conspiracy theories about the workplace would be associated with increased turnover intentions. We further hypothesized that belief in these organizational conspiracy theories would predict decreased organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Finally, we hypothesized that these factors would mediate the relationship between organizational conspiracy theories and turnover intentions. In three studies (one correlational and two experiments, Ns = 209, 119, 202), we found support for these hypotheses. The current studies therefore demonstrate the potentially adverse consequences of conspiracy theorizing for the workplace. We argue that managers and employees should be careful not to dismiss conspiracy theorizing as harmless rumour or gossip.

Citation

Douglas, K. M., & Leite, A. C. (2016). Suspicion in the workplace: Organizational conspiracy theories and work-related outcomes. British Journal of Psychology, 108(3), 486-506. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12212

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 8, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Aug 4, 2016
• Publication Date: Aug 4, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 13, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2019
• Journal: British Journal of Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0007-1269
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-8295
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 108
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 486-506
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12212
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1299499
• Related Public URLs: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/56748/