The Relationship Between Social Undermining and Job Stress:Mediation of Professional Ethical Standards, Moderating Role of Gender

Purpose – The aim of this study is to reveal the relationships between social undermining, job stress, professional ethical standards and gender, which is one of the categorical variables. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the research. The data of the research were obtained from 229 academic staff who are still working at a state university located in the east of Turkey by online survey method. The obtained data were analyzed with the help of the original SPSS 22.0, SPSS extension Process Macro and AMOS 25.0 package programs. Findings – As a result of the research, a positive and significant relationship was found between social undermining and job stress. It has been determined that there is a negative and significant relationship between social undermining and professional ethical standards, and a positive and significant relationship between professional ethical standards and job stress. In addition, it was concluded that professional ethical standards have a partial mediating role in the relationship between social undermining and job stress. In addition, it was determined that the categorical variable, gender, played a moderator role in the mediating effect of social undermining and professional ethical standards on job stress. Discussion – In the study, attention was drawn to the negative consequences of social undermining. If necessary measures are taken to prevent social undermining in organizations, possible problems can be prevented. Since there is no other study in the literature that deals with social undermining, work stress and professional ethical standards together, it is expected to make a serious contribution to the field.