Raised to Relate: How Parenting Quality Is Associated With Citizenship and Deviance at Work?
Shakir Hussain, Chuanjun LiuABSTRACT
Objective
This study examined whether perceived moral awareness (PMA) and perceived empathic concern (PEC) explain associations between parenting quality (PQ) and workplace behaviors, namely organizational citizenship behavior toward individuals (OCBI) and interpersonal deviance (ID).
Background
Although PQ is central to socio‐emotional development, its workplace implications remain underexplored. We examined PMA and PEC as potential explanatory mechanisms.
Method
Data were collected from 713 employees using a multi‐wave survey design. PQ, PMA, and PEC were assessed in Wave 6, whereas OCBI and ID were assessed in Wave 8; PQ was assessed retrospectively. Mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS and structural equation modeling while controlling for demographic, job‐related, and social desirability factors.
Results
PQ was positively associated with OCBI and negatively associated with ID. PQ was also positively related to PMA and PEC. However, only PEC significantly mediated these relationships across both analytical approaches. PMA showed no significant indirect effects when PEC was included.
Conclusion
PEC showed unique indirect associations between PQ and workplace behavior, whereas PMA did not when the two mediators were modeled jointly.
Implications
Empathy‐focused workplace interventions may help increase citizenship behavior and reduce deviance.