Background: Chaxu atmosphere refers to the degree of differences, like the ripple effects in water, of the association between group members and the leader of the group resource. Unlike Western culture, China's nurses have been working in Chaxu atmosphere, which may boost their negative emotion and influence their workplace behavior.
Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the chain-mediating role of envy and silence in the association between Chaxu atmosphere and organizational responsibility behavior.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted, and a multistage stratified sampling method was employed to collect data. The study was conducted from September to October 2020 in China. Totally, 1740 nurses were recruited, and 1221 valid responses were collected. Socio-demographic factors, Chaxu atmosphere, employee envy, employee silence, and organizational responsibility behavior were assessed using questionnaires that included the Chaxu Atmosphere Scale, Employee Envy Scale, Employee Silence Scale, and Organizational Responsibility Behavior Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to identify clusters of interrelationships among Chaxu atmosphere, envy, silence, and organizational responsibility behavior in nursing settings.
Results: Though the Chaxu atmosphere did not directly influence the organizational responsibility behavior of Chinese nurses, its effect is mediated by a chain of envy and silence. First, Chaxu atmosphere evoked envy in the nurses (β=-0.040, P<0.001), thereby leading to decreased organizational responsibility behavior. Second, the Chaxu atmosphere promoted silence toward organizational issues (β=-0.057, P<0.001), resulting in decreased organizational responsibility behavior. Third, the Chaxu atmosphere evoked envy in the nurses, which contributed to the formation of silence (β=-0.025, P<0.001), resulting in a further decrease in organizational responsibility behavior.
Conclusion: Nurses working in a high-level Chaxu atmosphere are prone to remaining silent on critical organizational issues due to increased envy, which subsequently reduces their organizational responsibility behavior. A better understanding of the association between the Chaxu atmosphere and workplace behavior will help nursing managers to foster harmonious relationships between nurses and their teams and to improve each individual's organizational responsibility behavior.
Keywords: Chaxu atmosphere; chain-mediating; nurses; organizational responsibility behavior.
© 2021 Zhang et al.