COVID-19 and unpaid leave: Impacts of psychological contract breach on organizational distrust and turnover intention: Mediating role of emotional exhaustion

Moh'd Juma Abdalla; Hamad Said; Laiba Ali; Faizan Ali; Xianglan Chen

doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100854

COVID-19 and unpaid leave: Impacts of psychological contract breach on organizational distrust and turnover intention: Mediating role of emotional exhaustion

Tour Manag Perspect. 2021 Jul:39:100854. doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100854. Epub 2021 Jun 26.

Authors

Moh'd Juma Abdalla¹, Hamad Said², Laiba Ali¹, Faizan Ali³, Xianglan Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Tourism, Eastern Mediterranean University, Turkey.
² Faculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University, Turkey.
³ School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of South Florida, FL, USA.
⁴ Center for Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

This study examines the influence of COVID-19 on unpaid leave, the direct impacts of psychological contract breach on organizational distrust and turnover intention, and their indirect impact through emotional exhaustion. The study used partial least squares to analyze the data set of 238 questionnaires from hospitality establishments. Results indicate a significant direct positive impact of psychological contract breach on organizational distrust and favorable indirect effects through emotional exhaustion. However, psychological contract breach had no direct effects on turnover intention. The study has equally found the positive effect of organizational distrust on turnover intention. The research provides both theoretical and practical implications and suggests areas for further studies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Emotional exhaustion; Organizational distrust; Psychological contract breach; Turnover intention; Unpaid leave; Zanzibar.