The Effects of Workplace Loneliness on Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment: Moderating Roles of Leader-Member Exchange and Coworker Exchange
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sustainability Article The Effects of Workplace Loneliness on Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment: Moderating Roles of Leader-Member Exchange and Coworker Exchange Hyo Sun Jung 1 , Min Kyung Song 2 and Hye Hyun Yoon 2,* 1 Center for Converging Humanities Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea; [email protected] 2 Department of Culinary Arts and Food Service Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: This study aims to examine the effect of workplace loneliness on work engagement and organizational commitment and the moderating role of social relationships between an employee and his or her superior and coworkers in such mechanisms. Workplace loneliness decreased employees’ engagement with their jobs and, as such, decreased engagement had a positive relationship with organizational commitment. Also, the negative influence of workplace loneliness on work engage- ment was found to be moderated by coworker exchange, and employees’ maintenance of positive social exchange relationships with their coworkers was verified to be a major factor for relieving the negative influence of workplace loneliness. Keywords: workplace loneliness; work engagement; organizational commitment; leader-member exchange; coworker exchange; deluxe hotel Citation: Jung, H.S.; Song, M.K.; Yoon, H.H. The Effects of Workplace 1. Introduction Loneliness on Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment: Workplace loneliness does harm to an organization as well as its employees [1]. In an Moderating Roles of Leader-Member organization, employees perform their jobs amid diverse and complex interpersonal rela- Exchange and Coworker Exchange. tionships, and if they fail to bear such relationships in a basic social dimension, they will be Sustainability 2021, 13, 948. apt to feel loneliness [2]. Even though workplace loneliness is an important issue prevalent https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020948 within an organization, it has drawn little attention in the area of human resources man- agement. Workplace loneliness is an essentially unique emotion that employees experience Received: 10 December 2020 within their workplace, and increased competition within the workplace makes it more and Accepted: 13 January 2021 more difficult for them to establish genuine social relationships [3]. Social relationships are Published: 18 January 2021 very important in human life [4], and individuals spend most of their time in their work- places [5], but there has been restricted research that has investigated workplace loneliness Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral and negative performance. Rokach [6] noted that a lonely (solitary) employee experiences with regard to jurisdictional claims in pain due to little respect from his or her coworkers or superiors and, as a result, thinks that published maps and institutional affil- he or she has been left alone and makes a relatively negative evaluation of himself or her- iations. self. In addition, Lam and Lau [7] observed that those who feel lonely in their workplaces have low social skills, have a low level of perception about social risks, and concentrate more on negative social information than positive social information [8] and, therefore, are very likely to perceive threats rather than opportunities. In research performed thus Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. far, loneliness was mentioned mostly in a clinical or individual dimension [9]. Moreover, Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. a focus was made on the nature of the phenomenon of loneliness itself and an approach This article is an open access article to it in terms of organizational climate was disregarded. In particular, whereas ordinary distributed under the terms and loneliness accompanies a wider range of relationships, including diverse interpersonal conditions of the Creative Commons relationships in ordinary life, workplace loneliness is based on work situations, is not a Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// psychological feeling or state, may be easily affected by work situations, and, therefore, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ is all the more important [10]. Thus far, however, research on workplace loneliness has 4.0/). Sustainability 2021, 13, 948. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020948 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 15 Sustainability 2021, 13, 948 2 of 14 by work situations, and, therefore, is all the more important [10]. Thus far, however, re- search on workplace loneliness has been very scarce, and, in this respect, the researcher judged that relevant research should be further developed. been very scarce, and, in this respect, the researcher judged that relevant research should In particular, in order to obtain a sustainable development with a competitive edge, be further developed. deluxe hotels need to attract and maintain high quality employees in the present situation In particular, in order to obtain a sustainable development with a competitive edge, wheredeluxe competition hotels need togrows attract fierce and maintain[11,12]. Typical high quality problems employees inherent in in the the present hotel situationindustry whereinclude competition long work hours, grows irregular fierce [11 and,12 ].inflexible Typical work problems schedule, inherent and inweekend the hotel duties industry [13]. Furthermore,include long work a hotel hours, job pays irregular poorly, and involves inflexible a narrow work schedule, range of and duties, weekend and requires duties [ 13in-]. tensiveFurthermore, emotional a hotel labor job [14,15 pays]. poorly, For this involves reason, apolicies narrow are range needed of duties, that improve and requires hotel employintensiveees’ emotional social relationships labor [14,15 and]. For mitigate this reason, their policiesfeeling of are loneliness needed that at the improve workplace. hotel Therefore,employees’ an social interesting relationships working and environment mitigate their can feelingbe a good of loneliness method used at the by workplace.an organi- Therefore,zation to attract an interesting and maintain working employees environment [16,17], can and be this a good study method will provide used by meaningfu an organi-l suggestionszation to attract by verifying and maintain the influence employees of a [climate16,17], andof loneliness this study in will an organization. provide meaningful Hence, obtainingsuggestions knowledge by verifying about the the influence causes of and a climate outcomes of loneliness of workplace in an loneliness organization. will Hence, be an importantobtaining knowledgeissue for both about workers the causes and researchers. and outcomes From of workplacea viewpoint loneliness of workpl willace beflexi- an bility,important efforts issue to promote for both workershotel employees’ and researchers. social relationship From a viewpoint and manage of workplace their feeling flexibil-s of lonelinessity, efforts can to promote facilitate hotel sustainable employees’ growth social of the relationship hotel industry. and manage their feelings of lonelinessIn consideration can facilitate of sustainable the facts that growth people of thecurrently hotel industry. spend more time in their work- placeIns than consideration in any other of thedomain facts thatof life people and that currently workplace spend loneliness more time has in theira negative workplaces effect onthan job in performance, any other domain this study of life aims and to thatexamine workplace the effect loneliness of workplace has a loneliness negative effecton work on engagementjob performance, and organizational this study aims commitment to examine theand effect the moderating of workplace role loneliness of social onrela worktion- shipsengagement between and an organizational employee and commitment his or her superior and the moderating and coworkers role ofinsocial such relationshipsmechanisms (Figurebetween 1). an employee and his or her superior and coworkers in such mechanisms (Figure1 ). FigureFigure 1. 1.A A proposed proposed model model ofof workplaceworkplace loneliness,loneliness, work engagement, engagement, organizational organizational commitment, commitment, leader leader-member-member exchange (LMX), and coworker exchangeexchange (CWX). (LMX), and coworker exchange (CWX). 2. Literature Review and Conceptual Model 2.1. Workplace Loneliness, Work Engagement, Organizational Commitment, Leader-Member Exchange2.1. Workplace (LMX), Loneliness and Coworker, Work ExchangeEngagement (CWX), Organizational Commitment, Leader-Member ExchangeErnst (LMX), and Cacioppo and Coworker [18] observed Exchange that (CWX) workplace loneliness was a feeling experienced by employees when their social desires were not satisfied, and Wright et al. [10] noted that workplace loneliness was pain occurring due to a lack of interpersonal relationships of good quality among members in a work environment. In addition, Russell, et al. [19] Sustainability 2021, 13, 948 3 of 14 asserted that workplace loneliness was employees’ subjective perception about what was insufficient in their social relationships. Most research on workplace loneliness emphasizes that it affects individual and organizational performance very negatively [2,20,21]. Work engagement refers to a mental state of employees that is energetic, devoted, and full of vitality when participating in their jobs [22] and when they have high engagement, employees feel all the more happy and spend relatively more time in the organization [23]. In addition,