Job stress and counterproductive work behaviours: the roles of negative affect states, vulnerable and grandiose narcissism

Akaighe, GO, Oyetunde, K, Adebiyi, SO ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0546-0060 and George, OJ, 2026. Job stress and counterproductive work behaviours: the roles of negative affect states, vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. ISSN 0892-7545

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Abstract

Drawing on the stressor-emotions model, this study examines the effect of job stress on employee counterproductive work behaviours (CWB) via negative affect states. In line with the conservation of resources theory, it also explores the moderating roles of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism in the job stress–negative affect link. Two-wave survey data were collected from 358 full-time Nigerian employees across various organisations. Regression analysis tested the direct relationships, while mediation and moderation hypotheses were assessed using bootstrapping methods in PROCESS macro. Findings show that job stress is positively related to negative affect states, which in turn increase CWB. Negative affect states mediate the relationship between job stress and CWB. Moreover, the indirect effect of job stress on negative affect states is stronger for employees high in vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. These findings offer practical insights for organisations seeking to reduce CWB and foster positive work behaviours. Targeted job stress interventions ranging from proactive job redesign, stressor reduction and mindfulness training, to recovery-focused counselling are recommended. Additionally, tailored support for narcissistic employees through empathetic communication, mentoring, and promoting a culture of openness can buffer emotional reactivity and reduce CWB.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal
Creators:	Akaighe, G.O., Oyetunde, K., Adebiyi, S.O. and George, O.J.
Publisher:	Springer Verlag
Date:	11 February 2026
ISSN:	0892-7545
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s10672-026-09573-9 DOI 2575053 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	13 Feb 2026 10:24
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2026 10:24
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55268

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