Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior and Employees’ Workplace Well-Being: The Multiple Mediating Roles of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) has primarily been believed to be harmful, but recent evidence has gained mixed results. Current studies tend to attribute the mixed effects of UPB to its paradoxical nature, while ignore that there may be different types of UPB. Based on the self-determination theory, the present study’s aim was to identify the influence of two types of UPB on employees’ workplace well-being and the potential mechanisms between them. We gathered data from 207 salespeople in China (female=45.4%; 23-30 years=47.1%; managers=70.2%) working in different organizations and at three points in time. Results provided corroborating evidence that UPB was a multi-dimensional construct, consisting of initiative and compulsory UPB. The results also supported that CUPB is negatively associated with employees’ well-being, among which autonomy, competence, and satisfaction of relatedness needs all play a unique mediating role between them. The finding of this study not only provide one avenue to reconcile the inconsistent conclusions about UPB consequences, but also deepens the knowledge and understanding towards UPB. This article warns employees to say no to CUPB by pointing out the harm of engaging in this behavior for actors.