Enshrouding the Evil Eye: Relational Mobility Mitigates Negative Impact of Envy

Employees may reduce work engagement after they experience feelings of envy toward their coworkers. Yet explanations of when and why envy leads to reduced work engagement are lacking. Drawing on the theory of conservation of resources and literature on relational mobility, we propose that exhaustion mediates the negative effect of envy on work engagement and the indirect effect is weaker when relational mobility is low versus high. Across three studies (a field study and two experimental studies), we find support for our hypotheses. Our research suggests that social environmental factor: relational mobility, can override people’s undesirable reactions to envy.