A 1‐year longitudinal study on experiencing workplace cyberbullying, affective well‐being and work engagement of teachers: The mediating effect of cognitive reappraisal

Abstract

Research on experiencing workplace cyberbullying (WCB) and its underlying mechanisms that impact the well‐being of teachers is scarce. We propose that cognitive reappraisal, which is a useful and adaptive emotion–regulation strategy for reinterpreting emotion‐eliciting situations, is a mediator explaining the inverse relationships between experiencing WCB and well‐being. A three‐wave longitudinal survey (baseline, T1; 3 months, T2; and 1 year, T3) was conducted with a sample of 444 primary and secondary schoolteachers in Hong Kong, China. Exposure to WCB, cognitive reappraisal, affective well‐being and work engagement of participants was assessed. In line with the hypotheses, results showed that cognitive reappraisal mediated the associations between WCB and well‐being. WCB at T1 was negatively associated with cognitive reappraisal at T2, which in turn was positively associated with positive affect and work engagement and negatively associated with negative affect at T3. Findings suggest that the intrusive nature of WCB renders its victims emotionally exhausted and helpless, thus negatively impacting the process to reinterpret the situation in a positive light, resulting in undesirable consequences. This study has illuminated WCB's inhibitory mechanism and its long‐term detrimental impact. Practical implications are discussed.