UNREVEALING GENDER DIFFERENCES; AN INVESTIGATION OF COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WORK BEHAVIOR AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AMONG FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN SINDH

Abstract

Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) encompasses discretionary actions aimed at causing harm to organizations and individuals, hindering organizational objectives, and disrupting norms. This study examines the prevalence of CWB in academic staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on gender differences in Sindh universities. We explored how negative behaviors such as aggression, rudeness, withdrawal, sabotage, theft, and absenteeism manifest in academic environments and whether they vary based on gender. A sample of academic staff (301) from multiple universities in Sindh participated in the study. Utilizing bootstrapping with 2000 bootstrap samples and 90% bias-corrected confidence intervals, we examined the significance of path coefficients and conducted a chi-square difference test and p-value analysis. SEM was developed for both male and female groups. Our findings indicate that the model was more suitable for females (R² = 0.14) compared to males (R² = 0.07) in explaining the variance in CWB. We detected significant gender differences in CWB, suggesting that females may exhibit higher levels of negative behaviors in the academic setting during the pandemic. Additionally, the study sheds light on the persistence of gender stereotypes and cultural biases in the workplace, even amidst the pandemic-induced changes in work arrangements. These findings have important implications for policymakers and organizations and highlight the need to address and support the well-being of male academic staff in Sindh universities.