Linking Exploitative Leadership to Time Theft: A Psychological Model of Hatred and Moral Disengagement.

This study examines the relationship between exploitative leadership (EL) and employee time theft (TT), with a particular focus on the mediating roles of hatred (HA) and moral disengagement (MD), and the moderating role of professional commitment (PC). Using survey data from 238 employees and managers in Pakistan's service sector, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicate that EL is positively associated with TT (β = 0.205, p < .01), both directly and indirectly through HA (indirect effect: β = 0.096, p < .01) and MD (indirect effect: β = 0.233, p < .001). Specifically, EL significantly increases employees' feelings of hatred and levels of moral disengagement, which in turn are linked to higher engagement in time theft. Furthermore, professional commitment moderates these relationships such that the positive effects of EL on HA (β = -0.172, p < .001) and MD (β = -0.197, p < .001), and ultimately TT, are weaker among employees with higher levels of PC. This suggests that while exploitative leadership contributes to unethical behavior, its impact is partially buffered by employees' professional values. Overall, the findings provide empirical support for Conservation of Resources (COR) theory by demonstrating that resource depletion processes and individual differences jointly shape employee responses to negative leadership, while also indicating that the practical effect sizes are meaningful but not large. The study highlights the importance for organizations to recognize and address exploitative leadership and to foster professional commitment during recruitment and development to reduce unethical workplace behavior.