Paranoid ideation and emotional instability as drivers of social loafing among civil servants

Abstract

Purpose. The study investigated paranoid ideation and emotional instability as drivers of social loafing among civil servants in Awka Nigeria. Method. The participants (N = 129) consist of 24 malesand 105 females with an age range of 22 to 44 years and a mean age of 32.5. The study utilized these instruments: Social Loafing Scale developed by P. W. Mulvey and H. J. Klein, Revised Paranoid Thoughts Scale by D. Freeman with colleagues, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale by K. L. Gratz and L.Roemer. Correlational design and hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyse data. Findings. On paranoid ideation, the result at r = .09, p > .05, (M = 16.84 and SD = 4.75) indicated no significant relationship between reference ideation of paranoid ideation and social loafing; while r = .47, p < .001, (M = 23.95 and SD = 6.49) indicated a significant relationship between persecution ideation of paranoid ideation and social loafing. Emotional response non-acceptance, emotional awareness difficulty, emotional regulation difficulty, impulse control difficulty, emotional clarity of emotional instability, and paranoid ideation had a significant driving effect on social loafing. While reference ideation and the goalof emotional instability record no significant driving effect on social loafing among civil servants. Value of results. Today, social loafing has become a cancer that destabilizes both organizational and group efforts in private and public organizations. Therefore, this study cross-examined whether paranoid ideation and emotional instability are drivers of social loafing among workers. This study was the first of its kind to explore dimensions of paranoid ideation and emotional instability on workers’ social loafing, therefore the researchers submitted that other scholars should re-investigate these variables in a different setting or context to determine the generalization of this study. Implementation for practice.The study recommended that organizations develop plans and strategies that are psychologically driven to expose their workers to the knowledge of emotions and paranoid ideation.