Feeling insulted? Examining end-of-work anger as a mediator in the relationship between daily illegitimate tasks and next-day CWB

In this daily diary study, we investigated the within-person relationship between daily illegitimate tasks and next-day counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We explored a moderated mediation model where the link between illegitimate tasks and CWB is mediated by daily end-of-work anger, with daily time pressure moderating the relationship between illegitimate tasks and end-of-work anger. We collected data from 114 full-time employees across 10 consecutive working days. Results showed that within individuals, daily illegitimate tasks positively predicted next-day CWB, and the relationship was mediated by daily end-of-work anger. Further, daily time pressure moderated the relationship between daily illegitimate tasks and daily end-of-work anger with the relationship being stronger when daily time pressure was high.