Is Envy Always Bad? An Examination of Benign and Malicious Envy in the Workplace

The current study investigated workplace envy by exploring if perceived self-efficacy of negative and positive emotions could predict malicious or benign envy. This study also examined how malicious and benign envy relate to two important organizational outcomes: job engagement and turnover intentions. Malicious envy is typically associated with negative emotions toward the target of comparison as well as negative behavioral outcomes, whereas benign envy is typically associated with positive emotions toward the target of comparison as well as positive behavioral outcomes. A total of 80 participants completed multiple measures gauging the variables of interest in this study. Results were mixed: Although both dimensions of emotional self-efficacy significantly and positively predicted benign envy, neither dimension significantly predicted malicious envy. Additionally, benign envy significantly and positively predicted job engagement, and malicious envy significantly and positively predicted turnover intention. Both effects were practically significant. However, benign envy did not negatively predict turnover intention, and malicious envy did not negatively predict job engagement. Although these results did not confirm all hypothesized relationships, they demonstrate the complexity of envy as a construct, supporting its multidimensional nature. Our findings also provide further insight into the predictors and outcomes of benign and malicious envy in the workplace.