To engage or to quit: Work consequences of intimate partner aggression and the buffering role of career adaptability

Abstract How do intimate partner aggression victims successfully cope at work? Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory and its application in the work-family interface—the work home resources (WH-R) model, we proposed a moderated mediation model linking intimate partner aggression (IPA), work engagement, and work (i.e., performance, retention) and career (i.e., career sponsorship) outcomes. We also hypothesized that career adaptability, a vocationally relevant personal resource, serves as a buffer between IPA and work engagement. Multi-source and multi-wave data from two independent samples (Sample 1, n = 228 employee-coworker dyads; Sample 2, n = 215 employee-supervisor dyads) of working men and women from the Philippines lend support to our hypotheses. Results revealed that (1) work engagement mediated the relationships between IPA and work (i.e., performance, retention) and career (i.e., career sponsorship) outcomes, and that (2) the indirect effect of IPA in predicting work outcomes via work engagement was stronger for low as opposed to high levels of career adaptability. Psychological distress was tested as an alternative mediator but did not significantly influence the hypothesized relationships. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.