Teachers' career commitment amid terrorism: The role of religiousness in a parallel mediation model

• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Author: Zaib Un Nisa,Azrin Ibrahim,Ubedullah Memon
• Date: 01 December 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2788

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Teachers' career commitment amid terrorism: The role

of religiousness in a parallel mediation model

Zaib Un Nisa

1

| Azrin Ibrahim

1

| Ubedullah Memon

2

1

Centre for Islamic Development Management

Studies (ISDEV), Universiti Sains Malaysia,

Gelugor Penang, Malaysia

2

Department of Business Administration,

Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur, Pakistan

Correspondence

Zaib Un Nisa, Centre for Islamic Development

Management Studies (ISDEV), Universiti Sains

Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor Penang, Malaysia.

Email: zaibunnisa.scholar@gmail.com

Over the last decade, terrorist attacks on educational institutions have psychologi-

cally intercepted teachers in delivering their services effectively. Surprisingly, there is

scant research available on a sensitive issue that helps to prevent teachers' career

commitment amidst terrorism. Hence, the present study fills the gap by intercepting

teachers' job anxiety and perceived job risk with the buffering effect of their reli-

giousness. The findings revealed that teachers' job anxiety and perceived job risk are

the by-products of perceived threats of terrorism. Results also unveiled a significant

negative relationship between teachers' perceived job risk and their career commit-

ment. Further, the mediating role of teachers' perceived job risk amid terrorism was

found significant. Finally, the buffering effect of teachers' religiousness to mitigate

the adverse effects of job anxiety and perceived job risk on career commitment was

found significant. The results elucidated that teachers' job anxiety and perceived job

risk accounted for 13.2% of the variance in their career commitment.

KEYWORDS

career commitment, job anxiety, perceived job risk, religiousness

1|INTRODUCTION

Over the last decade, terrorist attacks have killed more than an

estimated 240,000 people worldwide and engrossed millions of others

to the verge of mental and physical deformities (Bader & Berg, 2013;

GTD, 2018; Memon, Ali, & Nisa, 2020). Similarly, the emergence of

terrorism against educational institutions has infiltrated the teaching

fraternity to perform their job tasks smoothly. During the last

10 years, more than 1500 terror incidents against educational institu-

tions have aggravated teachers' perceived job risk and anxiety that

eroded their job performance (De Clercq et al., 2017; GTD, 2018;

Memon et al., 2021). Nevertheless, scant research is available on the

teachers' vulnerability and schools' restoration (De Clercq et al., 2017;

Felix et al., 2010; Memon, Ali, & Nisa, 2020). Teachers' exposure to

terrorist attacks exacerbates their anxiety and burnout (Felix et al.,

2010; Toker et al., 2015), depletes their helping behavior (Memon, Ali,

Nisa, & Pathan, 2020), and ultimately leads schools to closure

(GCPEA, 2018).

Since the last decade, school teachers serving in the remote and

unsafe areas of Pakistan have been living miserable life due to

atrocious terrorist attacks, extortions, abductions, and target killings

(HRW, 2017). The fear of imminent terrorist attacks captivates people

in sheer uncertainty, death sensitivity, avoidance behavior, and dis-

turbs them emotionally and psychologically (Greenberg et al., 1986;

Mainiero & Gibson, 2003; Malik et al., 2018; Schmidt & Jongman,

1988). Terrorism-induced trauma also engrosses people in stress dis-

order, depression, regressive behavior, posttraumatic stress disorder,

anxiety, and insomnia (Boscarino et al., 2006; Fremont, 2004). Simi-

larly, employees' perceived job risk and anxiety in uncertain conditions

trigger their death sensitivity. The terror management theory (TMT)

also describes death's fear as a powerful predictor of stress and

abnormal behaviors (Greenberg & Arndt, 2012). TMT's fundamental

proposition is the death sensitivity that perplexes people (Belmi &

Pfeffer, 2016). In uncertain conditions, employees' job risk and stress

disturb their mental serenity and negatively affect their working life.

Past studies have affirmed the tendency of employees' perceived job

risk to erode their job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and

job involvement (Cullen et al., 1985; Lambert et al., 2005; Lambert

et al., 2013). Employees' job anxiety also intercepts their job satisfac-

tion, job performance, and psychological capital (Chung et al., 2017;

Received: 2 February 2021 Revised: 27 August 2021 Accepted: 23 October 2021

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2788

J Public Affairs. 2022;22(Suppl. 1):e2788. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1of10

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2788