Development of Job Embeddedness of employees through civility in the work environment and the mediator role of work overload in sports and youth departments

Subject Areas : Sport Sciences Quarterly

Mahdi Reyhani ¹ , kazem Cheraghbirjandi ²

1 - Master's student in sports management, Birjand Islamic Azad University, Birjand, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor of Physical Education Department, Birjand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Birjand, Iran

Received: 2025-04-07 Accepted : 2025-06-09 Published : 2025-08-18

Keywords: Job Embeddedness, Civility in the Workplace, Work Overload, Sports and Youth Departments,

Abstract :

In today’s dynamic organizational environment, effective job placement plays a critical role in employee satisfaction, productivity and long- term retention . Particularly in public service sectors such as sports and youth dpartments, where teamwork, communication, and community engagement are essential, aligning individuals with suitable roles is vital. One key factor that can influence successful job placement is workplace civility.  However, the potential benefits of civility in the workplace may be determined by excessive workload or job overload, which is a common challenge in public sector organizations. Job overload can lead to burnout, stress, and reduced performance, potentially mediating the positive effects of a civil work culture on job placement outcomes. In the context of sports and youth departmets – where demands can fluctuate and staffing may be limited- understanding how overload mediates the relationship between civility and job placement is essential. The aim of the current research was to developing employee job placement through civility in the workplace and the role of mediating overload in sports and youth departments in the east of the country. The research method is a descriptive-correlation type, which was conducted in the field. The statistical population of the research was all the employees of sports and youth departments in the east of the country, numbering 945 people. According to Morgan's table, the sample was 278 people. The research tools include the standard questionnaire of Holtom et al.'s Job Embeddedness (2006), the standard questionnaire of workplace civility by Bell and Mangog (2002) and the standard questionnaire of Spector and Jax's (1998) workload of employees. To ensure the reliability of the questionnaires, 30 copies of it were distributed in a preliminary study on a sample that was completely randomly selected, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Job Embeddedness questionnaire (α=0.91), the workplace civility questionnaire (α=0.88) ) and the workload questionnaire (α=0.84) was obtained. The results of the research showed that civility in the work environment has a significant relationship with employees' Job Embeddednessand work overload in sports and youth departments. Also, the mediating role of work overload has a mediating role in the relationship between civility in the work environment and job embeddedness of employees. It is suggested that in the institutionalization of jobs in sports and youth departments, the civility of the work environment should always be considered as an important indicator for the managers of the departments

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