TITLE:
The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Employees’ Relative Task Performance on Coworker Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Task Process and Meta-Process
AUTHORS:
Yi Xing, Lang Zhou, Xinying Liu
KEYWORDS:
Relative Task Performance, Social Undermining, Task Process, Meta-Process, Interpersonal Competition
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.4,
April
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: Drawing on stress cognitive appraisal theory, this study conceptualizes employees’ relative task performance as a work stressor perceived by coworkers and examines how it can simultaneously induce constructive and destructive coworker behaviors. Using three-wave matched survey data, we tested the relationships among employees’ relative task performance, task process, meta-process, learning behavior, social undermining, and interpersonal competition on the basis of 661 valid employee-coworker dyads nested within 225 team members from 60 business teams. The results show that, first, interpersonal competition significantly moderates the effect of employees’ relative task performance on coworkers’ cognitive appraisal processes. Under conditions of low interpersonal competition, higher employee relative task performance is more likely to stimulate coworkers’ task process; under conditions of high interpersonal competition, higher employee relative task performance is more likely to activate coworkers’ meta-process. Second, task process significantly promotes coworker learning behavior. Third, meta-process significantly increases coworker social undermining behavior. These findings reveal the double-edged sword mechanism through which employees’ relative task performance shapes coworker behavior and suggest that managers should adopt appropriate management practices, cultivate a healthy work climate and interpersonal relationships, and maintain a beneficial level of interpersonal competition.