Organizational consequences of intrusive violence: the discourse of vendors from Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, Honduras

Abstract

Introduction. Route vendors in Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela are exposed daily to being victims of criminal acts that may result in economic or material losses. However, less evident is the deterioration in attitudes when working under this condition. The study was to explore the consequences that intrusive workplace violence has on the attitudes towards work of this population. Methods. The grounded theory method was used, through a semi-structured in-depth interview and with a non-probabilistic sampling that included nine vendors from five companies. The sampling technique was by snowball through the references that the participants gave about co-workers who could be part of the study. In addition, purposive sampling was used by directly contacting potential participants for the study. Results. Consequences at the organizational level included absenteeism, decreased productivity, poor performance, and negative attitudes at work. In this study, the participants perceived the companies´ lack of empathy, poor handling of adverse circumstances and lack of openness toward the employee's opinion. Conclusion. Poor organizational support was perceived, while satisfaction and commitment are less linked to the situation of violence. These two attitudes seem to be more linked to stability, salary, seniority, and career development.