A stress perspective on antecedents of abusive supervision: Blaming the organisation when exhausted supervisors abuse

An identity threat perspective on why and when employee voice brings abusive supervision

Purpose

Drawing from identity threat theory, this study aims to understand how and when employee voice can lead to abusive supervision. It proposes and examines a theoretical model in which employee voice is linked to abusive supervision through the mediating effect of leader identity threat.

Methods

We conducted a field study by collecting data from 93 supervisors and 533 subordinates in China at two different points in time. A structural equation model and Mplus software were used to examine the direct relationship between employee voice and abusive supervision, as well as the mediating effect of leader identity threat and the moderating effect of supervisor traditionality.

Results

Our results showed that employee voice was positively related to leader identity threat and had an indirect effect on abusive supervision via leader identity threat. In addition, we found that supervisor traditionality moderated the relationship between employee voice and leader identity threat. Subordinates' voice increased perceptions of leader identity threat among supervisors with high traditionality, whereas supervisors with low traditionality did not make this association. Finally, the indirect effect of employee voice on abusive supervision via leader identity threat was moderated by supervisor traditionality.

Discussion

First, this study broadens our understanding of the antecedents of abusive supervision by proposing that employee voice may induce abusive supervision. Second, it develops an identity threat perspective to explain why employee voice is positively related to abusive supervision. Finally, it enriches the research on implicit leadership theories by proposing that supervisors' cultural values can also influence supervisors' sense-making of subordinates' behaviors.

Perceived abusive supervision and graduate students' suicidal ideation: from the perspective of interpersonal psychological theory of suicide

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the issue of suicide caused by the stress of a contradictory relationship between graduate students and academic supervisors has aroused heated discussion in society. Based on the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived abusive supervision on graduate students' suicidal ideation and the parallel mediating roles of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey measuring perceived abusive supervision, interpersonal psychological needs and suicidal ideation among 232 Chinese graduate students. A structural equation model was constructed to test the hypothesis.

RESULTS

The results showed that abusive supervision directly exacerbated suicidal ideation (β = 0.160, 95% CI = [0.038, 0.281], p = 0.009) and indirectly influenced suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness (β = 0.059, 95% CI = [0.008, 0.110], p = 0.019) and perceived burdensomeness (β = 0.102, 95% CI = [0.013, 0.191], p = 0.018). The indirect effect accounted for 50.15% of the overall effect.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings enrich our understanding of the influence of supervisor-student relationship by integrating the literatures on educational and organizational behaviour, and provide practical insights for psychosocial interventions from the perspective of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide.

Leader Boundary-Spanning Behavior and Employee Voice Behavior: The Job Demands-Resources Perspective

Drawing on the job demands-resources model, we suggest and test a motivational mechanism that underlies the relationship between leader boundary-spanning behavior and employee voice behavior. Based on the field survey data of 383 leader-employee pairs collected from various organizations in South Korea, the results of our mediation model showed that leader boundary-spanning behavior, as a potential job resource, enhances employee voice behavior by increasing employee self-efficacy. The results of our moderated mediation model also showed that the focal leader's abusive supervision, as a potential job demand, could attenuate the beneficial effect of leader boundary-spanning behavior on employee voice behavior by diminishing employee self-efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of leader boundary-spanning behavior in enhancing employee voice behavior, the roles of employee self-efficacy as a key mediating mechanism, and the focal leader's abusive supervision as a preventable boundary condition within these relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Facilitating Health-Oriented Leadership from a Leader’s Perspective

Abstract. Health-oriented leadership (HoL) is vital for the improvement of health and an essential part of psychological risk management. However, the relevance of different antecedent factors is unknown. We used data from a Germany-wide online survey with N = 738 leaders. Referring to the JD-R model, we analyzed leaders’ demands and resources that facilitate or impede health-oriented leadership from a leader’s perspective. Moreover, we examined the relevance of contextual factors like branch, company size, and management span. Whereas results show only small differences for contextual factors, we found positive relationships between leaders’ resources, like autonomy and social support, and negative relationships with workplace demands (availability, multitasking) and HoL from a leader’s perspective. At the organizational level, HoL is positively linked to high-performance work practices and health-oriented HRM strategies. From a leader’s perspective, the findings provide evidence for the relevance of favorable working conditions and human resources practices for improving HoL as part of psychological risk management.

The Spillover Effect of Life Satisfaction on Customer Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Service-Oriented Organizational Citizenship and the Moderating Role of Competition Climate

In the field of organizational management, research on employees’ life experiences is insufficient. It remains unclear how employees’ non-work experiences affect customer service quality. Building on the spillover theory (an individual’s experience in one domain can be transferred to another domain) and the conservation of resources theory (individuals are motivated to protect their current resources and to acquire new resources), we aim to examine the impact of service employee’s life satisfaction on customer satisfaction while considering service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (the discretionary extra-role behavior demonstrated by employees) as a mediating variable. To test our hypothesis, we collected multi-wave, multilevel, multisource data of 209 customer service employees from an insurance company. The results showed that service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior was an important mechanism by which employees’ overall life satisfaction positively affected customer satisfaction. In addition, this mediating effect was weaker for employees in higher competition climate groups. The study illustrates the critical contribution of the overall well-being of personnel to organizational business results.