Beyond one work day? A daily diary study on causal and reverse effects between experienced workplace incivility and behaving rude towards others

How do you see your role as a follower? A quantitative exploration of followers' role orientation

How people see and define their role in different social settings has been of interest in psychological science for several decades. However, followers' role orientations, followers' beliefs about their role in the workplace, and how they execute their roles, have mostly been omitted in research so far. Nevertheless, followers' role orientations are important as they can affect (work-related) behavior. Therefore, this study quantitatively investigates the structure, heterogeneity, and consistency of followers' role orientations as well as the role orientations' link to work-related traits and behaviors. For this purpose, content and statistical analysis of an Implicit-Followership-Theory Scale and latent profile analyses were conducted with data from two points in time via a sample of German employees (t1: n = 211, t2: n = 69). The results indicate that a passive/active work attitude (Enthusiasm) plays the most prominent part in differences in followers' role orientation, followed by a positive/negative work ethic (Industry), and cooperativeness toward the leader (Good Citizen). Moreover, followers can be differentiated according to their role orientations into three distinct types: the Anti-Prototype, the Moderate Anti-Prototype, and the Moderate Prototype. Followers of the Moderate Prototype have the highest values in work-related traits and behaviors like conscientiousness and personal initiative. Followers' profile affiliation is stable for three-quarters of the sample over 4-6 weeks. Overall, these findings point to role orientation being a (performance-related) follower characteristic, making role orientations relevant for application processes, especially for positions with frequent leader-follower interactions. Lastly, results show a current conceptual inaccuracy. They indicate the need to differentiate more rigorously between role orientations and Implicit Followership Theories (IFT), although currently both are often used synonymously. Therefore, recommendations for alterations to the used Implicit Followership Theory scale for capturing followers' role orientations are given, including the elimination of items with situational character and changes in wording and factor structure.

Abusive supervision, supervisor undermining, and turnover intentions: mediation of quiescent silence and desire to seek revenge among Thai banking frontliners

Purpose

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study aims to investigate the destructive impact of abusive supervision and supervisor undermining on quiescent silence and turnover intentions among frontline employees. Whether quiescent silence and the desire to seek revenge mediate the path from aggressive supervisory behaviors to turnover intentions is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a time-lagged design, the authors collected data from 350 frontline banking officers in Thailand by a survey. For data analysis purposes, structural equation modeling procedures are used through Smart partial least square version 3.2.0.

Findings

Uniquely, findings suggest that abusive supervision does not result in any form of retaliation. Supervisor undermining has a trickle-down effect on the desire to revenge, quiescent silence and turnover intentions. For supervisor undermining, the direct path, as well as mediating roles are supported by data.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggests organizational systems should discourage supervisors from undermining the subordinates. There is a need to offer regular training to supervisors. Furthermore, employees should be provided some platforms and the freedom to positively speak at work. Above all, supervisors should be more inspiring which can dilute negative perceptions of abuse.

Originality/value

The proposed mediation of desire to revenge and quiescent silence is unique to this study. Moreover, the challenge to the traditional trickle-down effects of abusive supervision is a unique intervention in the organizational behavior literature.

Threats to Professional Roles in Part-Time Leadership

Abstract. Leaders working part time struggle with a lack of respect and acceptance from their subordinates and their management colleagues. Leadership as a part-time role does not match the traditional expectation of leaders being omnipresent and always responsive (Jochmann-Döhl, 2017). Although leaders working part time (LPT) are supported by subordinates and colleagues, their supportive behavior is often coupled with accusations that work-related problems occur only because the leader is working part time. According to the stress-as-offense-to-self theory (SOS, Semmer et al., 2007 ; Semmer et al., 2019 ), such dysfunctional supportive behavior triggers threats by offending the need for belonging. This study serves to strengthen SOS theory and extend its application beyond stress research by investigating the effects of LPT threat experiences on rumination, LPT job satisfaction, and role identification. Further, it empirically confirms the need-based threat mechanism. Results based on an online questionnaire ( N = 101 LPT) show that dysfunctional support by subordinates and management colleagues relates to a feeling of exclusion by significant others as an indicator of an offended need for belonging. Furthermore, the results indicate that the feeling of exclusion mediates the relationship between dysfunctional support and role identification and between dysfunctional support and LPT job satisfaction. No mediation effect was found for rumination. In addition to providing a theoretically differentiated understanding and prediction of threats, the study includes important practical starting points for the risk management of LPT.

Workplace incivility: a literature review

Purpose

There have been strides in workplace incivility (WI), but in what direction, angles and theoretical streams are they taking place? In light of it, the purpose of this review is to analyze the overall WI research output yielded in the initial decades of this century.

Design/methodology/approach

This investigation searched exclusively for empirical articles written in English that matched the terms incivility and WI in the websites of prominent peer-review publications covering the period of 19 years (i.e. 2000–2019). As a result, 93 peer-reviewed empirical studies were properly gathered and classified.

Findings

WI is one of the most relevant topics in OB studies under scrutiny in this moment. Corroborating such a perception is the huge amount of outlets that have been publishing about WI. In this sense, it is a topic that has gained strong interdisciplinary status, given the manifested interest of very distinct areas. Cross-sectional studies have prevailed in terms of method preferences, yet other approaches have been used. Of noteworthy is the shortage of qualitative and meta-analytic studies. Data provided evidence that a very limited number of nations (only 18 countries) have been investigated and it is not exactly surprising that the United States be the target of the majority of studies in this field. The antecedents and consequences of WI are the major focus of the investigations. But I found some evidence that that WI has been tested as performing the role of measure, mediator and moderator.

Research limitations/implications

It focused exclusively on peer-review journals and articles written in English.

Originality/value

This endeavor contributes to the theory of WI by encompassing crucial aspects such as time horizon, major outlets, study types, country-level output, samples features, constructs perused, theoretical function of WI and research outcomes. In addition, it points out new potential research streams.