Discrete emotions linking abusive supervision to employee intention and behavior

Abstract

Drawing on appraisal theories of discrete emotions, we propose and test a model in which abusive supervision directed toward oneself and toward work unit peers (coworker abusive supervision) are interactively related to generalized feelings of shame, anger, and fear. These discrete emotions, in turn, tend to precipitate distinct responses that do not directly target the supervisor. We tested our hypotheses with a three-wave, time-lagged survey of 285 full-time workers from 55 work units. Consistent with our theorizing, supervisory abuse was associated with stronger feelings of shame while at work when the abusive supervision reported by one's coworkers was lower (vs. higher), whereas abuse had a stronger association with anger when coworkers also perceived relatively high levels of abuse. The distinct action tendencies associated with shame and anger are related to employees engaging in less voice behavior and more interpersonal deviance, respectively, and fear is related to higher turnover intentions. We discuss the study's implications for theory development concerning abusive supervision. K E Y W O R D Sabusive supervision, cognitive appraisal theories, discrete emotions, interpersonal deviance, turnover intention, voice behavior

Rising above: Investigating employee exemplification as a response to the experience of shame induced by abusive supervision

“…Although not conclusive, this finding suggests that shame plays a pivotal role in understanding how abusive supervision might lead to potentially constructive coping behaviours. Relatedly, with the notable exception of a recent study by Peng et al (2019), our research provides one of the first empirical examinations of shame as a salient emotional reaction to abusive supervision. Our study is theoretically different from Peng et al's (2019) research in that their investigation focused on better understanding how victims of abuse withdraw from the organization to cope with shame, rather than cope with shame through less destructive actions (e.g., exemplification).…”

“…Relatedly, with the notable exception of a recent study by Peng et al (2019), our research provides one of the first empirical examinations of shame as a salient emotional reaction to abusive supervision. Our study is theoretically different from Peng et al's (2019) research in that their investigation focused on better understanding how victims of abuse withdraw from the organization to cope with shame, rather than cope with shame through less destructive actions (e.g., exemplification). Thus, our findings can help provide novel insights into why people do not always lash out, retaliate, or withdraw from mistreatment.…”

“…Second, we build on an emerging stream of research that examines the underlying role of discrete emotions in determining victims' reactions to abusive supervision. More specifically, to our knowledge, this is only the second study to examine the role of shame in abusive supervision effects (see Peng et al, 2019) and the first to link shame to a response (exemplification) that falls outside of the common destructive outcomes (e.g., withdrawal, deviance) examined in this literature. Third, we advance the understanding of the emotion-based mechanisms underlying the effects of abusive supervision by considering a boundary condition under which the relationship between abusive supervision and employee exemplification, via shame, is magnified or reduced.…”

“…To date, this line of research has almost exclusively focused on emotions that are targeted towards the abusive supervisor (e.g., anger, frustration, hostility), which further fuel retaliatory actions (Kiewitz et al, 2016;Mitchell et al, 2015). As a notable exception, Peng, Schaubroeck, Chong, and Li (2019) examined the self-conscious emotion of shame as an emotional reaction to abusive supervision but their focus was on understanding how abusive supervision precipitates destructive reactions (e.g., turnover intentions, interpersonal deviance, voice abstention). We extend this burgeoning line of research by using appraisal theories of emotions (Ellsworth & Scherer, 2003;Lazarus, 2001) to propose that shame, a self-conscious emotion that arises when abusive supervision damages the victim's self-concept, may similarly underlie more constructive behavioural responses to abusive supervision.…”

The Consequences of Incongruent Abusive Supervision: Anticipation of Social Exclusion, Shame, and Turnover Intentions

“…However, this perspective has recently been challenged by studies showing that people may also experience more selfconscious reactions such as shame (Farh & Chen, 2014;Peng et al, 2019) or guilt (Tröster & Van Quaquebeke, 2020). These studies are based on the notion that individuals' responses to abusive supervision are highly dependent on the extent to which their coworkers are being abused by the same supervisor (Duffy et al, 2006;Farh & Chen, 2014;Peng et al, 2014Peng et al, , 2019Schaubroeck et al, 2016) and that people generally prefer to be treated better than their coworkers by their leaders (Matta & Van Dyne, 2020). Accordingly, previous work has shown that people experience less shame when they experience less abuse than their peers (Peng et al, 2019).…”