Perceptions of supervisor competence, perceived employee mobility, and abusive supervision

Abstract

Purpose In response to the call for deeper investigation of abusive supervision (Martinko et al., 2013), the purpose of this paper is to examine perceived supervisor competence and perceived employee mobility (an individual’s perception of his/her ability to obtain new employment) to better understand contextual and individual factors that potentially influence the degree of harmful supervisory behaviors experienced by employees. Design/methodology/approach Responses from 749 survey participants were analyzed to determine the impact of perceived supervisor competence and perceived employee mobility on perceptions of abusive supervisory conduct. A bootstrapping-based mediation analysis (Hayes, 2012) was used to test for mediation by the variables of interest. Findings The authors found that perceived supervisor competence is associated with weakened perceptions of abusive supervision, and that this relationship is partially mediated by respondents’ perceived occupational mobility. Research limitations/implications The data are cross-sectional and were collected with a self-report questionnaire and compiled utilizing student-enumerators. The sample was also regional in scope and lacked information that would indicate if respondents were also supervisors. Practical implications These results imply that perceptions of abusive supervision can be mitigated by building stronger competencies in supervisors, which translates into greater individual employee perceived mobility. Human resource (HR) professionals can implement practices to decrease the likelihood of abusive supervisory conduct by ensuring that supervisors are competent in their jobs, facilitating a coaching/mentoring process between supervisors and subordinates and establishing/maintaining an effective developmental performance feedback process for supervisors. Social implications Since perceived supervisor competence is one element of reducing abusive conduct, while also enhancing subordinate perceived mobility, selection and training efforts should focus on hiring and preparing individuals to be effective work supervisors. Enhancing worker capabilities and marketability may result in greater perceived occupational mobility and reduced perceptions of abuse by supervisors. Originality/value These results lend support to the argument that perceptions of abusive supervision can be mitigated by building stronger competencies in supervisors, which translates into greater perceived mobility among employees. Organizations may benefit through lowered employee turnover, employees may enjoy more harmonious, supportive relationships with their supervisors and HR staff may benefit by having competent supervisors who do not generate employee complaints and intentions to quit.

The hot and the cold in destructive leadership: Modeling the role of arousal in explaining leader antecedents and follower consequences of abusive supervision versus exploitative leadership

“…When it comes to leaders , manifold leader characteristics have been studied. For instance, a variety of personality variables and traits such as low agreeableness (Breevaart & de Vries, 2017), low competence (Meglich et al, 2019), high entitlement (Whitman et al, 2013), high machiavellianism (Kiazad et al, 2010; Lyons et al, 2019; Wisse & Sleebos, 2016), high narcissism (Lyons et al, 2019; Nevicka et al, 2018), low neural executive control (Waldman et al, 2018), high perfectionism (Guo et al, 2020), and high psychopathy (Lyons et al, 2019; Mathieu & Babiak, 2016; Wisse & Sleebos, 2016) have been found to relate to destructive leadership. When it comes to compromised mental health, manifold aspects including alcohol abuse (Byrne et al, 2014), depression (Byrne et al, 2014; Dionisi & Barling, 2019; Tepper et al, 2006), emotional exhaustion (Fan et al, 2020; Walsh & Arnold, 2018), psychological distress (Y.…”

Percepção de chamado e a intenção de deixar o emprego: papel moderador da mobilidade de emprego

“…A mobilidade de emprego diz respeito à avaliação feita por um colaborador sobre suas chances de conseguir um novo trabalho (Meglich, Valentine, & Eesley, 2019) ou "a medida em que os empregados sentem que possuem alternativas de emprego atrativas" (Tepper, 2000, p. 179, tradução nossa). A mobilidade de emprego pode afetar de maneira significativa a intenção de deixar o emprego, pois os colaboradores, ainda que percebam um desajuste com a organização, apenas optam pela saída caso acreditem que encontrarão um ambiente mais favorável em outro lugar (Morley, Wheeler, Gallagher, Brouer, & Sablynski, 2007).…”

Perception of calling and turnover intention: the moderating role of perceived mobility

“…Perceived mobility is a construct that concerns the assessment that an employee makes about their chances of getting a new job (Meglich, Valentine, & Eesley, 2019) or "the extent to which employees feel they have attractive employment alternatives" (Tepper, 2000, p.179). Perceived mobility can significantly affect the intention to leave employment, as even if employees do not perceive a mismatch with the organization, they just opt for the exit, if they believe that a better fit will be achieved by working in another organization (Morley, Wheeler, Gallagher, Brouer, & Sablynski, 2007).…”