Consequences of Abusive Supervision at Work:Expanding Boundary Conditions and Mechanisms

Abstract

Abusive supervision is defined as a supervisor’s sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behavior and it is a significant problem in organizations. Subordinates consider it to be highly unfair and it results in negative, counterproductive, and destructive behavior impacting individuals, teams, and organizations (Tepper, Simon, & Park, 2017). Although a great deal of research has examined this topic over the last decade, considerable work remains to be done. The purpose of this symposium is to advance our understanding of the processes underlying the relationship between abusive supervision and outcomes, the boundary conditions impacting the existing nomological network of abusive supervision, and consequences previously not considered by scholars. This symposium contributes in the following ways: 1) it examines how abusive supervision impacts other organizational stakeholders (e.g., co-workers, team members, and upper-level managers); 2) it identifies behavioral (e.g., workplace gossip) and psychological mechanisms (e.g., HIV-related stigma, performance enhancement attribution) linking abusive supervision and its consequences;3) it explores contextual (e.g., team member exchange and abusive supervision dispersion) and person-oriented moderators (e.g., trait variables such as dispositional forgiveness, perfectionism and clinical health variables such as CD4 count) of the relationship between abusive supervision and outcomes; and 4) it highlights the consequences of abusive supervision previously not considered by scholars (e.g., HIV-related stigma, supervisors’ reputation, and upper-level managers’ exhaustion). The symposium papers draw from a diverse set of workers (e.g., HIV-positive employees, worker triads consisting of subordinate-co-workers-upper-level managers), use strong theoretical frames (e.g., research on social stigma and social interdependence theory), and employ a variety of methodological and analytical techniques. Theoretical and practical implications of each paper will be discussed in the symposium. Demons and Angels: Protective and Destructive Mechanisms in Abusive Supervision Presenter: Hieu Nguyen; U. of Queensland An Investigation of Abusive Supervision’s Performance Enhancing Effect: An Attribution Perspective Presenter: Jun Yang; U. of North Carolina, Greensboro Presenter: Yonghong Liu; U. of North Carolina, Greensboro An Examination of the Upward Effects of Abusive Supervision Presenter: Anna Carmella Ocampo; Australian National U. Presenter: Simon Lloyd D. Restubog; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Presenter: Lu Wang; Australian National U. Presenter: Mindy Krischer Shoss; U. of Central Florida HIV-Positive Employees Facing Abusive Supervision: The Roles of Fear, HIV Stigma, and CD4 Count Presenter: Anthony Decoste; Global Virtuoso Presenter: Simon Lloyd D. Restubog; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Presenter: Yueyang Chen; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Presenter: Wei Wang; U. of Minnesota