Does Abusive Supervision Trigger Displaced Aggression?

Abstract

When investigating the consequences of abusive supervision, studies often argue subordinates who experience abusive supervision will not directly confront their supervisor out of fear of further retaliation. Instead, abused subordinates will displace their aggression on coworkers or family members, known as displaced aggression. However, such an argument focused only on target displacement instigated by abusive supervision, but whether abusive supervision is a sufficient stimulus to disinhibit aggressions initiated by other sources goes unanswered. Drawing on the approach-avoidance framework of workplace aggression and using a field sample of employees in a two-wave design (N=178), we found time one abusive supervision strengthen the relationship between time one workplace ostracism and time two interpersonal counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB-P), with the relationship to be only significant in the high abusive supervision condition. Moreover, we also hypothesized perceived performance promotion motives of abusive supervision mitigate the interaction effects, and found support for the relationship. This study contributes to abusive supervision and displaced aggression research. We provided a theoretical explanation for why abusive supervision could also be a disinhibitor to displaced aggression. Moreover, perceived intent for abusive supervision as boundary condition highlights that displaced aggression is not merely the result of affective arousal but a cognitive process.