Does my Leader Care about my Subgroup? Team Faultlines and Subgroup-based LMX Differentiation

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of age-gender faultlines in work teams on absenteeism by considering the level of leader-member exchange (LMX) that supervisors develop with the different subgroups in a team. We integrate faultline research with the literature on LMX differentiation to build an integrative multilevel model to explain absenteeism behavior in subgroups. Drawing from social categorization and social comparison theory, we propose that subgroups receiving less favorable LMX treatment than their outgroup increase their absenteeism behavior due to faultline-induced social categorization. In contrast, subgroups receiving more favorable LMX treatment compared to the outgroup reduce their absenteeism behavior. Our predictions receive empirical support using a sample of 32 subgroups of a German electrical engineering company. We discuss implications for the faultline and LMX literature and executives who have to lead in diverse team settings.