Mitigating the psychologically detrimental effects of supervisor undermining: Joint effects of voice and political skill

Abstract

It is of growing concern that supervisors sometimes engage in destructive leadership behavior to undermine their subordinates, which exacts a psychological toll on these employees. How can employees mitigate and overcome the adverse psychological effects of supervisor undermining? Invoking theories of personal agency and social competencies, this study addresses this important question by examining the effectiveness of employee voice in buffering the adverse effects of supervisor undermining on employee work-related well-being and turnover intention. Through a three-wave field study, we found that voice plays a buffering role in the relationship between supervisor undermining and these outcome variables only when employees possess high levels of political skill (i.e., three-way interactions), and that this buffering effect is realized through mitigating the adverse effects of supervisor undermining on employee psychological empowerment. In contrast, when employees possess low levels of political skill, engaging in high levels of voice exacerbates the detrimental effects of supervisor undermining on employee psychological empowerment, and subsequently decreases employee work-related well-being and heightens employee turnover intention. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.