Social undermining is a subtle and covert form of negative interpersonal behavior that can disrupt professional relationships, undermine self-confidence, and negatively influence nursing practice. Despite its relevance, this concept has not been systematically clarified within the nursing literature. This study employed Walker and Avant's eight-step concept analysis method to clarify the meaning and dimensions of social undermining in nursing. A comprehensive review of English and Persian literature published between 2000 and 2025 was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Scientific Information Database. The analysis identified social undermining as an intentional, covert, and repetitive process characterized by subtle behaviors that progressively erode professional trust and collaboration. Key antecedents included individual factors such as perceived competition and interpersonal insecurity, as well as organizational conditions such as workload pressure, perceived injustice, and inadequate managerial support. The consequences extended from emotional exhaustion and reduced job satisfaction at the individual level to disrupted teamwork, increased turnover intention, and potential risks to care processes at the organizational level. Social undermining was conceptually distinguished from incivility and bullying by its indirect nature, cumulative impact, and reliance on concealed behaviors rather than overt aggression. Social undermining represents a distinct and significant challenge in nursing work environments. Clarifying this concept provides a foundation for developing nursing-specific assessment tools and targeted organizational strategies aimed at fostering psychologically safe and supportive workplace cultures.

This article aims to examine the impact of abusive supervision (AS) on job insecurity (JI) and turnover intention (TI), as well as to explore the mediating role of JI in the relationship between AS and TI. It also examines the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationship between JI and TI, as well as between AS and TI. The empirical data were collected using purposive sampling, including responses from 421 participants. The mediated moderation analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings confirm that AS is a predictor of TI and JI. Additionally, variables such as AS and JI show a significant positive association with TI. The relationship between JI and TI, along with the connection between AS and TI, is explained through POS. Here, the role of POS as a potential moderator in the relationships among AS, JI and TI has provided new insights into TI research. JI, acting as a mediator, helps to reduce the influence of supervisory abuse on the intention to leave and may aid in retaining employees within the organization.

R.F Kuang has crafted an extraordinary and immersive world in her novel Katabasis, one in which the University of Cambridge houses a Department of Magick, staffed by brilliant professors and inhabited by graduate students whose research projects quite literally shape reality. Here, Magick and Logic are not opposites but partners—two interdependent systems whose relationship is as delicate as it is powerful. In this world, Dante's Inferno and the myth of Orpheus are not merely literary artefacts but functioning maps, guides to the underworld itself. At the heart of the novel is Alice Law, a gifted Ph.D. student working under the formidable Professor Jacob Grimes. When Grimes dies tragically, while undertaking a magic experiment devised by his students, Alice discovers that she must journey into the depths of hell to retrieve him. She is joined on this dangerous quest by fellow researcher Peter Murdock, and together, they pass through the successive courts of Pride, Desire, Greed, Wrath, Violence, Cruelty and Tyranny. Kuang uses this journey not merely as a plot device but as an exploration of the moral and spiritual architecture of evil, forcing both characters and readers to confront the many ways hell manifests in the human condition. One of the great joys of this novel is its setting. Kuang's portrait of Cambridge is vivid and affectionate, bringing to life cloisters, libraries and winding streets in a way that will stir nostalgia in anyone who has walked them. The use of logic problems as the raw material for spellcraft is as clever as it is imaginative, and the narrative tone—part Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, part Dante's Divine Comedy—keeps the story intellectually engaging while maintaining a brisk pace. The character development is equally strong. Alice and Peter's gradual journey towards greater self-awareness is compelling and emotionally resonant. Kuang's writing captures the vulnerability and resilience of early adulthood, when one's intellectual discoveries and personal wounds intersect in transformative ways. Certain scenes linger long after the book is closed: a moving description of a child growing up with Crohn's disease that evokes deep empathy; the honest and unflinching depiction of supervisory abuse and academic sexism; and Alice's own ambivalent relationship to feminism, which explores how the struggles of previous generations are sometimes taken for granted even as their fruits are enjoyed. Katabasis is, quite simply, a remarkable novel. It is an engrossing work of fantasy, yes, but also a profound meditation on morality, power and redemption. For readers interested in the great themes of heaven and hell, theology and philosophy, it is essential reading. Fantasy, Kuang reminds us, is not merely escapism; it is a form of truth-telling. Katabasis invites us to take seriously the worlds it conjures and to see, through them, the hidden contours of our own.

Abstract Most research on abusive supervision has primarily focused on the consequences for victims within the same organization. However, some victims may choose to leave their job instead of staying and retaliating against the organization or their supervisor. This paper seeks to understand how employees' experience of abuse from former supervisors affects their adjustment in a new workplace. Specifically, we examine how such abuse affects victims' in‐role behaviours and job satisfaction in their new jobs. Building on the social–cognitive model of transference, we propose that the experience of former supervisors' abuse will lead to increased interaction avoidance with and decreased feedback seeking from current supervisors. We argue that these factors will in turn negatively influence victims' in‐role behaviours and job satisfaction in their new workplace. Results from one field study and two experiments largely support our hypotheses, indicating that the experience of former supervisors' abuse affects victims' in‐role behaviours and job satisfaction in their new environment through the mechanisms of interaction avoidance and feedback seeking. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Abusive supervision, characterized by hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviors by supervisors, has been recognized as a significant stressor in the workplace. Although much research has focused on the victim's and perpetrator's perspectives, little attention has been given to third-party witnesses and their reactions to abusive supervision, particularly in hospitality contexts. This study investigates the contingent effects of coworker abusive supervision on third-party helping behaviors, focusing on the tripartite relationship between the perpetrator, victim, and witness. We conducted a field study with 500 employees from various departments in seven four- and five-star hotels in Guangdong, China. Using a two-wave time-lagged survey design, participants completed measures on abusive supervision, deep-level similarity, perceived supervisor support, moral attentiveness, and helping behaviors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships and moderating effects. The study found that the relationship between coworker abusive supervision and third-party helping behaviors was moderated by three factors: deep-level similarity with the victim, perceived supervisor support, and moral attentiveness. Specifically, helping behavior was more likely to decrease when similarity with the victim was low, supervisor support was high, and moral attentiveness was low. The results underline the complex nature of third-party responses to abusive supervision. This research extends existing literature by highlighting the conditional factors that influence whether third-party witnesses decide to help an abused coworker. The findings suggest that interventions in abusive supervision cases should consider not only the relationship between the victim and perpetrator but also the personal characteristics and contextual factors influencing the witnesses. The study provides valuable insights into how workplace dynamics and moral concerns shape responses to supervisory abuse.

Although job rotation is a popular socialization practice for training newcomers, our understanding of its influence on newcomers' experience and outcomes remains limited. Extending the organizational socialization literature, we conceptualize job rotation as a planned, episodic event, which structures newcomers' learning and adjustment processes into three distinct, sequential phases: initial learning and adjustment (i.e., first episode), transition, and subsequent learning and adjustment (i.e., second episode). Using a field quasi-experiment with 12 waves of longitudinal data from 255 new nurses, we studied how job rotation reshaped the trajectories of newcomers' learning and adjustment on two indicators, namely, task mastery and social integration. Rotated newcomers' task mastery increased in the first episode, decreased immediately during the transition phase, and then increased again in the second episode. Notably, a cognitively challenging first episode (i.e., featuring job complexity) led to a greater increase in task mastery in the second episode. Contrary to expectations, rotated newcomers' social integration tended to decline in the first episode and continued declining in the second episode. Moreover, a socially challenging first episode (i.e., featuring social undermining) did not influence newcomers' social integration trajectory in the second episode. Our research extends the existing socialization literature and offers key practical implications for designing job rotation programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose Abusive supervision can harm employee attitudes, behaviors, and well-being, but these effects are inconsistent. Using self-regulation theory, this study explores how perceived accountability (the perception of needing to justify one’s actions) moderates the relationships between abusive supervision and work outcomes, including job tension, counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and job performance. Design/methodology/approach We used a time-lagged design with multiple data sources to evaluate our hypotheses. Findings We found that abusive supervision is positively related to job tension and CWBs for employees with low levels of felt accountability, while it is negatively associated with organizational commitment, OCBs, and job performance. Additionally, we found that these relationships become weaker for employees with higher levels of felt accountability. Practical implications Organizations can benefit from recognizing the protective role of felt accountability in countering the negative effects of perceived supervisor abuse. Boosting accountability can not only help them address the challenges of abusive supervision but also foster a more positive and supportive work environment. Originality/value This study emphasizes felt accountability as a self-regulatory boundary condition in the link between abusive supervision and work outcomes, providing a nuanced understanding of when and for whom the negative impacts of supervisory abuse can be lessened.

Employee psychological well-being is crucial for fostering a positive work environment and ensuring organisational success. Social undermining, which disrupts workplace relationships, often leads to stress, anxiety, and burnout. However, self-efficacy - the belief in one's ability to successfully perform tasks - can help mitigate these adverse effects. This study investigates the detrimental impact of social undermining on employees' psychological well-being and examines the protective role of self-efficacy. Data were collected from 582 employees in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. The findings underscore the importance of prioritising psychological well-being in the workplace and reveal how self-efficacy can act as a buffer against the harmful effects of social undermining. By exploring the interplay between social undermining, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being, this study provides valuable insights into their influence on employee outcomes. Furthermore, the research highlights strategies for minimising the negative impact of undermining behaviours by co-workers and supervisors, thereby fostering a healthier work environment.

Interpersonal ties in the workplace are crucial for organizational success and the maintenance of an ethical environment (Baron, 1996; Sabeen & Arshad, 2019). These interpersonal connections and relationship once positive, support the system however, if negative may damage the productivity as well as environment of the organization. Previous research has emphasized that employee behavior in the workplace is significantly influenced by the kind of the treatment they receive. Social Undermining being one of the most important phenomena affecting workplace behavior of the employees is crucial to understand. The importance of social undermining is underscored by its substantial organizational cost estimated at approximately USD 6 billion annually (Duffy et al., 2012). A multitude of academics have investigated the adverse consequences of SU within organizations; nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies examining the motivations and impacts of SU from the victim’s perspective in an organizational context. This study aims to examine the perspectives of victims of SU in the workplace. Sample constitutes 19 employees (victims) of a public sector defense organization. The study adopted a qualitative multi-case study methodology and data is conducted through semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis has been conducted to find out the configurations. The primary contributions in the research concerning the link of drivers and the good and bad impacts of SU from the victim's perspective. The study enabled the organization to identify remedies based on the drivers of SU from the victim's perspective. The study also indicates a necessity to implement an awareness program for employees to comprehend the situation and formulate methods to address it. This study enhances organizational behavior and strategic discourse by providing essential insights into the human dynamics regarding social undermining phenomenon through the lens of victim to evolve strategies to reduce its effects.

The rising demand for greater pay transparency from governments and stakeholders compels a need to understand its repercussions on employee and organizational outcomes. While often presumed to benefit employees, increased pay outcome transparency, in particular, poses potential costs that necessitate careful exploration. Existing studies have focused on a broad variety of visible outcomes like pay dispersion, as well as potential negative consequences such as strained employee relationships and counterproductive work behaviors for those perceiving pay inequity. Given these disparate findings, there is a critical need for a broader conceptual framework to discern when and why transparency may yield adverse organizational outcomes through negative emotions. Drawing on Affect Theory of Social Exchange (ATSE) and incorporating the relatively new concept of undermet pay standing expectations (UMPSE), we highlight the distinct yet overlapping emotional pathways of anger and envy. Specifically, UMPSE-driven anger may give rise to broad retaliatory behaviors, directed both at the organization (e.g., reduced commitment and withdrawal) and at coworkers (e.g., displaced hostility). In contrast, envy produces a more targeted social response, generating retaliatory behaviors primarily toward colleagues through social undermining. By differentiating the broader retaliatory scope of anger from the more interpersonal focus of envy, our model advances understanding of the nuanced emotional dynamics shaping employee reactions to pay transparency. Furthermore, we propose that a positive organizational justice climate should moderate the influence of UMPSE on negative emotions and, in turn, mitigate undesirable behaviors. We discuss the practical implications for mitigating these negative emotions and counterproductive work behaviors.

While vital for assimilating newcomers into organizational identity in the hospitality industry, socialization may justify abusive behavior. The impact of divestiture socialization on abusive supervision thus warrants investigation. Drawing on the theory of team stimuli typology, we examined the effects of divestiture socialization on intermittent supervisory abuse within ad-hoc high-performance teams. Utilizing multistage sampling, we recruited 380 aircrew newcomers from 21 airlines in China and Singapore. A multilevel moderated mediation model was tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that individual- and unit-level divestiture socialization promotes perceptions of intermittent abusive supervision, mediated by aggressive norms at the unit level. These effects intensify when seniority dictates resource distribution and social hierarchy. The findings advance our understanding of the repercussions of divestiture socialization for destructive leadership perceptions, aiding hospitality and tourism policymakers in improving socialization practices and resource allocation to mitigate workplace abuse.

Purpose This research explores the effects of leader favouritism on two crucial workplace behaviours: employee quiet quitting and workplace gossip. Drawing on the affective event theory and cognitive appraisal theory, it examines the mediating influence of negative emotions and the moderating role of interpersonal distrust. The purpose of this study is to understand how favouritism contributes to disengagement and social toxicity in organizations. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from 185 employees within a service organization using a dyadic method. The research used statistical analyses to investigate the direct influence of leader favouritism on quiet quitting and gossip, the role of negative emotions as a mediator and the impact of distrust in others as a moderator. Findings All the hypotheses were confirmed. It was discovered that leader favouritism incites negative emotions, which subsequently mediate its impact on gossip and quiet quitting. Additionally, interpersonal distrust played a significant moderating role in these relationships, with more pronounced effects seen in employees who exhibited higher levels of distrust. The findings highlight how favouritism can undermine morale, escalate counterproductive behaviours and harm trust within teams. Originality/value This research contributes to the existing literature by incorporating emotional and trust-related mechanisms to elucidate the behavioural consequences of leader favouritism. It distinctively connects favouritism to both disengagement and social undermining, providing a more comprehensive perspective on its effects within organizations. The results offer practical guidance for leaders and organizations to reduce favouritism by promoting fairness, transparency and trust.

This study investigates the impact of workplace incivility and social undermining on counterproductive work behavior (CWB) among faculty in public-sector universities of Quetta, Pakistan. Workplace mistreatment can deplete employees’ psychological resources and trigger harmful behaviors. In academia, such behaviors may impair teaching, research, and collegiality. Using the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study explores the link between social mistreatment and CWB. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 330 academic staff using validated scales. Proportionate stratified random sampling was applied. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression, with reliability and regression assumptions confirmed. Both workplace incivility (β = 0.356, p < 0.01) and social undermining (β = 0.361, p < 0.01) significantly predicted CWB, explaining 41% of its variance. Findings support COR theory, showing that persistent mistreatment drains resources, fostering retaliatory or withdrawal behaviors. Universities should adopt preventive policies, leadership training, and confidential reporting channels, alongside support systems to reduce mistreatment and its negative outcomes.

While play and playfulness are essential for development, its benefits may extend across many aspects of life. Despite the growing interest in the intrapersonal benefits of playfulness, research is sparse on its social consequences in organizations. In this research, we devise and test an expanded model of the social implications of employee playfulness by examining how employee playfulness affects peer perceptions and subsequent social reactions. Through a pre-registered experiment and a multi-wave field study (N = 603), our results show that employee playfulness can evoke peer authenticity perceptions about the focal employee; particularly, when team competitive climate is high. These perceptions contribute to several social benefits for the playful employees, including enhanced leadership judgments, increased social support, and decreased social undermining by peers. Our work expands the understanding of social reactions to employee playfulness by elucidating the underlying mechanisms and identifying key contextual moderators. We discuss the practical implications of our findings, and suggest avenues for future research.

Purpose The study aims to expand the bottom-line mentality (BLM) and goal-shielding theory (GST) literature by identifying the antecedents of employee bottom-line mentality (EBLM). EBLM was examined as a goal-shielding process that explains the link between perceived organization politics (POP) and two employee behaviors: social undermining and task performance. Furthermore, the moderating role of leader BLM on the POP–EBLM relationship was also examined. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire utilizing a multi-source design. Specifically, we obtained 314 leader-employee dyads employing purposive sampling and a leader-subordinate dyadic design. Data analysis was performed using AMOS 23. Findings EBLM mediates the positive relationship between POP and social undermining. We did not find the relationship between EBLM and task performance in the hypothesized direction. The study also finds the moderating impact of a leader’s BLM on the POP–EBLM relationship. POP was significantly related to SU but not to task performance. Research limitations/implications The use of a multi-source research design is the strength of the study. Still, the results of the study do not evaluate causal relationships and experimental and longitudinal designs are suggested for future studies to further test this causal relationship. Originality/value This study significantly contributes to the growing BLM and GST literature. Employees perceive politics in an organization that triggers the need for survival. In response, they embrace BLM as a goal-shielding process because they think of it as a facilitative behavior for achieving their primary goal of survival and growth. They undermine co-workers to protect their primary goal.

Workplace toxicity in the tourism sector remains a widespread issue, particularly for hotel staff who are constantly suffering from verbal, emotional, or physical abuse. While previous research has primarily highlighted the negative consequences of abusive behavior, this study examines a different perspective—how abusive supervision may be associated with reduced helping behavior among hotel employees, with emotional contagion and self-esteem serving as key moderating and mediating variables. Based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the current paper suggests that abusive supervision causes people’s psychological resources to be depleted, which decreases their self-esteem and, in turn, their helpful behavior. Furthermore, it is revealed that emotional contagion can act as a moderator to amplify the detrimental association between abusive supervision and self-esteem. Data were gathered from frontline hotels employees. Employing structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 3, the findings reveal that abusive supervision was negatively related to both self-esteem and helping behaviors. Additionally, the correlation between helpful behavior and abusive supervision was strongly mediated by self-esteem. It is also shown that emotional contagion mitigated the detrimental relationship between abusive supervision and self-esteem, such that people with high emotional contagion experienced a stronger negative relationship. This paper advances our theoretical knowledge of workplace dynamics by expanding COR theory to justify how and why abusive supervision impairs pro-social behavior. From a practical standpoint, the findings underscore the significance of management behavior and emotional intelligence in service-oriented sectors. Employee self-esteem and cooperative workplace behavior may be preserved by interventions that deplete supervisory abuse and boost emotional resilience.

Social undermining of dietary and physical activity behavior may impact one's ability to lose or maintain weight. This review aims to identify how social undermining of dietary and physical activity behavior has been conceptualized and measured in the existing literature, and what is known about its effects on weight management. Studies were retrieved from three electronic databases and were included if they focused on examining the social undermining of dietary and physical activity behavior in adults. Two coders independently evaluated the eligibility criteria of each study and extracted data. Thirty-three studies were identified. Populations included individuals enrolled in weight loss programs (k = 11) and non-treatment-seeking populations (k = 22). Many study participants were White, but 11 studies sampled non-White populations exclusively. Multiple measures have been used to assess the social undermining of dietary and physical activity behavior, many having limited evidence of reliability and validity. Although studies on prevalence are limited, undermining has been reported to occur in 28% of individuals, and family has been identified as a primary source of undermining. Studies aiming to link undermining with actual eating and physical activity behaviors and weight outcomes are limited, and these links have been supported in some studies. Few studies examined the undermining intentionality, defined undermining, or tested individual characteristics associated with undermining. Future research should seek to improve the measurement of undermining and use a variety of additional research methods to move the field toward better understanding and ability to address social undermining of weight behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

ObjectiveThis study intended to explore the mediating effect of psychological resilience in the relationship between social undermining and psychological empowerment among nurses.MethodsA cross-sectional correlational descriptive design was employed to fulfill the study’s aim at Damietta General Hospital through convenient sample of 385 registered nurses. Data analysis was implemented using SPSS software package version 26.0.FindingsStudy findings reported that a direct effect of social undermining on psychological resilience is negative and significant (β = -0.092, SE = 0.042, Z = -2.17, p = 0.030). Similarly, psychological resilience significantly predicts psychological empowerment with a strong positive effect (β = 0.347, SE = 0.047, Z = 7.26, p = < 0.001). The direct effect of social undermining on psychological empowerment is negative and highly significant (β = -0.422, SE = 0.036, Z = -11.51, p = < 0.001).ConclusionThe study concluded that social undermining is a workplace stressor that emotionally damages employees by making them feel burnt out when performing their job. It also has a negative influence on psychological empowerment of employees, and in reducing their psychological resilience. Also, psychological resilience mediates social undermining and psychological empowerment.Nursing implicationsIt is crucial for organizations to seek for promoting ethical leaders through creating an ethical infrastructure, which can forestall social undermining. Emphasizing the implementation of interventions aimed at building resilience as a strategy for mitigating the harmful effects of social undermining. Overall, this research underscores the interconnectedness of social undermining and psychological empowerment, emphasizing the necessity for supportive organizational environments that promote both resilience and psychological empowerment.

Social undermining in the workplace-subtle behaviors that hinder success and damage professional relationships-has been widely studied. However, the role of envy in driving social undermining, particularly from the perspective of the person being envied, remains underexplored. This study examines how being envied influences social undermining behaviors and tests whether perceived injustice moderates this relationship within Tehran's public sector. A cross-sectional design with purposive sampling was employed. A web-based questionnaire was completed by 342 full-time Iranian civil servants. Data were analyzed using path analysis and bootstrapping procedures to test direct and moderated relationships. Being the target of envy was positively associated with social undermining, and this relationship was significantly strengthened under conditions of high perceived injustice. Furthermore, higher levels of social undermining correlated with increased psychological distress and lower life satisfaction. The findings demonstrate the destructive impact of envy and perceived injustice on employees in Iranian governmental organizations. Organizations should implement fairness-enhancing policies and interventions to mitigate envy-driven undermining and safeguard employee well-being.

Today, adult children depend financially on their parents more than ever before. This poses challenges for the financial well-being of parents, particularly in the context of retirement planning. Our research investigates the crossover of financial anxiety from adult children to their parents and its impact on parents' retirement intentions. Drawing on crossover theory and the resource-based view of retirement, we examine the mechanisms underlying this stress crossover. Across three studies (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2) conducted in developed economies, we found that adult children's financial anxiety was associated with their parents' delayed retirement intentions through an increase in their parents' own financial anxiety. Study 3, conducted in a developing economy, further established that financial stress crossover occurred primarily through an increase in social undermining and financial expenditure, although these mechanisms do not translate into delayed retirement intentions. Our work contributes to the stress-crossover literature by testing different mechanisms of stress crossover and highlighting how children's financial anxiety might "trickle-up" to affect their parents' stress and important life decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).