Supervisory Behavior Research Articles

Mindfulness and trust: How to prevent the compensatory abusive behaviors of the low-status supervisors?

Mindfulness and trust: How to prevent the compensatory abusive behaviors of the low-status supervisors?

Assessing The Impact Of Abusive Supervision On Counterproductive Work Behavior Among Healthcare Workers

Background: Abusive supervision is the subordinates’ perceptions of the extent to which their supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Also, abusive supervision hurts the organization causing lower levels of satisfaction, commitment, and counterproductive work behavior. Aim: Assessing Healthcare workers' perception level regarding abusive supervision, assessing the level of Healthcare workers' counterproductive work behavior, and finding out the influence of perceived abusive supervision on counterproductive work behavior among Healthcare workers. Research design: A descriptive correlational study design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at the Saudi German Hospital in Makkah, KSA. Subjects: (171) HCWs out of (300 participated in the study. Tools of data collection: Abusive supervision scale and counterproductive work behavior scale. Results: The majority (94%) of the studied participants perceived a high level of abusive supervision, and only 2% of them perceived a low level of abusive supervision from their supervisors. Also, less than two-thirds of them (65%) had moderate counterproductive work behavior, while only (15%) of the study participants had high levels. Conclusion: There was a strong positive relation between Healthcare workers' perceived abusive supervision and their counterproductive work behavior. Recommendations: healthcare managers must take corrective disciplinary approaches, actions, and strategies against supervisory abusive behavior and counterproductive behavior. Healthcare managers have to provide the employees with a favorable healthy professional work environment, which helps to overcome any counterproductive work behaviors.

Never Off Duty – The Role of Supervisors in the Relationship Between Extended Availability, Subordinate Strain, and Job Performance

Employers expect to increase the overall organizational flexibility and performance when employees are available to clients, supervisors, or colleagues outside of their regular work. However, when extended availability is not properly organized, it is associated with impaired well-being, which can lower performance. Research has identified design criteria that may increase or decrease the detrimental effects of availability. We assume that the role-modeling behavior of supervisors as important representatives of organizational values is crucial as well. This study investigated the moderating function of supervisory role modeling in the relationship between extended availability for work and well-being. We conducted a study with 258 participants who completed an online questionnaire about their availability demands and their supervisors’ role modelling to address this issue. Additionally, participants indicated their emotional exhaustion, work-family conflict as well as performance. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that high work-life-friendly role modeling attenuated the detrimental indirect effect of extended availability demands on performance via a work-family conflict. Identifying the boundary conditions for extended availability demands offers a more differentiated perspective on its beneficial and/or detrimental nature. The results highlight the necessity to consider supervisors as key figures for interventions for extended availability demands.

Do Family Affairs Matter? Work–Family Conflict and Safety Behavior of Construction Workers

Despite the extensive literature on workplace safety, the effect of work–family conflict on safety behavior has received little attention. This study aims to examine why and how bidirectional work–family conflict—work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC)—influences the safety behavior of construction workers. We propose hypotheses on the relationship between work–family conflict and safety behavior, the mediating effect of work engagement, and the moderating effect of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB). Data collected from 172 Chinese construction workers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. It was found that WFC had negative effects on safety compliance and safety participation, while FWC was only negatively related to safety participation. Meanwhile, work engagement was found to mediate the relationships between WFC and safety participation and between FWC and safety behavior. Finally, FSSB buffered the negative relationship between WFC and safety participation via work engagement. This study extends understandings of the influence mechanism and governance path of work–family conflict on safety behavior in the construction context and provides implications for improving safety behavior from the perspective of work–family balance.

Family‐supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) and work‐family conflict: The role of stereotype content, supervisor gender, and gender role beliefs

Existing research consistently shows that informal workplace support, such as family‐supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), are more effective at reducing work–family conflict than formal organizational supports. The purpose of this study is to integrate propositions from the stereotype content model and social role theory to understand how family‐supportive supervision is related to social evaluations of supervisors (i.e., perceptions of supervisor warmth and competence) and identify boundary conditions (i.e., supervisor gender and employee gender role beliefs) to help researchers and practitioners understand how these relationships affect work–family conflict. We test our hypotheses using two studies, one an experimental vignette study and the other a two‐wave survey study of working individuals with family or caregiving responsibilities. Our results suggest that FSSB are importantly related to how employees socially evaluate their supervisors along the dimensions of warmth and competence; supervisor gender moderates the relationship between FSSB and perceived competence (but not warmth); employee gender role beliefs moderates both these relationship (but in a counterintuitive way for supervisor competence); and we find evidence that warmth and competence mediate the effects that FSSB have on work–family conflict. Implications for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.Practitioner points Supervisors and organizations should consider how employee perceptions of supervisor competence and warmth impact employee perceptions of family supportiveness. When enacting family supportive behavior, it is important for supervisors to demonstrate warmth, such as through nonverbal communication and body language. Family‐supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) interventions should consider manipulating not only dimensions of FSSB, but also behaviors tied to perceptions of competence and warmth.

The Role of Abusive Supervision in Reducing the Employee Green Behavior: A Survey of the Opinions of Sample of Affiliates in the Technical Institute of AL-Diwaniyah

Purpose: The present research aims to test the relationship and influence of poor supervision and green employee behavior in its dimensions (Working Sustainably, Conserving Resources, Influencing Others, Taking Initiative and Avoiding Harm) at the Technical Institute / Diwaniyah. Design / Methodology: based on the research sample, (274) questionnaire forms were distributed to the employees of the Technical Institute / Diwaniya (teachers and technicians), and after examining the retrieved forms, (26) forms were excluded because they were not valid and did not fulfill the conditions required So the forms suitable for analysis are (248) questionnaires, with a return rate of (94.8%). Findings: The search results show that arbitrary supervision affects the attitudes and performance of workers, as workers who see that they are being subjected to abuse are more likely to leave their jobs, have a decrease in their positive behaviors, and they have a decrease in job and life satisfaction, as well as Job commitment, family / work conflict, and high psychological pressure. Research recommendations: One of the most important recommendations reached by the research is preparing a code of conduct and professional conduct standards to guide the behavior and behavior of employees and supervisors, and intensifying awareness and education programs.

Master's students' perceptions of final year project supervision

Despite existing supervisory training programmes, inappropriate supervisor behaviour is still being reported in the literature, indicating that supervision is a process that involves a complex interpersonal relationship between the supervisor and the supervisee. Literature on the experiences and perspectives of masters students on supervision is lagging. During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, the work condition of all academics and students changed considerably with a sudden move to online teaching and learning, including project supervision. This paper presents a study that compared on-campus face-to-face (summer 2019) and online (summer 2020) students’ (n=133) perceptions of the supervision they received during their final master project. An independent-samples t-test result showed that there was a statistically significant difference in their perceptions. Online students had more positive perceptions than on-campus face-to-face students. They appreciated the academic support they received the most while on-campus students mainly referred to the pastoral aspect of supervision. Future work should investigate supervisors’ perceptions of online supervision.

Organizational Behaviour in the COVID‐19 Context: Effects of Supervisor‐Directed Deviance on Retaliation against Subordinates

AbstractPrevious research mostly examines supervisor‐directed deviance as a subordinate's reaction to the supervisor's abusive behaviour while ignoring the perspective of supervisors as potential victims of deviant behaviour. Additionally, COVID‐19 has deeply affected organizational climate and workplace behaviour. Therefore, drawing on the affective events theory, we examined the COVID‐19 pandemic as a context shaping the effects of supervisor‐directed deviance on retaliation against subordinates in the United States. We conducted two quasi‐experiments with pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 (Study 1, n = 97) and Wave 1–Wave 3 pandemic study designs (Study 2, n = 94), respectively, and found that supervisor‐directed deviance triggered felt leader identity threat, consequently leading to retaliation against subordinates; this indirect effect strengthened as the pandemic progressed. We replicated these findings using a field study during the third wave of the pandemic (Study 3, n = 190), which established external validity by expanding the types of deviant and retaliatory behaviours examined. The results further showed that low COVID‐19‐induced empathic concern strengthened the effect of felt leader identity threat on retaliatory responses. Overall, our paper contributes to the literatures on retaliation and supervisor‐directed deviance and opens avenues for research on the pandemic's impact on organizational behaviour.

Family-supportive supervisor behaviors and employee turnover intention in the foodservice industry: does gender matter?

PurposeThe restaurant industry is characterized by long hours, intense job demands and a lack of work-life balance. While a growing body of research has investigated methods for decreasing role conflict-related stress and strain in foodservice and hospitality employees, there is still little understanding of what supervisors can do to decrease work-life-related employee strain. This study aims to investigate how family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) influence employee emotional exhaustion (EE) and subsequent turnover intentions, as well as the role of gender in moderating these effects.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based design using a national panel of 226 foodservice employees was used to investigate the hypotheses developed in this paper.FindingsResults indicated that FSSB decreased employee EE and subsequent turnover intentions. The authors also found that this relationship was stronger for female employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides insight into the role that employee gender may play in response to the perception of and reactions to FSSB. Women still shoulder a majority of home and non-work caring duties, and therefore, they may be more positively affected when supervisors engage in behaviors that allow for balancing work and non-work demands.Originality/valueThere is little hospitality or foodservice-focused research into the effects of FSSB, and little overall research that investigates the role that gender may play in shaping the beneficial effects of FSSB. Given that women make up a majority of foodservice employees in the USA, yet there is a lack of female representation at higher levels of organizations, the study provides insights into ways in which organizations and supervisors can improve female employees’ working experiences and potentially increase their retention.

Examining supervisor undermining through the job-demands resources framework.

Supervisor undermining has recently gained increasing attention due to its negative effects on employee health and well-being. In the healthcare context, negative supervisor behaviors have been linked to unfavorable individual and organizational outcomes as well as medical errors and patient mortality. Our study, therefore, examines the influence that supervisor undermining behavior has on employee engagement and performance within a standard job stress framework. Our sample consisted of occupational therapists, a health professions group who is growing in demand and importance in the U.S. and has unique job demands. Using an observational, cross-sectional study design, a convenience sample of 521 occupational therapists completed an online survey. A series of independent t-test and multiple-groups path analytic modeling was used. Participants who had a supervisor perceived as engaging in undermining behaviors reported lower levels of resources, higher levels of demands, less motivation, and more overload than those who did not perceive supervisor undermining. These participants were also less engaged and reported lower levels of performance. Our results shed further light on the importance of supervisory behaviors specifically in a healthcare setting and the need for organizations to create an environment that promotes positive and productive workplace behaviors.

Effects of a Total Worker Health® leadership intervention on employee well-being and functional impairment.

Although evidence has been mounting that supervisor support training interventions promote employee job, health, and well-being outcomes, there is little understanding of the mechanisms by which such interventions operate (e.g., Hammer et al., 2022; Inceoglu et al., 2018), nor about the integration of such organizational-level interventions with individual-level interventions (e.g., Lamontagne et al., 2007). Thus, the present study attempts to unpack the mechanisms through which supervisor support training interventions operate. In addition, the present study examines an integrated Total Worker Health® intervention that combines health protection in the form of supervisor support training (i.e., family supportive supervisor behaviors and supervisor support for sleep health) with a health promotion approach in the form of feedback to improve sleep health behaviors. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial drawing on a sample of 704 full-time employees, results demonstrate that the Total Worker Health intervention improves employee job well-being (i.e., increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions), personal well-being (i.e., reduced stress before bedtime), and reduces personal and social functional impairment at 9 months postbaseline through employee reports of supervisors' support for sleep at 4 months postbaseline, but not through family supportive supervisor behaviors. Effects were not found for general stress or occupational functional impairment outcomes. Implications are discussed, including theoretical mechanisms by which leadership interventions affect employees, supervisor training, as well as the role of integrated organizational and individual-level interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Supervisors' knowledge hiding and knowledge-based trust: from the lens of social impact theory

PurposePast studies have largely focused on leaders' influence on employees' attitudes and behaviors, largely ignoring the followership and its consequences. This study investigates the social impact that followers induce on leaders through their intentions and actions. Following social impact theory (SIT), this study contributes to the growing research on supervisory knowledge hiding (KH) and related positive consequences beyond the traditional leader-centered approach. This paper investigates the serial mediation link between supervisory KH and supervisory knowledge-based trust (KBT) via perceived prosocial impact and supervisor directed citizenship behavior.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged dyadic data of 348 employees working in a bank under 54 supervisors were collected from Saudi Arabia.FindingsThe findings suggest that supervisory KH entails a potential prosocial impact on employees to engage in supervisor-directed citizenship behavior that builds the KBT in supervisors about subordinates. The empirical support provides an understanding of the social impact of subordinates' influence on supervisors above and beyond traditional leadership literature by depicting the active role of followers in influencing leaders' behavior in building trust in knowledge management. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.Originality/valueBy studying the followership effect on leadership, this study extends the social impact process beyond a social phenomenon to the workplace in a supervisor–subordinate relationship. Moreover, examining the positive framing of a leader's KH to transform such behaviors through active followership role provides a new insight into positive consequences of supervisory behavior through social impact.

How gender matters: A conceptual and process model for family-supportive supervisor behaviors

Work-family management has become a highly salient issue for organizations as the world of work experiences ongoing changes due to globalization, technological advances, and new challenges spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past decade or so, the concept of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) has been recognized by management and organizational science scholars as an important resource for alleviating negative pressures related to work-family management. However, despite evidence suggesting organizations are heavily gendered (i.e., built upon and structured according to assumptions about gender) and that FSSB represent a set of gendered behaviors, the role of gender is largely missing from FSSB theorization. In addition, little is known regarding the antecedents of FSSB and the mechanisms responsible for the enactment or withholding of FSSB by supervisors. To address these gaps, we perform an interdisciplinary theoretical integration to develop a conceptual and process model of gendered antecedents of the FSSB decision-making process. We present theoretically driven propositions regarding how gender-related variables of the supervisory dyad influence both 1) if/how supervisors become aware of an FSSB opportunity, and 2) supervisors' FSSB decisions to enact, withhold, or neglect FSSB. We conclude with practical implications and opportunities for future FSSB research based on implications of our theoretical insights.

Informal care-giving and the intention to give up employment: the role of perceived supervisor behaviour in a cohort of German employees

Current social policies in the European Union addressing employment, retirement and long-term care are expected to result in increasing employment rates among informal carers. The present investigation contributes to previous research by focusing on how specific work-related factors, in this case supervisor behaviour, may facilitate the fulfilment of the demands arising from paid work and care and ultimately influence the desire to give up employment. To this end, population data from the German Cohort Study on Work, Age, Health and Work Participation conducted in 2011 and 2014 are analysed (n = 3916). Three research hypotheses investigating the associations between care-giving, supervisor behaviour, the intention to give up employment and work-private-life conflict are tested by means of cumulative link models. The results suggest that the intention to give up employment is stronger among employed carers. In addition, the perception that one’s supervisor is considerate towards subordinates and is effective in planning, coordinating work and solving conflicts is found to be negatively related to the desire to give up employment, especially among carers. The statistical analyses reveal that supervisor behaviour mediates the association between the level of work-private-life conflict and the intention to give up employment. It is concluded that the working conditions may exert a substantial influence on the levels of psychosocial load carers experience by facilitating or hindering the extent to which carers are allowed to accommodate their work schedules and job assignments to the conflicting demands of their dual role as workers and carers.

A concept analysis of role ambiguity experienced by hospital nurses providing bedside nursing care.

The concept of role ambiguity, despite its wide application in nursing research, lacks a clear definition and conceptualization, resulting in inconsistencies about how it is defined, operationalized, and applied in research. The purpose of this paper was to analyze and define the concept of role ambiguity among hospital nurses providing nursing care, using the concept analysis method developed by Walker and Avant. The three defining attributes of role ambiguity were lack of information (information deficiency), lack of clarity, and unpredictability. Antecedents included lack of clear role definitions, lack of education/training, communication problems, supervisory behaviors and support, organizational culture, practice environment conditions, experience, group cohesiveness, and preferred work setting. The consequences of role ambiguity included increased stress, lack of organizational commitment, job dissatisfaction, burnout, and increased intent to leave. This concept analysis provides a clear conceptual definition to better understand role ambiguity among hospital nurses along with implications for nurse leaders, educators, clinicians, and researchers to support nurses and guide future research. This paper further emphasizes the importance of nurse-manager relationships in reducing the experience of role ambiguity among hospital nurses.

Initial validation of the corrective feedback acceptance and synthesis in supervision scale

ABSTRACT This article describes the initial validation of the Corrective Feedback Acceptance and Synthesis in Supervision Scale (CFASS), with results supporting a brief five-item single factor instrument. The CFASS is intended to be a measure of supervisees’ perceptions upon receipt of corrective feedback that may lead to subsequent supervisory behavior. A Factor Analysis was performed to examine and validate the structure of this supervisory instrument. The relationship between the CFASS and other instruments previously correlated to supervisees’ difficulty with corrective feedback supports the CGASS’s discriminate validity. The authors discuss findings within the context of the extant theoretical and research literature regarding feedback in clinical supervision and identify implications for future research and practice.

Patterns of pain complaints and insomnia symptoms are associated with abusive supervision in the Norwegian working population: a latent class analysis.

Previous findings suggest that abusive supervision, i.e.,subordinates' perceptions of their supervisor's behaviours as hostile (excluding physical aggression), may increase the risk of health complaints. In addition, recent data suggest that the FKBP5 genotype rs9470080 important in the regulation of cortisol release, influences the same outcome. Adding to this complexity, different health complaints often co-occur. The present study aimed to (1) uncover patterns of pain complaints and insomnia symptoms by using latent class analysis, (2) determine whether abusive supervision or FKBP5 rs9470080 was associated with these patterns, and (3) examine the interaction between abusive supervision and FKBP5 genotype regarding pain and insomnia symptoms. The data was collected through a national probability survey of 5,000 employees drawn from the National Central Employee Register by Statistics Norway. Abusive supervision was measured by a 5-item version of the Tepper's 2000 scale. Pain and insomnia symptoms were measured by 5 items reflecting pain and 3 items reflecting insomnia. The FKBP5 rs9470080 genotyping was carried out using TaqMan assay. A total of 1,226 participants returned the questionnaire and the saliva kit sample. Based on these the latent class analyses revealed four classes based on response patterns of pain and insomnia symptoms. In the regression analysis, abusive supervision was a significant predictor for the response patterns. However, neither the FKBP5 nor the interaction between abusive supervision and FKBP5 showed significant contributions. In conclusion, awareness of the association between abusive supervision and the revealed four pain- and insomnia subgroups, and what separates them, may be important for prognosis and an optimal follow-up for those affected.

The Relationship Between Telework, Job Performance, Work–Life Balance and Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviours in the Context of COVID-19

Telework has become a very popular arrangement that has grown rapidly worldwide, most recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to deepen our knowledge about the performance of companies and employees in the context of telework because the results of previous studies are contradictory. The present study examines the relationship among telework, job performance, work–life balance (WLB) and family supportive supervisor behaviour (FSSB) in the context of COVID-19. The data ( N = 519), which are collected from large private service companies in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic, are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results do not indicate a correlation between telework and job performance or WLB in the context of the pandemic. However, positive relationships are found between job performance and both FSSB and WLB, and between FSSB and WLB. The findings help us to understand both the importance of WLB and FSSB for teleworkers and the way these factors impact job performance. The present results could help companies design strategies for the implementation of telework after COVID-19.

Telecommuting during COVID 19: A Moderated-Mediation Approach Linking Job Resources to Job Satisfaction

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to sudden and significant changes in the work and family roles of the employees. Due to the unprecedentedness of the situation, academicians and practitioners have limited knowledge of the effect permanently working from home during this crisis can have on employees. Developing the role and work–life balance theories and using the job demands and resources model, the authors study the role of availability of job autonomy and family supportive supervisory behaviors (FSSBs) directly on work–life balance and indirectly on job satisfaction through work–life balance for Industry 4.0 based employees. Using work-to-family positive spillover (WFPS) as a first-level moderator and prior telecommuting experience (PTE) as a second-level moderator, the authors also check for the moderating effect on work–life balance and job satisfaction, respectively. The data were analyzed using CFA and SEM in AMOS v21.0 and model 21 in PROCESS Macro for SPSS. The study found that job autonomy and FSSBs have significant positive direct and indirect effects on work–life balance and job satisfaction, respectively, and these relationships are positively moderated by WFPS and PTE, respectively. The study focuses on the human factor of Industry 4.0, adds empirical insights to the work–family interface literature, and has implications that will help both employees and organizations during such critical times.

Family supportive supervisor behavior and promotive voice: When and why are there gender differences in work–family?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the differential association of family supportive supervisor behavior on promotive voice under different gender. Further, while employees’ self-concept factors have received considerable attention in the research on the triggering mechanism of employee voice, the authors’ knowledge about how and when family factors affect employee voice remains underdeveloped.Design/methodology/approachAccording to the resource conservation theory and gender role theory, the authors constructed a research model to investigate the influence and boundary of family supportive supervisor behavior on employee promotive voice and tested their research model using a paired data of 332 married employees and their direct supervisors of enterprises in China.FindingsThe findings suggest that family supportive supervisor behavior has a positive effect on employee promotive voice. Family supportive supervisor behavior can strengthen employee promotive voice by improving work-to-family enrichment and reducing work–family conflict, yet no significant mediation effect was found regarding family-to-work enrichment and conflict. Furthermore, family supportive supervisor behavior is more likely to improve female employee work–family enrichment and assuage male employee work–family conflict and thus enhance employee promotive voice.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the different influential paths of family supportive supervisor behavior on promotive voice of employees of different genders and provides references for enterprises to motivate employees’ promotive voice.