Investigating Employees’ Responses to Abusive Supervision

Abstract

Abusive supervision has been found to negatively impact employees. Extant literature based on the Social Exchange Theory (SET) has suggested that employees who experience abusive supervision are likely to engage in workplace deviant behaviors to respond to abusive supervision. However, from the standpoint of power distance, employees do not always respond to abusive supervision in negative ways. This paper aims to investigate employees’ perceptions and reactions to abusive supervision over time as well as factors that can impact their coping strategies to abusive supervision. By conducting two studies, including (1) a lagged-designed study with path analysis and mediation and moderation tests and (2) an experiment with independent sample t-tests, I examine employees’ reactions to abusive supervision over time as well as factors that impact their reactions. Results suggest that, over time, employees are likely to reconcile with their abusive supervisors. Furthermore, employees are less likely to reconcile with their abusive supervisor after engaging in workplace deviant behaviors. Furthermore, employees’ need for harmony (NFH) and the perceived value of the relationship with the supervisor (VOR) can impact their reactions to abusive supervision. This paper moves beyond the Social Exchange Theory, the overarching theory in abusive supervision literature, expands our understanding of abusive supervision, and discusses employees’ responses to abusive supervision over time. Contributions, implications, and future research are discussed.