Supervisor narcissistic rage : Political support as an antidote

Purpose This research examines how perceived supervisor political support (SPS) moderates the relationship between perceived supervisor narcissistic rage (SNR) and relevant employee work outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Across three studies (Study 1: 604 student-recruited working adults; Study 2: 156 practicing lawyers: Study 3: 161 municipality employees), employees provided ratings for SPS, SNR and ratings of their job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), depressed work mood and work neglect. Findings Results supported the authors’ argument that SPS moderates the relationship between SNR and work outcomes. Specifically, SNR was associated with unfavorable outcomes only when SPS was low. When SPS was high, SNR had little effect on job satisfaction, OCBs, depressed mood and neglect. Research limitations/implications Results affirm that supervisor characteristics considered toxic do not always provoke adverse reactions when considering other leader features simultaneously. Practical implications Supervisors capable of offering political support can positively influence subordinate attitudes, behaviors and well-being even when other aspects of their personality potentially initiate antagonism. Originality/value This study is the first to examine SNR features and informal support activities concurrently

Subjectivity in fairness perceptions: How heuristics and self-efficacy shape the fairness expectations and perceptions of organisational newcomers

The very nature of perceived injustice cuts to the heart of employees\u27 cognition, attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. Yet, researchers and practitioners are woefully uninformed about what drives the subjectivity of unfairness perceptions. Using an integration of fairness heuristic and uncertainty management theories as a theoretical foundation to drive our hypothesis development, we conducted a multi-study investigation to examine individual-level correlates of unfairness expectations and perceptions in the context of newcomer organisational entry. Across two studies, we found support for the positive association between prior unfairness experiences (i.e. global unfairness heuristic) and expectations of unfairness (i.e. anticipatory injustice) at work. As an extension, Study 2 examined and found support for the interactive effect of global unfairness heuristics and competency-related beliefs (i.e. self-efficacy) on the formation of anticipatory injustice. Furthermore, Study 2 documented both direct and indirect associations between employees\u27 global unfairness heuristic, anticipatory injustice, perceived injustice, job satisfaction and counterproductive work (CWB) behaviours. Overall, our work sheds light on the importance of perceiver-specific factors for better informing the complex, idiosyncratic nature of perceived work unfairness. We discuss theoretical contributions, future research directions and practical implications

Performance, stress, and attitudinal outcomes of perceptions of others’ entitlement behavior: Supervisor–subordinate work relationship quality as moderator in two samples

Supervisor–subordinate work relationships are based on a series of potentially fluctuating resource allocation episodes. Building on this reality, we hypothesized in the present research that supervisor–subordinate work relationship quality will neutralize the negative attitudinal and behavioral strain effects associated with perceptions of others’ entitlement behavior. We draw upon the transactional theory of stress, and the social exchange and support features of leader–member exchange theory, to explain our expected neutralizing effects on job tension, job satisfaction, and contextual performance/citizenship behavior. Results supported study hypotheses in Sample 1. Findings were replicated in Sample 2 and extended by also demonstrating the interaction effect on task performance. Contributions to theory and research, strengths and limitations, directions for future work, and practical implications are discussed

Incivility’s relationship with workplace outcomes: Enactment as a boundary condition in two samples

The current two-sample investigation explores the role of enactment as a boundary condition in the relationship between experienced incivility and workplace outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior [OCB], and turnover intent). We integrate the tenets of the transactional model of stress and sensemaking theory to explain why enactment is a psychological sensemaking capability that can neutralize the adverse effects of experienced incivility on workplace outcomes. The results across two samples of data (nSample 1 = 156; nSample 2 = 620) supported the study hypotheses by demonstrating that experienced incivility had stronger adverse effects on employees’ job satisfaction, OCBs, and turnover intent for employees who reported lower levels of enactment than employees who reported higher levels of enactment. This study’s results make three important contributions to theory and research. First, we make an empirical contribution by examining enactment as a psychological sensemaking capability that can neutralize the adverse effects of experienced incivility on workplace outcomes. Second, we make a theoretical contribution by integrating the tenets of the transactional model of stress and sensemaking theory in a novel way that explains why enactment is a psychological sensemaking capability that can neutralize the adverse effects of stress on strain. Third, we demonstrate that enactment is the boundary condition that explains why incivility does not have universally adverse effects on employees’ outcomes

Beyond Banning the Box: A Conceptual Model of the Stigmatization of Ex-Offenders in the Workplace

Ex-offenders comprise a significant percentage of the labor force but frequently face stigmatization at work. Previous research on the ex-offender stigma has focused almost exclusively on its deleterious implications during the selection process. We seek to provide insight by adopting a cross-disciplinary approach and drawing from theoretical foundations in social psychology to present a model of the process and outcomes of the stigmatization of ex-offenders in organizations. In doing so, we outline the relationships between stigmatization, labeling, stereotyping, and treatment discrimination in the employee-observer relationship, to suggest how stigma leads to employee outcomes such as reduced performance and satisfaction as well as higher turnover. Further, we offer critical boundary conditions along each step of the process and discuss strategies that ex-offenders can use to manage their stigma as well as organizational practices that may help employers and managers avoid negative outcomes for ex-offender employees

Subjectivity in fairness perceptions : How heuristics and self-efficacy shape the fairness expectations and perceptions of organisational newcomers

The very nature of perceived injustice cuts to the heart of employees' cognition, attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. Yet, researchers and practitioners are woefully uninformed about what drives the subjectivity of unfairness perceptions. Using an integration of fairness heuristic and uncertainty management theories as a theoretical foundation to drive our hypothesis development, we conducted a multi-study investigation to examine individual-level correlates of unfairness expectations and perceptions in the context of newcomer organisational entry. Across two studies, we found support for the positive association between prior unfairness experiences (i.e. global unfairness heuristic) and expectations of unfairness (i.e. anticipatory injustice) at work. As an extension, Study 2 examined and found support for the interactive effect of global unfairness heuristics and competency-related beliefs (i.e. self-efficacy) on the formation of anticipatory injustice. Furthermore, Study 2 documented both direct and indirect associations between employees' global unfairness heuristic, anticipatory injustice, perceived injustice, job satisfaction and counterproductive work (CWB) behaviours. Overall, our work sheds light on the importance of perceiver-specific factors for better informing the complex, idiosyncratic nature of perceived work unfairness. We discuss theoretical contributions, future research directions and practical implications

Examining the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mother and baby health

Over the last decade, more than 50,000 pregnancy discrimination claims were filed in the United States (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [U.S. EEOC], 2018a). While pregnancy discrimination claims remain prevalent, research examining the effects of pregnancy discrimination on the well-being and health of working mothers and their babies is lacking. As such, we aim to examine the role of perceived pregnancy discrimination in the workplace on health outcomes for mothers and their babies via mother's stress. We draw on the occupational stress literature and medical research to propose that perceived pregnancy discrimination indirectly relates to mother and baby health via the mother's perceived stress. In our first study, we examine the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mothers' postpartum depressive symptoms via perceived stress. In our second study, we replicate and extend our first study and examine the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mothers' postpartum depressive symptoms and babies' gestational age, Apgar scores, birth weight, and number of doctors' visits, through the mechanism of perceived stress. We find that perceived pregnancy discrimination indirectly relates to increased levels of postpartum depressive symptoms for the mothers, and lower birth weights, lower gestational ages, and increased number of doctors' visits for the babies, via perceived stress of the mothers during pregnancy. Implications for theory and practice, limitations, and future research are discussed