Why do employees struggle to thrive in the workplaces? A look at the impact of abusive supervision

Abstract

Purpose

Based on the conservation of resources view, the objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace thriving. Further, this study investigates the underlying mechanisms role of agentic work behaviors (i.e. task focus, heedful relating) and moderating role of employee's core self-evaluations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a time-lag approach, data are collected from 360 full-time employees enrolled in an executive development program in a large university of China. To test the proposed model, data analysis is carried out through Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS).

Findings

The results show that abusive supervision negatively influences workplace thriving. Further, the findings also confirm the mediating role of agentic work behaviors and the moderating role of core self-evaluations between the relationship of abusive supervision and thriving.

Practical implications

Based on study findings, this study draws the attention of managers toward the new deleterious outcomes of abusive supervision. Hence, to nurture a thriving workforce, organizations should keep abusive behaviors under keen observations to minimize their frequent occurrences. Further, it is proposed that hiring employees with higher core self-evaluations can mitigate the injurious effect of abusive supervision.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to our knowledge to untapped the abusive supervision-thriving relationship via the underlying mechanisms of two agentic work behavior's and core self-evaluations as a moderator enriches the extant body of knowledge and provide valuable insight into the abusive supervision and workplace thriving literature.

Citation

Usman, M., Liu, Y., Zhang, J., Ghani, U. and Gul, H. (2022), "Why do employees struggle to thrive in the workplaces? A look at the impact of abusive supervision", Personnel Review, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 77-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2019-0213