Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 04 15; 17(8)IJ

Abstract

According to the concept of abusive supervision, abusive supervisors display hostility towards their employees by humiliating and ridiculing them, giving them the silent treatment, and breaking promises. In this study, we argue that abusive supervision may not be limited to mistreatment at the relationship level and that the abuse is likely to extend to employees' work tasks. Drawing upon the notion that supervisors play a key role in assigning work tasks to employees, we propose that abusive supervisors may display disrespect and devaluation towards their employees through assigning illegitimate (i.e., unnecessary and unreasonable) tasks. Survey data were obtained from 268 healthcare and social services workers. The results showed that abusive supervision was strongly and positively related to illegitimate tasks. Moreover, we found that the relationship between abusive supervision and unreasonable tasks was stronger for nonsupervisory employees at the lowest hierarchical level than for supervisory employees at higher hierarchical levels. The findings indicate that abusive supervision may go beyond relatively overt forms of hostility at the relationship level. Task-level stressors may be an important additional source of stress for employees with abusive supervisors that should be considered to fully understand the devastating effects of abusive supervision on employee functioning and well-being.

Links

PMC Free PDF

Authors+Show Affiliations

Stein M
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
Vincent-Höper S
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
Schümann M
Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
Gregersen S
Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany.

MeSH

BullyingFemaleHostilityHumansMalePersonnel ManagementSurveys and Questionnaires

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32326579

Citation

Stein, Maie, et al. "Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 8, 2020.
Stein M, Vincent-Höper S, Schümann M, et al. Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(8).
Stein, M., Vincent-Höper, S., Schümann, M., & Gregersen, S. (2020). Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082722
Stein M, et al. Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 04 15;17(8) PubMed PMID: 32326579.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Beyond Mistreatment at the Relationship Level: Abusive Supervision and Illegitimate Tasks. AU - Stein,Maie, AU - Vincent-Höper,Sylvie, AU - Schümann,Marlies, AU - Gregersen,Sabine, Y1 - 2020/04/15/ PY - 2020/03/31/received PY - 2020/04/13/revised PY - 2020/04/14/accepted PY - 2020/4/25/entrez PY - 2020/4/25/pubmed PY - 2020/10/3/medline KW - abusive supervision KW - hierarchical level KW - hostility KW - illegitimate tasks KW - task-related supervisory behavior KW - unnecessary tasks KW - unreasonable tasks JF - International journal of environmental research and public health JO - Int J Environ Res Public Health VL - 17 IS - 8 N2 - According to the concept of abusive supervision, abusive supervisors display hostility towards their employees by humiliating and ridiculing them, giving them the silent treatment, and breaking promises. In this study, we argue that abusive supervision may not be limited to mistreatment at the relationship level and that the abuse is likely to extend to employees' work tasks. Drawing upon the notion that supervisors play a key role in assigning work tasks to employees, we propose that abusive supervisors may display disrespect and devaluation towards their employees through assigning illegitimate (i.e., unnecessary and unreasonable) tasks. Survey data were obtained from 268 healthcare and social services workers. The results showed that abusive supervision was strongly and positively related to illegitimate tasks. Moreover, we found that the relationship between abusive supervision and unreasonable tasks was stronger for nonsupervisory employees at the lowest hierarchical level than for supervisory employees at higher hierarchical levels. The findings indicate that abusive supervision may go beyond relatively overt forms of hostility at the relationship level. Task-level stressors may be an important additional source of stress for employees with abusive supervisors that should be considered to fully understand the devastating effects of abusive supervision on employee functioning and well-being. SN - 1660-4601 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32326579/Beyond_Mistreatment_at_the_Relationship_Level:_Abusive_Supervision_and_Illegitimate_Tasks_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -