Reactions from the Dark Side: How Does the Dark Tetrad Affect Responses to Daily Abusive Supervision Today and Tomorrow?

Abstract

Abusive supervision is a widely-studied phenomenon experienced by a multitude of workers across organizations and occupations. It has typically been conceptualized as a chronic phenomenon with negative outcomes. However, preliminary evidence indicates that conceptualizing abusive supervision as constant may not be accurate, and that its outcomes may vary temporally. This study uses a within-person approach to capture the dynamic nature of abusive supervision and subordinate responses more fully. We surveyed 102 full-time employees from the U.S. who responded to 932 daily surveys assessing personality, workplace behaviors, and justice perceptions. Daily abuse led to lower perceptions of justice and increased retaliation on the same day, but not the following days. Rather, employees who engaged in workplace deviance more often reported more abusive supervision, potentially as a justification for their behavior. Further, justice perceptions predicted increased reports of abuse, indicating that this may be a circular relationship instead of a unidirectional one. Finally, narcissism exacerbated the relationships explored. These results can be used to implement interventions directed at both supervisor behavior and subordinate perceptions and behaviors.