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Resource Depletion Perspective on the Link Between Abusive Supervision and Safety Behaviors

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Abstract

Leader behavior significantly influences employees’ safety performance. This study aimed to examine the effect of abusive supervision on the safety behaviors of subordinates. By drawing on the strength model of self-control, we predicted that abusive supervision would negatively affect safety behaviors through emotional exhaustion, and trait self-control and attentional bias toward safety would moderate the relationship between abusive supervision, emotional exhaustion, and safety behaviors. Our hypothesized model was supported by results from a sample of 159 workers at a chemical product manufacturing enterprise in China. Emotional exhaustion mediated the link between abusive supervision and safety behaviors. Moreover, trait self-control moderated the relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion, and attentional bias toward safety moderated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and safety compliance. This study elucidates the effects of abusive supervision on safety behaviors through the resource depletion process. Likewise, the importance of trait self-control and attentional bias toward safety in mitigating the potentially harmful effects of abusive supervision in workplace safety is highlighted. Minimizing abusive supervision, providing self-control training, and implementing safety-specific implicit cognition intervention can effectively improve employees’ safety behaviors.

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Funding

This study was partly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers: 71501177 and 71371179) and The National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Number: 2016YFC0802600).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao Yuan, Yaoshan Xu & Yongjuan Li

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao Yuan, Yaoshan Xu & Yongjuan Li

  3. School of Economics and Business Administration, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao Yuan

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Correspondence to Yaoshan Xu.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Yuan, X., Xu, Y. & Li, Y. Resource Depletion Perspective on the Link Between Abusive Supervision and Safety Behaviors. J Bus Ethics 162, 213–228 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3983-2

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