PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate if employees possessing good political skill face less abusive behavior from their supervisors. Moreover, the gender of the subordinate has been tested as a moderator between political skill and abusive supervision. Cultural and social factors prevailing in the research settings of Pakistan provide an ideal situation to test the relationship between political skill and abusive supervision.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 178 employees representing different sectors of Pakistani industry. To test the relationship between political skill and abusive supervision, simple linear regression was run and moderation was tested using PROCESS macro.FindingsFrom the analysis, the major findings prove that political skill lessens abusive supervision. Moreover, due to the cultural settings, male subordinates use political skill more proficiently to avoid abusive supervision as compared to female subordinates.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that in order to maintain harmony in the work environment, employees must learn political skill to avoid abusive supervision. Moreover, females must be given more chances to utilize their political skill to get positive outcomes.Originality/valueThis study fills up a significant gap in the literature, as there is scarce literature available that investigates the relationship between political skill and abusive supervision, specifically in Pakistan.

Purpose: Political skill has been attracting immense research attention in recent years. However, majority of the researches showed positive outcomes of political skill for employees. This research will provide new insights to literature through investigating the role of political skill in reducing negative behavioral outcomes of employees by developing job satisfaction to ultimately reduce turnover intention. Moreover, harmonizing effect of political skill in perceived organizational politics may enable employees to maintain job satisfaction and reduce turnover intention. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were collected from 186 employees representing different sectors of Pakistani industry. Hayes (2013) moderated mediation analysis is used to analyze results. Findings: Study findings depict a significant relation between political skill and job satisfaction, which ultimately affect turnover intention. Furthermore, perceived organizational politics played a significant moderating role between political skill and job satisfaction. Implications/Originality/Value: The study is undertaken in a developing country which provides relevant conditions to investigate such a relationship. This study fills up a significant gap in the literature as there is scarce literature available that investigates the relationship between political skill and its outcomes, specifically in Pakistan.