Bystander Intervention in the Context of Abusive Supervision: Effects of Power Distance Orientation and Gender

Abstract

This study focused on the perceptions and reactions of observers in abusive supervision situations, with regard to the premises of the Bystander Intervention Framework. A 2 x 2 x 2 design was used based on observer's, perpetrator's, and victim's gender. Several vignettes for four different perpetrator-victim dyads (e.g., female perpetrator-male victim) were developed. Participants (N = 197) read these vignettes consecutively over five days and finally were asked to evaluate the perceived acceptability of the abusive supervision, and rate their willingness to help the victim. Results revealed that higher power distance orientation increased perceived acceptability of abusive supervision, and higher perceived acceptability increased avoidance of help while simultaneously decreasing willingness to provide direct or indirect help. The gender of the perpetrator was critical in perceived acceptability, whereby male observers were more tolerant toward male perpetrators. In addition, the gender of the victim was a determinant of the type of help given.

Work-Family Conflict, Coping Strategies and Burnout: A Gender and Couple Analysis

“…Regarding coping strategies, we do not observe any significant relationship between emotional coping and burnout dimensions, but we confirm that coping results may be different depending on gender (Arman, 2020). Behavioural coping appears negatively related to depersonalization, confirming only partially hypothesis 2, since this relation is only observed in men.…”

“…One of the most important mediating variables is coping strategies, since men and women have different ways of interpreting and responding to social demands (Arman, 2020), which can be explained by the influence of gender roles (Eagly & Wood, 2012;Lyu & Fan, 2020). Although the relationship between gender and workfamily conflict has been extensively studied, relatively little is known about whether gender shapes the relationship between work-family conflict, coping strategies, and burnout.…”

Perceived abusive supervision and graduate students’ suicidal ideation: from the perspective of interpersonal psychological theory of suicide

“…In addition, power dynamics play a central role in understanding supervisor–graduate relationships, as power distance orientation influences how graduate students perceive, evaluate, and react to abusive supervisory behaviours [ 12 ]. Meanwhile, abusive supervision decreased help-seeking behaviour and the willingness to provide direct or indirect help [ 66 ], reducing an individual's sense of connection. Therefore, we call for more research to discover the influence of cultural factors and to examine the differential effects of individual-level factors (e.g., power-distance orientation) and population-level factors (e.g., individualism-collectivism).…”

How to Cope with an Abusive Leader? Examinations of Subordinates’ Affective Reactions, CWB-O and Turnover Intentions

“…Instead of simply offering emotional support or ruminating together with the abused subordinates, coworkers can offer more constructively supportive help. For example, based on the premise of the bystander intervention framework, Arman (2020) stated that coworkers could inform someone from management about the behaviors of the supervisor towards the abused subordinates, and encourage the abused subordinates to talk to someone from management. Further, organizations can also set up practical access (i.e., anonymous open mailbox) for subordinates to reflect anonymously on their situation of experiencing abusive supervision, train the abused subordinates to sometimes neglect supervisors’ aggression to protect their own mental health, and provide subordinates with effective up-management skills.…”