Impact of abusive leader behavior on employee job insecurity: A mediating roles of emotional exhaustion and abusive peer behavior

Abstract

Based on the social exchange theory, the present study aimed to investigate the association between abusive leader behavior and job insecurity while considering the serial intervention of abusive peer behavior and emotional exhaustion. Abusive leader behavior triggers abusive peer behaviors, emotional exhaustion, and job insecurity. Results from the data of 323 final responses indicated support for all the hypothesized relationships. Moreover, the findings also reported sequential mediation of abusive peer behavior and emotional exhaustion in the association between abusive leader behavior and job insecurity. The results indicate that mistreatment by an immediate boss can encourage peers to engage in similar unethical behaviors, leading to employees feeling emotionally exhausted, which ultimately results in job insecurity concerns. The study hopes that the findings will help practitioners dedicate more efforts to curtailing abusive behaviors that lead to several unintended consequences at work.

Examining the Moderating Role of Conscientiousness on Abusive Supervision and Emotional Exhaustion Leading to Employee Creativity

“…This finding are consistent with prior studies results that confirmed that negative psychological factors negatively influence employees' creativity (Jasmine, & Martdianty, 2022;Opoku, Kang, & Kim, 2023). Third, the study adds to the body of knowledge relating to leadership (Li, Ahmed, Syed, Khalid, & Muñoz Jr, 2022;Malik, Jawad, Shahzad, & Waheed, 2022)…”

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“…Social exchange theory (SET), proposed by Blau (1964) and Emmerson (1976) (Cook, 2015), offers a valuable framework for understanding the reciprocal relationship between leaders and subordinates in organizations. According to Li et al (2022), SET highlights that the quality of this relationship 96 / Going green to keep talent: Exploring the relationship between sustainable business practices and turnover intention influences outcomes. Negative treatment from abusive leaders, characterized by a lack of trust, respect, support, and mistreatment, can lead employees to exhibit poor behaviors and experience exhaustion and insecurity.…”

“…It has also been applied to study factors such as job insecurity and emotional exhaustion. Considering the principles of SET can provide insights into how leader member relationships and employee experiences shape outcomes like TI (Li et al, 2022).…”