Make Them Feel: How the Disclosure of Pregnancy to a Supervisor Leads to Changes in Perceived Supervisor Support

Abstract

Personal disclosure at work can help facilitate high-quality relationships; however, these results may depend on people's reactions to them. We suggest that reactions to a disclosure-particularly supervisor reactions-can relate to abrupt and enduring changes in perceptions of relationship quality. Drawing on theory related to relationship-defining memories [Alea N, Vick SC (2010) The first sight of love: Relationship-defining memories and marital satisfaction across adulthood. Memory 18 (7):730-742.], informational justice [Lind EA (2001) Fairness heuristic theory: Justice judgments as pivotal cognitions in organizational relations. Greenberg J, Cropanzano R, eds. Advances in Organizational Justice (Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA), 56-88.], and emotions [Van Kleef GA (2009) How emotions regulate social life. Current Directions Psych. Sci. 18(3):184-188.], we investigate the mechanisms through which supervisor reactions to pregnancy disclosure influence changes in employees' perceived supervisor support (PSS). The results from a longitudinal field study of over 100 pregnant working women and two experimental vignette studies suggest that the evocation of positive emotions from pregnant women at the time of the disclosure influences immediate and enduring changes in PSS.

Predicting workplace relational dynamics using an affective model of relationships

“…They are relationship‐defining in the sense that they anchor a person's sense of the relationship over time. For example, Little, Hinojosa, and Lynch () recently described how disclosure of pregnancy to a supervisor can prove a relationship‐defining memory for many female employees, because the supervisor's reaction provides crucial clues about the future quality and nature of the working relationship at a time when such employees may perceive ambiguity.…”

“…The theory of relationship‐defining memories (Alea & Vick, ) explains that relationship‐defining memories influence relationship trajectories precisely because of the intense and enduring feelings they elicit in relation to the interaction partner (Little et al, ). Consequently, we expect that when partners appraise relational events as extremely salient to their view of the relationship, enough to prompt reevaluation, the relationship trajectory may undergo sustained changes.…”

Organizational Work-Family Support, Life Stages and Flexibility

“…There is a bright spot, though. When supervisors show excitement during disclosure it improves their relationship with their employees long-term (Little, Hinojosa, & Lynch, 2017). So how can we better support our employees' work-family balance?…”

Time‐based differences in the effects of positive and negative affectivity on perceived supervisor support and organizational commitment among newcomers

“…We contend that newcomers' tendencies to experience positive (i.e., PA) and negative (i.e., NA) affect should influence the experience of supervisor support and indirectly organizational commitment. This approach breaks new ground as the study of the antecedents of perceived supervisor support remains scarce (for exceptions, see Frear, Donsbach, Theilgard, & Shanock, ; Little, Hinojosa, & Lynch, ). Moreover, the few studies that addressed the role of affect in perceptions of supervisor support examined emotions (i.e., state affect) as outcomes of support (Cole, Bruch, & Vogel, ; Kammeyer‐Mueller et al, ; Nifadkar, Tsui, & Ashforth, ).…”