Perceptions of supervisor support: Resolving paradoxical patterns across gender and race

Abstract

This work reconciles previous discrepancies regarding when and how the demographic composition of supervisor–subordinate dyads relates to perceived supervisor support. We draw from social identity theory to argue that building relationships with higher‐status group members, while distancing oneself from the lower‐status group, is a contextually induced way female and racial minority employees may cope with identity threat in the workplace. Our results supported the hypotheses, indicating that this self‐distancing effect via reduced perceived supervisor support only emerges in settings where gender or racial identities may be considered threatened (in organizations with climates of higher perceived gender inequity, Study 1; or climates of higher perceived diversity inequity, Study 2). Such results are particularly important and timely given the recent ample attention in popular media and academic outlets regarding the ‘queen bee’ effect, the ‘crabs in the barrel’ mentality, and diversity‐valuing behaviour of leaders. The current research suggests that such behaviours are not generalizable to all female or minority employees; rather, this effect seems to be context‐driven. Practitioner points Organizational climates that are higher in gender and/or diversity inequity may bring about negative in‐group behaviours between supervisors and subordinates. To increase perceptions of supervisor support, especially among traditionally low‐status employees, organizations should improve their diversity climates to be more inclusive for all employees. Building active mentoring programmes for under‐represented groups and increasing the number of women and non‐White employees in senior positions, while emphasizing equal opportunity for all employees, are some ways organizations can reduce perceptions of gender and diversity inequity. A career‐lattice approach to employee career development would allow employees to engage in more lateral transfers – enabling them to gain diverse skills, be exposed to multiple mentors, and to remove themselves from a potentially harmful supervisor–subordinate relationship.

Work and Family in the Second Decade of the 21st Century

“…Across studies, supervisor support had a positive effect on worker well‐being, parenting, and child outcomes, and, for the most part, these findings held up across gender and social class. The very little we could find on race suggests that the context of the workplace, high or low in gender and racial diversity, may moderate the effect of relationships between supervisors and workers (Paustian‐Underdahl, King, Rogelberg, Kulich, & Gentry, ). Important new directions for research on supervisors include examining the “match” between supervisor and supervisee in terms of race and gender as well attending to the the diversity of the broader work context.…”

“I Want, Therefore I Am” – Anticipated Upward Mobility Reduces Ingroup Concern

“…Lack of ingroup support has also been reported from the perspective of achieved low-status individuals. Research showed that female employees and Non-White employees felt less support from ingroup supervisors (i.e., female and Non-White supervisors) than from outgroup supervisors (i.e., male or White supervisors) in organizations with an adverse diversity climate ( Paustian-Underdahl et al, 2017 ). Such parallel findings across social categories suggest that low ingroup concern among socially mobile women is not specific to gender, and that it can be broadly attributed to the status dynamics between different group memberships.…”

Distancing or drawing together: Sexism and organisational tolerance of sexism impact women's social relationships at work

“…Previous research has examined how experiences of sexism affect managers' attitudes towards their subordinates Derks et al, 2016), and subordinates' attitudes towards their managers (Sterk, Meeussen, & Van Laar, 2018). For instance, Paustian-Underdahl et al (2017) found that women feel less supported by their female supervisors than by their male supervisors. Here, we show that managers' attitudes might similarly impact relationships among their subordinates.…”

“…The particular focus of this article is on organisational tolerance of sexism, which therefore refers to the absences of practices, procedures, and norms about the inappropriateness of sexism in the workplace. Importantly, organisational climates can also be expressed at the interpersonal level (Paustian-Underdahl, King, Rogelberg, Kulich, & Gentry, 2017), for instance by managers and by peers (Madlock & Booth-Butterfield, 2011), and having a high-level organisational policy that clarifies intolerance of discrimination does not mean that this necessarily translates into similar levels of intolerance of discrimination at lower levels in the organisation (Brady, Kaiser, Major, & Kirby, 2015;Hebl, Foster, Mannix, & Dovidio, 2002). In this article, then, organisational climate is operationalised at three levels, namely the extent to which (a) peers, (b) managers, and (3) organisational policies do or do not reject sexism and support those targeted by sexist treatment.…”