Journal of Business Ethics

, Volume 145, Issue 1, pp 21–31 | Cite as

Nightmare Bosses: The Impact of Abusive Supervision on Employees’ Sleep, Emotions, and Creativity

Article

Abstract

In the present study, we examine the process through which abusive supervision impacts employee creativity. Specifically, we test whether abusive supervision is associated with lower levels of employee creativity and if this effect is mediated by employee sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion. Results showed that abusive supervision had an indirect negative relationship with employee creativity via its impact on employee sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the negative effects of abusive supervision on employee creativity and the processes by which they occur.

Keywords

Abusive supervision Creativity Emotional exhaustion Sleep 

Notes

Acknowledgments

This study is funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71302073, No. 71172047), and Research Fund for the Young teacher of Fujian Province (No. JA13009S).

References

  1. Alhola, P., & Polo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3, 553–567.Google Scholar
  2. Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity and innovation in organizations (Vol. 5). Boston: Harvard Business School.Google Scholar
  3. Amabile, T. M. (1998). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, 76, 76–87.Google Scholar
  4. Amabile, T. M., Schatzel, E. A., Moneta, G. B., & Kramer, S. J. (2004). Leader behaviors and the work environment for creativity: Perceived leader support. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 5–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Aryee, S., Chen, Z. X., Sun, L. Y., & Debrah, Y. A. (2007). Antecedents and outcomes of abusive supervision: test of a trickle-down model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 191–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Ashford, B. (1997). Petty tyranny in organizations: A preliminary examination of antecedents and consequences. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 14, 126–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Avey, J., Wu, K., & Holley, E. (2015). The influence of abusive supervision and job embeddedness on citizenship and deviance. Journal of Business Ethics, 129, 721–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Baer, M. (2012). Putting creativity to work: The implementation of creative ideas in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1102–1119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Bai, Y., Harms, P. D., & Han, G. (in press). Team conflict mediates the effects of organizational politics on employee performance: A cross-level analysis in China. Journal of Business Ethics. 1–15.Google Scholar
  11. Baranski, J. V., Cian, C., Esquivié, D., Pigeau, R. A., & Raphel, C. (1998). Modafinil during 64 hr of sleep deprivation: Dose-related effects on fatigue, alertness, and cognitive performance. Military Psychology, 10, 173–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Barnes, C. (2011). I’ll sleep when I’m dead: Managing those too busy to sleep. Organizational Dynamics, 40, 18–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Barnes, C. (2012). Working in our sleep: Sleep and self-regulation in organizations. Organizational Psychology Review, 2, 234–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Barnes, C., Schaubroeck, J., Huth, M., & Ghumman, S. (2011). Lack of sleep and unethical conduct. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115, 169–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., & Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
  16. Benlter, P., & Wu, E. (2005). EQS 6.1. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software.Google Scholar
  17. Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
  18. Bliese, P. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 349–381). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
  19. Boddy, C. R. (2011). Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 100, 367–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Boddy, C. R. (2014). Corporate psychopaths, conflict, employee affective well-being and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 121, 107–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Brehm, J., & Brehm, S. (1981). Psychological resistance: A theory of freedom and control. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
  22. Brewer, E. W., & Shapard, L. (2004). Employee burnout: A meta-analysis of the relationship between age or years of experience. Human Resource Development Review, 3, 102–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Caruso, C. C., Hitchcock, E. M., Dick, R. B., Russo, J. M., & Schmit, J. M. (2004) Overtime and extended work shifts: Recent findings on illnesses, injuries, and health behaviors. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-143/pdfs/2004-143.pdf.
  24. Christian, M. S., & Ellis, A. P. (2011). Examining the effects of sleep deprivation on workplace deviance: A self-regulatory perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 54, 913–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Cole, M., Walter, F., Bedeian, A., & O’Boyle, E. (2012). Job burnout and employee engagement: A meta-analytic examination of construct proliferation. Journal of Management, 38, 1550–1581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Coren, S. (1996). Sleep thieves. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
  27. Cropanzano, R., Howes, J. C., Grandey, A. A., & Toth, P. (1997). The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors, attitudes, and stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18, 159–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Cropanzano, R., Rupp, D. E., & Byrne, Z. S. (2003). The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 160–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. DeWall, C. N., Baumeister, R. F., Stillman, T. F., & Gailliot, M. T. (2007). Violence restrained: Effects of self-regulation and its depletion on aggression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 62–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Eriksen, W. (2006). Work factors as predictors of persistent fatigue: A prospective study of nurses’ aides. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63, 428–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Ertureten, A., Cemalcilar, Z., & Aycan, Z. (2013). The relationship of downward mobbing with leadership style and organization attitudes. Journal of Business Ethics, 116, 205–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Farmer, S. M., Tierney, P., & Kung-Mcintyre, K. (2003). Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 618–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Gallup (2013). State of the American Workplace: Employee engagement insights for U.S. Business Leaders.Google Scholar
  34. Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827–844.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Giacalone, R., & Promislo, M. (2010). Unethical and unwell: Decrements in well-being and unethical activity at work. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, 275–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Groeger, J. A., Zijlstra, F. R. H., & Dijk, D. J. (2004). Sleep quantity, sleep difficulties and their perceived consequences in a representative sample of some 2000 British adults. Journal of Sleep Research, 13, 359–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Gu, Q., Tang, T. L., & Jiang, W. (2015). Does moral leadership enhance employee creativity? Employee identification with leader and leader-member exchange (LMX) in the Chinese context. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 513–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Halbesleben, J. (2006). Sources of social support and burnout: A meta-analytic test of the conservation of resources model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1134–1145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Halbesleben, J., & Buckley, M. R. (2004). Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management, 30, 859–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J., Paustian-Underdahl, S., & Westman, M. (2014). Getting to the “COR”: Understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management, 40, 1334–1364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Harms, P. D., Spain, S., & Wood, D. (2014). Mapping personality in dark places. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7, 122–125.Google Scholar
  42. Harvey, P., Stoner, J., Hochwater, W., & Kacmar, C. (2007). Coping with abusive supervision: The neutralizing effects of ingratiation and positive affect on negative employee outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 264–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Henriques, G. R. (2000). Depression: Disease or behavioral shutdown mechanism? Journal of Science and Health Policy, 1, 152–165.Google Scholar
  44. Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9, 169–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Horne, J. A. (1988). Sleep loss and “divergent” thinking ability. Sleep, 11, 528–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. IBM Global Business Service. (2010). The Global CEO Study. IBM Corp.Google Scholar
  49. Jackson, E. M. (2014). The top 8 reasons your best people are about to quit – And how you can keep them. Forbes.com.Google Scholar
  50. James, L. R., Demaree, R. G., & Wolf, G. (1993). Rwg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 306–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Jenkins, D. C., Jono, R. T., & Stanton, B.-A. (1996). Predicting completeness of symptoms relief after major heart surgery. Behavioral Medicine, 22, 45–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Jenkins, D. C., Stanton, B.-A., Niemcryk, S. J., & Rose, R. M. (1988). A scale for the estimation of sleep problems in clinical research. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 41, 313–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Kelloway, E. K. (1998). Using LISREL for structural equation modeling: A researcher’s guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
  54. Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P. A., Coulouvrat, C., Hajak, G., Roth, T., Shahly, V., & Walsh, J. K. (2011). Insomnia and the performance of US workers: Results from the America Insomnia Survey. Sleep, 34, 1161–1171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Krasikova, D., Green, S., & LeBreton, J. (2013). Refining and extending our understanding of destructive leadership. Journal of Management, 39, 1308–1338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. LaVan, H., & Martin, W. M. (2008). Bullying in the U.S. workplace: Normative and process-oriented ethical approaches. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 147–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Lee, S., Yun, S., & Srivastava, A. (2013). Evidence of a curvilinear relationship between abusive supervision and creativity in South Korea. The Leadership Quarterly, 24, 724–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Litwiller, B. (2014). The relationship between sleep and work: A meta-analysis. Unpublished dissertation. University of Oklahoma.Google Scholar
  59. Liu, D., Liao, H., & Loi, R. (2012). The dark side of leadership: A three-level investigation of the cascading effect of abusive supervision on employee creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1187–1212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Mackey, J., Frieder, R., Brees, J., & Martinko, M. (2015). Abusive supervision: A meta-analysis and empirical review. Journal of Management. Google Scholar
  61. Martinko, M. J., Harvey, P., Brees, J. R., & Mackey, J. (2013). A review of abusive supervision research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 120–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2, 99–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  63. Meier, L. L., Semmer, N. K., & Spector, P. E. (2012). Unethical behavior as a stressor. In R. A. Giacalone & M. Promislo (Eds.), Handbook of unethical work behavior: Implications for well-being (pp. 168–179). Armonk: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
  64. Mitchell, M. S., & Ambrose, M. L. (2007). Abusive supervision and workplace deviance and the moderating effects of negative reciprocity beliefs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1159–1168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Mulki, J. P., Jaramillo, F., & Locander, W. B. (2006). Emotional exhaustion and organizational deviance: Can the right job and a leader’s style make a difference? Journal of Business Research, 59, 1222–1230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Mumford, M. D., & Licuanan, B. (2004). Leading for innovation: Conclusions, issues, and directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 163–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Mumford, M. D., Whetzel, D. L., & Reiter-Palmon, R. O. N. I. (1997). Thinking creatively at work: Organization influences on creative problem solving. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 31, 7–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  68. Munir, F., & Nielsen, K. (2009). Does self-efficacy mediate the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and healthcare workers’ sleep quality? A longitudinal study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65, 1833–1843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126, 247–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  70. Park, S., Cho, M. J., Chang, S. M., Bae, J. N., Jeon, H. J., Cho, S. J., et al. (2010). Relationships of Sleep duration with sociodemographic and health-related factors, psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbances in a community sample of Korean adults. Journal of Sleep Research, 19, 567–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Pilch, I., & Turska, E. (2015). Relationship between Machiavellianism, organizational culture, and workplace bullying: Emotional abuse from the target’s and the perpetrator’s perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 128, 83–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Preacher, K. J., Zhang, Z., & Zyphur, M. J. (2011). Alternative methods for assessing mediation in multilevel data: The advantages of multilevel SEM. Structural Equation Modeling, 18, 161–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Preacher, K. J., Zyphur, M. J., & Zhang, Z. (2010). A general multilevel SEM framework for assessing multilevel mediation. Psychological Methods, 15, 209–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Reiter-Palmon, R., & Illies, J. J. (2004). Leadership and creativity: Understanding leadership from a creative problem-solving perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 55–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Rosing, K., Frese, M., & Bausch, A. (2011). Explaining the heterogeneity of the leadership-innovation relationship: Ambidextrous leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 956–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  76. Salo, P., Oksanen, T., Sivertsen, B., Hall, M., Pentti, J., Virtanen, M., & Mika, K. (2010). Sleep disturbances as a predictor of cause-specific work disability and delayed return to work. Sleep, 33, 1323–1331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  77. Schyns, B., & Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 24, 138–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  78. Scott, B. A., & Judge, T. A. (2006). Insomnia, emotions, and job satisfaction: A multilevel study. Journal of Management, 32, 622–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  79. Shapira-Lishchinsky, O., & Rosenblatt, Z. (2009). Perceptions of organizational ethics as predictors of work absence: A test of alternative absence measures. Journal of Business Ethics, 88, 717–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  80. Siegel, J. M. (2005). Clues to the functions of mammalian sleep. Nature, 437, 1264–1271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  81. Sims, R. (2010). A study of deviance as a retaliatory response to organizational power. Journal of Business Ethics, 92, 553–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  82. Singh, J., Goolsby, J. R., & Rhoads, G. K. (1994). Behavioral and psychological consequences of boundary spanning burnout for customer service representatives. Journal of Marketing Research, 31, 558–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  83. Spain, S. M., Harms, P. D., & LeBreton, J. (2014). The dark side of personality at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 41–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  84. Sun, L., & Pan, W. (2008). HR practices perceptions, emotional exhaustion, and work outcomes: A conservation-of-resources theory in the Chinese context. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 19, 55–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  85. Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 178–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  86. Tepper, B. J. (2007). Abusive supervision in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Management, 33, 261–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  87. Thibuat, J., & Kelley, H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
  88. Vega, G., & Comer, D. (2005). Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break your spirit: Bullying in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 58, 101–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  89. Vogel, R. & Mitchell, M. (in press). The motivational effects of diminished self-esteem for employees who experience abusive supervision. Journal of Management. Google Scholar
  90. Wagner, D. T., Barnes, C. M., Lim, V. K., & Ferris, D. L. (2012). Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 1068–1076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  91. Wagner, D. T., Barnes, C. M., & Scott, B. A. (2014). Driving it home: How workplace emotional labor harms employee home life. Personnel Psychology, 67, 487–516.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  92. Wagner, U., Gais, S., Haider, H., Verleger, R., & Born, J. (2004). Sleep inspires insight. Nature, 427, 352–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  93. Walker, M. P., Liston, C., Hobson, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2002). Cognitive flexibility across the sleep-wake cycle: REM-sleep enhancement of anagram problem solving. Cognitive Brain Research, 14, 317–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  94. Wang, G., Harms, P.D., & Mackey, J. (2014). Does it take two to tangle? Subordinates’ perceptions of and reactions to abusive supervision. Journal of Business Ethics. 1–17.Google Scholar
  95. Weber, L. (2013). Go ahead, hit the snooze button: Weary workers learn to count sheep using special lighting, office nap pods. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323301104578257894191502654.
  96. Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 18, 1–74.Google Scholar
  97. West, M., & Farr, J. (1990). Innovation at work. In M. West & J. Farr (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work: Psychological and organizational strategies (pp. 3–13). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
  98. Wheeler, A., Halbesleben, J., & Whitman, M. (2013). The interactive effects of abusive supervision and entitlement on emotional exhaustion and co-worker abuse. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86, 477–496.Google Scholar
  99. Whitman, M., Halbesleben, J., & Holmes, O. (2014). Abusive supervision and feedback avoidance: The mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 38–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  100. Wood, D., Harms, P. D., & Vazire, S. (2010). Perceiver effects as projective tests: What your general perceptions of others says about you. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 174–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  101. Wood, D., Hensler, M., & Harms, P. D. (2015). How functionalist and process approaches to behavior can explain trait covariation. Psychological Review, 122, 84–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  102. Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1998). Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 486–493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  103. Yuan, F. R., & Woodman, R. W. (2010). Innovative behavior in the workplace: The role of performance and image outcome expectations. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 323–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  104. Zellars, K. L., Tepper, B. J., & Duffy, M. K. (2002). Abusive supervision and subordinates’ organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1068–1076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  105. Zhang, Y. & Bednall, T. (2015). Antecedents of abusive supervision: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics. 1–17.Google Scholar
  106. Zhou, J., & George, J. M. (2001). When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: Encouraging the expression of voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 682–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Youngstown State University, Williamson College of Business AdministrationYoungstownUSA
  2. 2.University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of CommerceTuscaloosaUSA
  3. 3.Xiamen University, School of ManagementXiamenChina

Personalised recommendations