Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

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

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alhola, P., & Polo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3, 553–567.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity and innovation in organizations (Vol. 5). Boston: Harvard Business School.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amabile, T. M. (1998). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, 76, 76–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashford, B. (1997). Petty tyranny in organizations: A preliminary examination of antecedents and consequences. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 14, 126–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, M. (2012). Putting creativity to work: The implementation of creative ideas in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1102–1119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, C. (2011). I’ll sleep when I’m dead: Managing those too busy to sleep. Organizational Dynamics, 40, 18–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, C. (2012). Working in our sleep: Sleep and self-regulation in organizations. Organizational Psychology Review, 2, 234–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, C., Schaubroeck, J., Huth, M., & Ghumman, S. (2011). Lack of sleep and unethical conduct. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115, 169–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Benlter, P., & Wu, E. (2005). EQS 6.1. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software.

  • Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Boddy, C. R. (2011). Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 100, 367–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boddy, C. R. (2014). Corporate psychopaths, conflict, employee affective well-being and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 121, 107–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brehm, J., & Brehm, S. (1981). Psychological resistance: A theory of freedom and control. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coren, S. (1996). Sleep thieves. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksen, W. (2006). Work factors as predictors of persistent fatigue: A prospective study of nurses’ aides. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63, 428–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup (2013). State of the American Workplace: Employee engagement insights for U.S. Business Leaders.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone, R., & Promislo, M. (2010). Unethical and unwell: Decrements in well-being and unethical activity at work. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, 275–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halbesleben, J., & Buckley, M. R. (2004). Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management, 30, 859–879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henriques, G. R. (2000). Depression: Disease or behavioral shutdown mechanism? Journal of Science and Health Policy, 1, 152–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9, 169–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horne, J. A. (1988). Sleep loss and “divergent” thinking ability. Sleep, 11, 528–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IBM Global Business Service. (2010). The Global CEO Study. IBM Corp.

  • Jackson, E. M. (2014). The top 8 reasons your best people are about to quit – And how you can keep them. Forbes.com.

  • James, L. R., Demaree, R. G., & Wolf, G. (1993). Rwg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 306–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, D. C., Jono, R. T., & Stanton, B.-A. (1996). Predicting completeness of symptoms relief after major heart surgery. Behavioral Medicine, 22, 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelloway, E. K. (1998). Using LISREL for structural equation modeling: A researcher’s guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krasikova, D., Green, S., & LeBreton, J. (2013). Refining and extending our understanding of destructive leadership. Journal of Management, 39, 1308–1338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Litwiller, B. (2014). The relationship between sleep and work: A meta-analysis. Unpublished dissertation. University of Oklahoma.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey, J., Frieder, R., Brees, J., & Martinko, M. (2015). Abusive supervision: A meta-analysis and empirical review. Journal of Management.

  • Martinko, M. J., Harvey, P., Brees, J. R., & Mackey, J. (2013). A review of abusive supervision research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 120–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2, 99–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumford, M. D., & Licuanan, B. (2004). Leading for innovation: Conclusions, issues, and directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 163–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126, 247–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Zyphur, M. J., & Zhang, Z. (2010). A general multilevel SEM framework for assessing multilevel mediation. Psychological Methods, 15, 209–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reiter-Palmon, R., & Illies, J. J. (2004). Leadership and creativity: Understanding leadership from a creative problem-solving perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 55–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosing, K., Frese, M., & Bausch, A. (2011). Explaining the heterogeneity of the leadership-innovation relationship: Ambidextrous leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 956–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, B. A., & Judge, T. A. (2006). Insomnia, emotions, and job satisfaction: A multilevel study. Journal of Management, 32, 622–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, J. M. (2005). Clues to the functions of mammalian sleep. Nature, 437, 1264–1271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sims, R. (2010). A study of deviance as a retaliatory response to organizational power. Journal of Business Ethics, 92, 553–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spain, S. M., Harms, P. D., & LeBreton, J. (2014). The dark side of personality at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 41–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 178–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J. (2007). Abusive supervision in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Management, 33, 261–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thibuat, J., & Kelley, H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, R. & Mitchell, M. (in press). The motivational effects of diminished self-esteem for employees who experience abusive supervision. Journal of Management.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, U., Gais, S., Haider, H., Verleger, R., & Born, J. (2004). Sleep inspires insight. Nature, 427, 352–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 

  • 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 

  • 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 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D., Hensler, M., & Harms, P. D. (2015). How functionalist and process approaches to behavior can explain trait covariation. Psychological Review, 122, 84–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1998). Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 486–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zellars, K. L., Tepper, B. J., & Duffy, M. K. (2002). Abusive supervision and subordinates’ organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1068–1076.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y. & Bednall, T. (2015). Antecedents of abusive supervision: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics. 1–17.

  • Zhou, J., & George, J. M. (2001). When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: Encouraging the expression of voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 682–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

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).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Youngstown State University, Williamson College of Business Administration, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH, 44555, USA

    Guohong Helen Han

  2. University of Alabama, Culverhouse College of Commerce, 131 Alston, Box 870225, 361 Stadium Dr., Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    P. D. Harms

  3. Xiamen University, School of Management, Room 620, Jiageng Building 1, Siming South Road # 422, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Yuntao Bai

Authors
  1. Guohong Helen Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. D. Harms
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuntao Bai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuntao Bai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Han, G.H., Harms, P.D. & Bai, Y. Nightmare Bosses: The Impact of Abusive Supervision on Employees’ Sleep, Emotions, and Creativity. J Bus Ethics 145, 21–31 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2859-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2859-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation