This article builds on the scant literature regarding antecedents and consequences of employee thriving, a positive psychological state characterized by the joint experience of vitality and learning. Guided by conservation of resource (COR) theory and the social embeddedness perspective, we predict that the social-network centrality of employees helps them buffer against the negative effects of abusive supervision. Via a pilot study, a field study, and two scenario-based experiments, we find patterns supporting our hypotheses. Specifically, employees’ perception of abusive supervision is negatively associated with their level of thriving and, thereby also, with their performance-related outcomes such as task performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and creativity. However, abusive supervision’s negative association with employees’ thriving weakens when employees are more central in their advice and friendship networks. Our research adds to the sparse but growing literature on thriving, and supplements the mostly reactive- and/or dyadic-oriented strategies previously identified as ways to cope with abusive supervisors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
AmabileTMBarsadeSGMuellerJS, et al. (2005) Affect and creativity at work. Administrative Science Quarterly50(3): 367–403.
2.
BauerDJPreacherKJGilKM (2006) Conceptualizing and testing random indirect effects and moderated mediation in multilevel models: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods11(2): 142–163.
3.
BauerTNGreenSG (1996) Development of leader-member exchange: A longitudinal test. Academy of Management Journal39(6): 1538–1567.
4.
BaumeisterRFVohsKD (2018) Strength model of self-regulation as limited resource: Assessment, controversies, update. In: BaumeisterRF (ed.) Self-Regulation and Self-Control. Routledge, 78–128.
5.
BehfarKJCroninMAMcCarthyK (2020) Realizing the upside of venting: The role of the “challenger listener”. Academy of Management Discoveries6(4): 609–630.
6.
BonoJEGlombTMShenW, et al. (2013) Building positive resources: Effects of positive events and positive reflection on work stress and health. Academy of Management Journal56(6): 1601–1627.
7.
BorgattiSPEverettMGFreemanLC (2002) Ucinet for Windows: Software for Social Network Analysis. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies.
8.
BrassDJ (1984) Being in the right place: A structural analysis of individual influence in an organization. Administrative Science Quarterly29(4): 518–539.
9.
BrassDJ (2012) A social network perspective on organizational psychology. In: KozlowskiSWJ (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 667–695.
10.
BrislinR (1980) Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In: TriandisHCBerryJW (eds) Handbook of Cross-Culture Psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 389–444.
11.
BruningPFAlgeBJLinHC (2018) The embedding forces of network commitment: An examination of the psychological processes linking advice centrality and susceptibility to social influence. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes148(C): 54–69.
12.
BrykASRaudenbushSW (1992) Hierarchical Linear Models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
13.
BurkhardtME (1994) Social interaction effects following a technological change: A longitudinal investigation. Academy of Management Journal37(4): 869–898.
14.
CarmeliASpreitzerGM (2009) Trust, connectivity, and thriving: Implications for innovative behaviors at work. Journal of Creative Behavior43(3): 169–191.
15.
ChanMEMcAllisterDJ (2014) Abusive supervision through the lens of employee state paranoia. Academy of Management Review39(1): 44–66.
16.
CohenJCohenPWestSG, et al. (2003) Applied Multiple Regression/correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (3rd edn). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
DalalRSLamHWeissHM, et al. (2009) A within-person approach to work behavior and performance. Academy of Management Journal52(5): 1051–1066.
18.
EdwardsJRLambertLS (2007) Methods for integrating moderation and mediation. Psychological Methods12(1): 1–22.
19.
FarhCLiaoHShapiroDL, et al. (2021) Out of sight and out of mind? Networking strategies for enhancing inclusion in multinational organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology106(4): 582–598.
20.
FarhCICChenZ (2014) Beyond the individual victim: Multilevel consequences of abusive supervision in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology99(6): 1074–1095.
21.
FarmerSMTierneyPKung-McintyreK (2003) Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal46(5): 618–630.
22.
FastNJBurrisERBartelCA (2014) Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal57(4): 1013–1034.
23.
FreemanLC (1978) Centrality in social networks: Conceptual clarification. Social Networks1(3): 215–239.
24.
FrenchKADumaniSAllenTD, et al. (2018) A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and social support. Psychological Bulletin144(3): 284–314.
25.
GeorgeJM (1991) State or trait: Effects of positive mood on prosocial behaviors at work. Journal of Applied Psychology76(2): 299–307.
26.
GibbonsDE (2004) Friendship and advice networks in the context of changing professional values. Administrative Science Quarterly49(2): 238–262.
27.
GomezCKirkmanBLShapiroDL (2001) The impact of collectivism and ingroup/outgroup membership on the evaluation generosity of team members. Academy of Management Journal43(6): 1097–1106.
28.
HanJVan DongenK (2015) Friendship network centrality and the performance of soccer players: The role of cognitive accuracy. Human Performance28(3): 265–279.
29.
HobfollSE (1989) Conservation of resource: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist44(3): 513–524.
30.
HobfollSE (2001) The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology50(3): 337–421.
31.
HobfollSEShiromA (2000) Conservation of resources theory: Applications to stress and management in the workplace. In: GolembiewskiRT (ed.) Handbook of Organization Behavior (2nd edn). New York: Dekker, 57–81.
32.
HobfollSEHalbeslebenJNeveuJP, et al. (2018) Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior5(1): 103–128.
33.
HobmanEVRestubogSLDBordiaP, et al. (2009) Abusive supervision in advising relationships: Investigating the role of social support. Applied Psychology58(2): 233–256.
34.
HolmgreenLTironeVGerhartJ, et al. (2017) Conservation of resources theory: Resource caravans and passageways in health contexts. In: CaryCQuickJC (eds) The Handbook of Stress and Health: A Guide to Research and Practice. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 443–457.
35.
Holt-LunstadJUchinoBNSmithTW, et al. (2007) On the importance of relationship quality. Annals of Behavioral Medicine33(3): 278–290.
36.
HongYLiaoHRaubS, et al. (2016) What it takes to get proactive: An integrative multilevel model of the antecedents of personal initiative. Journal of Applied Psychology101(5): 687–701.
37.
Kammeyer-MuellerJDSimonLSJudgeTA (2016) A head start or a step behind? Understanding how dispositional and motivational resources influence emotional exhaustion. Journal of Management42(3): 561–581.
38.
KimSLKimMYunS (2015) Knowledge sharing, abusive supervision, and support a social exchange perspective. Group & Organization Management40(5): 599–624.
39.
KlineRB (2015) Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. New York, NY: Guilford.
40.
KrackhardtD (1990) Assessing the political landscape: Structure, cognition, and power in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly35(2): 342–369.
41.
LamCKWalterFHuangX (2017) Supervisors’ emotional exhaustion and abusive supervision: The moderating roles of perceived subordinate performance and supervisor self-monitoring. Journal of Organizational Behavior38(8): 1151–1166.
42.
LiMLiuWHanY, et al. (2016) Linking empowering leadership and change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior: The role of thriving at work and autonomy orientation. Journal of Organizational Change Management29(5): 732–750.
43.
LinN (2001) Building a network theory of social capital. In: LinNCookKBurtRS (eds) Social Capital: Theory and Research. New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 3–29.
44.
LovelaceKShapiroDLWeingartLR (2001) Maximizing cross-cultural new product teams’ innovativeness and constraint adherence: A conflict communications perspective. Academy of Management Journal44(4): 479–493.
45.
MarsdenPV (1990) Network data and measurement. Annual Review of Sociology16(1990): 435–463.
MoormanRH (1991) Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship?Journal of Applied Psychology76(6): 845–855.
48.
MorrisonEW (2002) Newcomers’ relationships: The role of social network ties during socialization. Academy of Management Journal45(6): 1149–1160.
49.
MuravenMBaumeisterRF (2000) Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?Psychological Bulletin126(2): 247–259.
50.
OldhamGRCummingsA (1996) Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal39(3): 607–634.
51.
OrganDW (1988) Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Soldier Syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
52.
PatersonTALuthansFJeungW (2014) Thriving at work: Impact of psychological capital and supervisor support. Journal of Organizational Behavior35(3): 434–446.
53.
PetzoldAPlessowFGoschkeT, et al. (2010) Stress reduces use of negative feedback in a feedback-based learning task. Behavioral Neuroscience124(2): 248–255.
54.
PodsakoffPMMackenzieSB (1994) An examination of the psychometric properties and nomological validity of some revised and reduced substitutes for leadership scales. Journal of Applied Psychology79(5): 702–713.
55.
PorathCSpreitzerGGibsonC, et al. (2012) Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior33(2): 250–275.
56.
RaudenbushSWBrykAS (2002) Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Analysis Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
57.
ReagansRMcEvilyB (2003) Network structure and knowledge transfer: The effects of cohesion and range. Administrative Science Quarterly48(2): 240–267.
58.
SakuraiKJexSM (2012) Coworker incivility and incivility targets’ work effort and counterproductive work behaviors: The moderating role of supervisor social support. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology17(2): 150–161.
59.
SchneiderB (1972) Organizational climate: Individual preferences and organizational realities. Journal of Applied Psychology56(3): 211–217.
60.
ShapiroDLHomPShenW, et al. (2016) How do leader departures affect subordinates’ organizational attachment? A 360-degree relational perspective. Academy of Management Review41(3): 479–502.
61.
SpreitzerGPorathCLGibsonCB (2012) Toward human sustainability: How to enable more thriving at work. Organizational Dynamics41(2): 155–162.
62.
SpreitzerGSutcliffeKDuttonJ, et al. (2005) A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science16(5): 537–549.
63.
TepperBJ (1995) Upward maintenance tactics in supervisory mentoring and nonmentoring relation- ships. Academy of Management Journal38(4): 1191–1205.
64.
TepperBJ (2000) Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal43(2): 178–190.
65.
TepperBJSimonLParkHM (2017) Abusive supervision. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior4(2017): 123–152.
66.
ThompsonER (2007) Development and validation of an internationally reliable short form of the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology38(2): 227–242.
67.
TwengeJMMuravenMTiceDM (2004) Measuring State Self-control: Reliability, Validity, and Correlations with Physical and Psychological Stress. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University.
68.
Van DyneLLePineJA (1998) Helping and voice extra-role behaviors: Evidence of construct and predictive validity. Academy of Management Journal41(1): 108–119.
69.
VanhoveAJHarmsPD (2015) Reconciling the two disciplines of organisational science: A comparison of findings from lab and field research. Applied Psychology64(4): 637–673.
70.
VenkataramaniVBartolKMZhengX, et al. (2022) Not very competent but connected: Leaders’ use of employee social networks as prisms to make delegation decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology107(3): 458–480.
71.
WeingartLRBehfarKBenderskyC, et al. (2015) The directness and oppositional intensity of conflict expression. Academy of Management Review40(2): 235–262.
72.
WestmanMChenS (2017) Crossover of burnout and engagement from managers to followers. In: CooperCLQuickJC (eds) The Handbook of Stress and Health: A Guide to Research and Practice. London: Wiley, 236–251.
73.
WilliamsLJAndersonSE (1991) Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management17(3): 601–617.
74.
ZagenczykTJScottKDGibneyR, et al. (2010) Social influence and perceived organizational support: A social networks analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes111(2): 127–138.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
