Salt in the Wound: A Social Comparison Perspective on Witnessing Coworkers’ Gratitude Expression Toward Supervisors

Abstract

When employees express gratitude to their supervisors, it may convey important social information to coworkers who witness the expression, shaping their reactions toward the gratitude expresser. Yet, third-party reactions to employees’ gratitude expressions remain undertheorized, despite organizations’ heightened focus on promoting such expressions through various organizational programs and initiatives (e.g., appreciation programs). Drawing on social comparison theory and social functional accounts of emotions, we argue that witnessing a coworker’s gratitude expression toward a mutual supervisor reflects a source of upward social comparison information for employees who perceive a lower quality relationship with the supervisor (i.e., those with lower levels of leader-member-exchange social comparison, or LMXSC). We propose that lower LMXSC employees are likely to experience greater feelings of envy toward the gratitude expresser and, in turn, undermine them at work. The results of an experiment and a critical incident study support these predictions. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our investigation, as well as avenues for future research on workplace gratitude.